diff --git a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
index afb04b9b818a..b38fb2b9e237 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
@@ -626,8 +626,22 @@ int ring_buffer_poll_wait(struct ring_buffer *buffer, int cpu,
 		work = &cpu_buffer->irq_work;
 	}
 
-	work->waiters_pending = true;
 	poll_wait(filp, &work->waiters, poll_table);
+	work->waiters_pending = true;
+	/*
+	 * There's a tight race between setting the waiters_pending and
+	 * checking if the ring buffer is empty.  Once the waiters_pending bit
+	 * is set, the next event will wake the task up, but we can get stuck
+	 * if there's only a single event in.
+	 *
+	 * FIXME: Ideally, we need a memory barrier on the writer side as well,
+	 * but adding a memory barrier to all events will cause too much of a
+	 * performance hit in the fast path.  We only need a memory barrier when
+	 * the buffer goes from empty to having content.  But as this race is
+	 * extremely small, and it's not a problem if another event comes in, we
+	 * will fix it later.
+	 */
+	smp_mb();
 
 	if ((cpu == RING_BUFFER_ALL_CPUS && !ring_buffer_empty(buffer)) ||
 	    (cpu != RING_BUFFER_ALL_CPUS && !ring_buffer_empty_cpu(buffer, cpu)))