diff --git a/kernel/sched/fair.c b/kernel/sched/fair.c
index 3bcea40d3029..efeebed935ae 100644
--- a/kernel/sched/fair.c
+++ b/kernel/sched/fair.c
@@ -8560,6 +8560,13 @@ static int active_load_balance_cpu_stop(void *data)
 	struct rq_flags rf;
 
 	rq_lock_irq(busiest_rq, &rf);
+	/*
+	 * Between queueing the stop-work and running it is a hole in which
+	 * CPUs can become inactive. We should not move tasks from or to
+	 * inactive CPUs.
+	 */
+	if (!cpu_active(busiest_cpu) || !cpu_active(target_cpu))
+		goto out_unlock;
 
 	/* make sure the requested cpu hasn't gone down in the meantime */
 	if (unlikely(busiest_cpu != smp_processor_id() ||