diff --git a/include/net/tcp.h b/include/net/tcp.h
index 0410fd29d569..4447195a0cd4 100644
--- a/include/net/tcp.h
+++ b/include/net/tcp.h
@@ -1540,6 +1540,10 @@ static inline struct sk_buff *tcp_rtx_queue_tail(const struct sock *sk)
 {
 	struct sk_buff *skb = tcp_send_head(sk);
 
+	/* empty retransmit queue, for example due to zero window */
+	if (skb == tcp_write_queue_head(sk))
+		return NULL;
+
 	return skb ? tcp_write_queue_prev(sk, skb) : tcp_write_queue_tail(sk);
 }