diff --git a/fs/fs-writeback.c b/fs/fs-writeback.c
index 8b93d4b98428..baaed9369ab4 100644
--- a/fs/fs-writeback.c
+++ b/fs/fs-writeback.c
@@ -721,6 +721,7 @@ void wbc_detach_inode(struct writeback_control *wbc)
 void wbc_account_io(struct writeback_control *wbc, struct page *page,
 		    size_t bytes)
 {
+	struct cgroup_subsys_state *css;
 	int id;
 
 	/*
@@ -732,7 +733,12 @@ void wbc_account_io(struct writeback_control *wbc, struct page *page,
 	if (!wbc->wb)
 		return;
 
-	id = mem_cgroup_css_from_page(page)->id;
+	css = mem_cgroup_css_from_page(page);
+	/* dead cgroups shouldn't contribute to inode ownership arbitration */
+	if (!(css->flags & CSS_ONLINE))
+		return;
+
+	id = css->id;
 
 	if (id == wbc->wb_id) {
 		wbc->wb_bytes += bytes;