diff --git a/drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c b/drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c
index 80783dcb7f57..3ec580e38c17 100644
--- a/drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c
+++ b/drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c
@@ -189,13 +189,13 @@ static inline ssize_t vhci_get_user(struct vhci_data *data,
 		break;
 
 	case HCI_VENDOR_PKT:
+		cancel_delayed_work_sync(&data->open_timeout);
+
 		if (data->hdev) {
 			kfree_skb(skb);
 			return -EBADFD;
 		}
 
-		cancel_delayed_work_sync(&data->open_timeout);
-
 		opcode = *((__u8 *) skb->data);
 		skb_pull(skb, 1);
 
@@ -333,10 +333,12 @@ static int vhci_open(struct inode *inode, struct file *file)
 static int vhci_release(struct inode *inode, struct file *file)
 {
 	struct vhci_data *data = file->private_data;
-	struct hci_dev *hdev = data->hdev;
+	struct hci_dev *hdev;
 
 	cancel_delayed_work_sync(&data->open_timeout);
 
+	hdev = data->hdev;
+
 	if (hdev) {
 		hci_unregister_dev(hdev);
 		hci_free_dev(hdev);