diff --git a/fs/ext4/namei.c b/fs/ext4/namei.c
index 6f335d58183e..17590bb76914 100644
--- a/fs/ext4/namei.c
+++ b/fs/ext4/namei.c
@@ -3923,9 +3923,16 @@ static int ext4_rename(struct inode *old_dir, struct dentry *old_dentry,
 			if (new.dir != old.dir && EXT4_DIR_LINK_MAX(new.dir))
 				goto end_rename;
 		}
+		/*
+		 * We need to protect against old.inode directory getting
+		 * converted from inline directory format into a normal one.
+		 */
+		inode_lock_nested(old.inode, I_MUTEX_NONDIR2);
 		retval = ext4_rename_dir_prepare(handle, &old);
-		if (retval)
+		if (retval) {
+			inode_unlock(old.inode);
 			goto end_rename;
+		}
 	}
 	/*
 	 * If we're renaming a file within an inline_data dir and adding or
@@ -4050,6 +4057,8 @@ end_rename:
 	} else {
 		ext4_journal_stop(handle);
 	}
+	if (old.dir_bh)
+		inode_unlock(old.inode);
 release_bh:
 	brelse(old.dir_bh);
 	brelse(old.bh);