diff --git a/fs/namei.c b/fs/namei.c
index f421f8d80f4d..c5ebe33984f4 100644
--- a/fs/namei.c
+++ b/fs/namei.c
@@ -1382,7 +1382,7 @@ 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);