diff --git a/kernel/locking/osq_lock.c b/kernel/locking/osq_lock.c
index 1f7734949ac8..1de006ed3aa8 100644
--- a/kernel/locking/osq_lock.c
+++ b/kernel/locking/osq_lock.c
@@ -154,7 +154,11 @@ bool osq_lock(struct optimistic_spin_queue *lock)
 	 */
 
 	for (;;) {
-		if (prev->next == node &&
+		/*
+		 * cpu_relax() below implies a compiler barrier which would
+		 * prevent this comparison being optimized away.
+		 */
+		if (data_race(prev->next) == node &&
 		    cmpxchg(&prev->next, node, NULL) == node)
 			break;