diff --git a/fs/proc/base.c b/fs/proc/base.c
index a7310841c831..b1f6e62773d3 100644
--- a/fs/proc/base.c
+++ b/fs/proc/base.c
@@ -442,12 +442,13 @@ static const struct file_operations proc_lstats_operations = {
 unsigned long badness(struct task_struct *p, unsigned long uptime);
 static int proc_oom_score(struct task_struct *task, char *buffer)
 {
-	unsigned long points;
+	unsigned long points = 0;
 	struct timespec uptime;
 
 	do_posix_clock_monotonic_gettime(&uptime);
 	read_lock(&tasklist_lock);
-	points = badness(task->group_leader, uptime.tv_sec);
+	if (pid_alive(task))
+		points = badness(task, uptime.tv_sec);
 	read_unlock(&tasklist_lock);
 	return sprintf(buffer, "%lu\n", points);
 }