diff --git a/kernel/rcu/tree.h b/kernel/rcu/tree.h
index 486fc901bd08..24dd4b0d805f 100644
--- a/kernel/rcu/tree.h
+++ b/kernel/rcu/tree.h
@@ -203,6 +203,8 @@ struct rcu_data {
 	int nocb_defer_wakeup;		/* Defer wakeup of nocb_kthread. */
 	struct timer_list nocb_timer;	/* Enforce finite deferral. */
 	unsigned long nocb_gp_adv_time;	/* Last call_rcu() CB adv (jiffies). */
+	struct mutex nocb_gp_kthread_mutex; /* Exclusion for nocb gp kthread */
+					    /* spawning */
 
 	/* The following fields are used by call_rcu, hence own cacheline. */
 	raw_spinlock_t nocb_bypass_lock ____cacheline_internodealigned_in_smp;
diff --git a/kernel/rcu/tree_nocb.h b/kernel/rcu/tree_nocb.h
index eeafb546a7a0..1e40519d1a05 100644
--- a/kernel/rcu/tree_nocb.h
+++ b/kernel/rcu/tree_nocb.h
@@ -1226,6 +1226,7 @@ static void __init rcu_boot_init_nocb_percpu_data(struct rcu_data *rdp)
 	raw_spin_lock_init(&rdp->nocb_gp_lock);
 	timer_setup(&rdp->nocb_timer, do_nocb_deferred_wakeup_timer, 0);
 	rcu_cblist_init(&rdp->nocb_bypass);
+	mutex_init(&rdp->nocb_gp_kthread_mutex);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -1248,13 +1249,17 @@ static void rcu_spawn_cpu_nocb_kthread(int cpu)
 
 	/* If we didn't spawn the GP kthread first, reorganize! */
 	rdp_gp = rdp->nocb_gp_rdp;
+	mutex_lock(&rdp_gp->nocb_gp_kthread_mutex);
 	if (!rdp_gp->nocb_gp_kthread) {
 		t = kthread_run(rcu_nocb_gp_kthread, rdp_gp,
 				"rcuog/%d", rdp_gp->cpu);
-		if (WARN_ONCE(IS_ERR(t), "%s: Could not start rcuo GP kthread, OOM is now expected behavior\n", __func__))
+		if (WARN_ONCE(IS_ERR(t), "%s: Could not start rcuo GP kthread, OOM is now expected behavior\n", __func__)) {
+			mutex_unlock(&rdp_gp->nocb_gp_kthread_mutex);
 			return;
+		}
 		WRITE_ONCE(rdp_gp->nocb_gp_kthread, t);
 	}
+	mutex_unlock(&rdp_gp->nocb_gp_kthread_mutex);
 
 	/* Spawn the kthread for this CPU. */
 	t = kthread_run(rcu_nocb_cb_kthread, rdp,