diff --git a/mm/page_alloc.c b/mm/page_alloc.c
index 6e60657875d328..b2877a84ed19c0 100644
--- a/mm/page_alloc.c
+++ b/mm/page_alloc.c
@@ -5640,9 +5640,12 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(get_zeroed_page);
  */
 void __free_pages(struct page *page, unsigned int order)
 {
+	/* get PageHead before we drop reference */
+	int head = PageHead(page);
+
 	if (put_page_testzero(page))
 		free_the_page(page, order);
-	else if (!PageHead(page))
+	else if (!head)
 		while (order-- > 0)
 			free_the_page(page + (1 << order), order);
 }