diff --git a/mm/page_alloc.c b/mm/page_alloc.c
index 7f79b78bc829..0b9f577b1a2a 100644
--- a/mm/page_alloc.c
+++ b/mm/page_alloc.c
@@ -2170,6 +2170,18 @@ static inline void boost_watermark(struct zone *zone)
 
 	max_boost = mult_frac(zone->_watermark[WMARK_HIGH],
 			watermark_boost_factor, 10000);
+
+	/*
+	 * high watermark may be uninitialised if fragmentation occurs
+	 * very early in boot so do not boost. We do not fall
+	 * through and boost by pageblock_nr_pages as failing
+	 * allocations that early means that reclaim is not going
+	 * to help and it may even be impossible to reclaim the
+	 * boosted watermark resulting in a hang.
+	 */
+	if (!max_boost)
+		return;
+
 	max_boost = max(pageblock_nr_pages, max_boost);
 
 	zone->watermark_boost = min(zone->watermark_boost + pageblock_nr_pages,