diff --git a/kernel/perf_event.c b/kernel/perf_event.c
index 1ec3916ffef0..e7eeba1794fd 100644
--- a/kernel/perf_event.c
+++ b/kernel/perf_event.c
@@ -1780,7 +1780,13 @@ static u64 perf_event_read(struct perf_event *event)
 		unsigned long flags;
 
 		raw_spin_lock_irqsave(&ctx->lock, flags);
-		update_context_time(ctx);
+		/*
+		 * may read while context is not active
+		 * (e.g., thread is blocked), in that case
+		 * we cannot update context time
+		 */
+		if (ctx->is_active)
+			update_context_time(ctx);
 		update_event_times(event);
 		raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore(&ctx->lock, flags);
 	}