diff --git a/mm/util.c b/mm/util.c
index 84e775f5216f..7d80c8119dce 100644
--- a/mm/util.c
+++ b/mm/util.c
@@ -400,7 +400,8 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(vm_mmap);
  * __GFP_RETRY_MAYFAIL is supported, and it should be used only if kmalloc is
  * preferable to the vmalloc fallback, due to visible performance drawbacks.
  *
- * Any use of gfp flags outside of GFP_KERNEL should be consulted with mm people.
+ * Please note that any use of gfp flags outside of GFP_KERNEL is careful to not
+ * fall back to vmalloc.
  */
 void *kvmalloc_node(size_t size, gfp_t flags, int node)
 {
@@ -411,7 +412,8 @@ void *kvmalloc_node(size_t size, gfp_t flags, int node)
 	 * vmalloc uses GFP_KERNEL for some internal allocations (e.g page tables)
 	 * so the given set of flags has to be compatible.
 	 */
-	WARN_ON_ONCE((flags & GFP_KERNEL) != GFP_KERNEL);
+	if ((flags & GFP_KERNEL) != GFP_KERNEL)
+		return kmalloc_node(size, flags, node);
 
 	/*
 	 * We want to attempt a large physically contiguous block first because