diff --git a/net/can/j1939/socket.c b/net/can/j1939/socket.c
index f7587428febd..11d566c70a94 100644
--- a/net/can/j1939/socket.c
+++ b/net/can/j1939/socket.c
@@ -466,6 +466,14 @@ static int j1939_sk_bind(struct socket *sock, struct sockaddr *uaddr, int len)
 			goto out_release_sock;
 		}
 
+		if (!ndev->ml_priv) {
+			netdev_warn_once(ndev,
+					 "No CAN mid layer private allocated, please fix your driver and use alloc_candev()!\n");
+			dev_put(ndev);
+			ret = -ENODEV;
+			goto out_release_sock;
+		}
+
 		priv = j1939_netdev_start(ndev);
 		dev_put(ndev);
 		if (IS_ERR(priv)) {