diff --git a/lib/vsprintf.c b/lib/vsprintf.c
index a0b5f15c92cf..225aa683e175 100644
--- a/lib/vsprintf.c
+++ b/lib/vsprintf.c
@@ -1045,7 +1045,8 @@ char *pointer(const char *fmt, char *buf, char *end, void *ptr,
 		 * %pK cannot be used in IRQ context because its test
 		 * for CAP_SYSLOG would be meaningless.
 		 */
-		if (in_irq() || in_serving_softirq() || in_nmi()) {
+		if (kptr_restrict && (in_irq() || in_serving_softirq() ||
+				      in_nmi())) {
 			if (spec.field_width == -1)
 				spec.field_width = default_width;
 			return string(buf, end, "pK-error", spec);