diff --git a/fs/namei.c b/fs/namei.c
index 757a50ecf0f4..0953281430b1 100644
--- a/fs/namei.c
+++ b/fs/namei.c
@@ -1370,7 +1370,7 @@ static int follow_dotdot_rcu(struct nameidata *nd)
 			nd->path.dentry = parent;
 			nd->seq = seq;
 			if (unlikely(!path_connected(&nd->path)))
-				return -ENOENT;
+				return -ECHILD;
 			break;
 		} else {
 			struct mount *mnt = real_mount(nd->path.mnt);