diff --git a/security/selinux/hooks.c b/security/selinux/hooks.c
index a049b7216270..4de09f0227b4 100644
--- a/security/selinux/hooks.c
+++ b/security/selinux/hooks.c
@@ -254,10 +254,21 @@ static void inode_free_security(struct inode *inode)
 	struct inode_security_struct *isec = inode->i_security;
 	struct superblock_security_struct *sbsec = inode->i_sb->s_security;
 
-	spin_lock(&sbsec->isec_lock);
-	if (!list_empty(&isec->list))
+	/*
+	 * As not all inode security structures are in a list, we check for
+	 * empty list outside of the lock to make sure that we won't waste
+	 * time taking a lock doing nothing.
+	 *
+	 * The list_del_init() function can be safely called more than once.
+	 * It should not be possible for this function to be called with
+	 * concurrent list_add(), but for better safety against future changes
+	 * in the code, we use list_empty_careful() here.
+	 */
+	if (!list_empty_careful(&isec->list)) {
+		spin_lock(&sbsec->isec_lock);
 		list_del_init(&isec->list);
-	spin_unlock(&sbsec->isec_lock);
+		spin_unlock(&sbsec->isec_lock);
+	}
 
 	/*
 	 * The inode may still be referenced in a path walk and