diff --git a/drivers/block/nbd.c b/drivers/block/nbd.c
index a65e4ed6c937..14b491c5cf7b 100644
--- a/drivers/block/nbd.c
+++ b/drivers/block/nbd.c
@@ -2217,7 +2217,8 @@ static int __init nbd_init(void)
 	if (nbds_max > 1UL << (MINORBITS - part_shift))
 		return -EINVAL;
 	recv_workqueue = alloc_workqueue("knbd-recv",
-					 WQ_MEM_RECLAIM | WQ_HIGHPRI, 0);
+					 WQ_MEM_RECLAIM | WQ_HIGHPRI |
+					 WQ_UNBOUND, 0);
 	if (!recv_workqueue)
 		return -ENOMEM;