diff --git a/net/mpls/af_mpls.c b/net/mpls/af_mpls.c
index d93c0301ad23..04306989d054 100644
--- a/net/mpls/af_mpls.c
+++ b/net/mpls/af_mpls.c
@@ -411,6 +411,9 @@ static struct net_device *find_outdev(struct net *net,
 		dev = dev_get_by_index(net, cfg->rc_ifindex);
 	}
 
+	if (!dev)
+		return ERR_PTR(-ENODEV);
+
 	return dev;
 }