diff --git a/kernel/cred.c b/kernel/cred.c
index 1ae0b4948a5a..473d17c431f3 100644
--- a/kernel/cred.c
+++ b/kernel/cred.c
@@ -676,15 +676,14 @@ int set_cred_ucounts(struct cred *new)
 	 * This optimization is needed because alloc_ucounts() uses locks
 	 * for table lookups.
 	 */
-	if (old_ucounts && old_ucounts->ns == new->user_ns && uid_eq(old_ucounts->uid, new->euid))
+	if (old_ucounts->ns == new->user_ns && uid_eq(old_ucounts->uid, new->euid))
 		return 0;
 
 	if (!(new_ucounts = alloc_ucounts(new->user_ns, new->euid)))
 		return -EAGAIN;
 
 	new->ucounts = new_ucounts;
-	if (old_ucounts)
-		put_ucounts(old_ucounts);
+	put_ucounts(old_ucounts);
 
 	return 0;
 }