diff --git a/drivers/crypto/qat/qat_common/adf_aer.c b/drivers/crypto/qat/qat_common/adf_aer.c
index ed3e40bc56eb..b3138f8fc3f3 100644
--- a/drivers/crypto/qat/qat_common/adf_aer.c
+++ b/drivers/crypto/qat/qat_common/adf_aer.c
@@ -95,7 +95,8 @@ static void adf_device_reset_worker(struct work_struct *work)
 	if (adf_dev_init(accel_dev) || adf_dev_start(accel_dev)) {
 		/* The device hanged and we can't restart it so stop here */
 		dev_err(&GET_DEV(accel_dev), "Restart device failed\n");
-		kfree(reset_data);
+		if (reset_data->mode == ADF_DEV_RESET_ASYNC)
+			kfree(reset_data);
 		WARN(1, "QAT: device restart failed. Device is unusable\n");
 		return;
 	}