diff --git a/fs/debugfs/inode.c b/fs/debugfs/inode.c
index 5d8f35f1382a..b7fcc0de0b2f 100644
--- a/fs/debugfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/debugfs/inode.c
@@ -271,8 +271,12 @@ static struct dentry *start_creating(const char *name, struct dentry *parent)
 		dput(dentry);
 		dentry = ERR_PTR(-EEXIST);
 	}
-	if (IS_ERR(dentry))
+
+	if (IS_ERR(dentry)) {
 		mutex_unlock(&d_inode(parent)->i_mutex);
+		simple_release_fs(&debugfs_mount, &debugfs_mount_count);
+	}
+
 	return dentry;
 }