diff --git a/fs/char_dev.c b/fs/char_dev.c
index 5fffd5050fb7..2c3d519b21c2 100644
--- a/fs/char_dev.c
+++ b/fs/char_dev.c
@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@ int cdev_device_add(struct cdev *cdev, struct device *dev)
 	}
 
 	rc = device_add(dev);
-	if (rc)
+	if (rc && dev->devt)
 		cdev_del(cdev);
 
 	return rc;