diff --git a/fs/autofs/waitq.c b/fs/autofs/waitq.c
index b04c528b19d3..1230bdf32989 100644
--- a/fs/autofs/waitq.c
+++ b/fs/autofs/waitq.c
@@ -32,8 +32,9 @@ void autofs_catatonic_mode(struct autofs_sb_info *sbi)
 		wq->status = -ENOENT; /* Magic is gone - report failure */
 		kfree(wq->name.name);
 		wq->name.name = NULL;
-		wq->wait_ctr--;
 		wake_up_interruptible(&wq->queue);
+		if (!--wq->wait_ctr)
+			kfree(wq);
 		wq = nwq;
 	}
 	fput(sbi->pipe);	/* Close the pipe */