diff --git a/virt/kvm/vfio.c b/virt/kvm/vfio.c
index 07cb5f44b2a2..59945f6001f4 100644
--- a/virt/kvm/vfio.c
+++ b/virt/kvm/vfio.c
@@ -180,10 +180,10 @@ static int kvm_vfio_file_add(struct kvm_device *dev, unsigned int fd)
 	list_add_tail(&kvf->node, &kv->file_list);
 
 	kvm_arch_start_assignment(dev->kvm);
+	kvm_vfio_file_set_kvm(kvf->file, dev->kvm);
 
 	mutex_unlock(&kv->lock);
 
-	kvm_vfio_file_set_kvm(kvf->file, dev->kvm);
 	kvm_vfio_update_coherency(dev);
 
 	return 0;