diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/renesas/sh_eth.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/renesas/sh_eth.c
index 9c6448915b65..2e9a78164054 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/renesas/sh_eth.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/renesas/sh_eth.c
@@ -1127,11 +1127,8 @@ static void sh_eth_ring_format(struct net_device *ndev)
 			break;
 		sh_eth_set_receive_align(skb);
 
-		/* RX descriptor */
-		rxdesc = &mdp->rx_ring[i];
 		/* The size of the buffer is a multiple of 32 bytes. */
 		buf_len = ALIGN(mdp->rx_buf_sz, 32);
-		rxdesc->len = cpu_to_le32(buf_len << 16);
 		dma_addr = dma_map_single(&ndev->dev, skb->data, buf_len,
 					  DMA_FROM_DEVICE);
 		if (dma_mapping_error(&ndev->dev, dma_addr)) {
@@ -1139,6 +1136,10 @@ static void sh_eth_ring_format(struct net_device *ndev)
 			break;
 		}
 		mdp->rx_skbuff[i] = skb;
+
+		/* RX descriptor */
+		rxdesc = &mdp->rx_ring[i];
+		rxdesc->len = cpu_to_le32(buf_len << 16);
 		rxdesc->addr = cpu_to_le32(dma_addr);
 		rxdesc->status = cpu_to_le32(RD_RACT | RD_RFP);
 
@@ -1154,7 +1155,8 @@ static void sh_eth_ring_format(struct net_device *ndev)
 	mdp->dirty_rx = (u32) (i - mdp->num_rx_ring);
 
 	/* Mark the last entry as wrapping the ring. */
-	rxdesc->status |= cpu_to_le32(RD_RDLE);
+	if (rxdesc)
+		rxdesc->status |= cpu_to_le32(RD_RDLE);
 
 	memset(mdp->tx_ring, 0, tx_ringsize);