diff --git a/kernel/cgroup_freezer.c b/kernel/cgroup_freezer.c
index e95056954498..7f54d1c42953 100644
--- a/kernel/cgroup_freezer.c
+++ b/kernel/cgroup_freezer.c
@@ -190,8 +190,9 @@ static void freezer_fork(struct cgroup_subsys *ss, struct task_struct *task)
 	freezer = task_freezer(task);
 	task_unlock(task);
 
-	BUG_ON(freezer->state == CGROUP_FROZEN);
 	spin_lock_irq(&freezer->lock);
+	BUG_ON(freezer->state == CGROUP_FROZEN);
+
 	/* Locking avoids race with FREEZING -> THAWED transitions. */
 	if (freezer->state == CGROUP_FREEZING)
 		freeze_task(task, true);