diff --git a/drivers/media/media-devnode.c b/drivers/media/media-devnode.c
index 64a4b1ef3dcd..b66dc9d0766b 100644
--- a/drivers/media/media-devnode.c
+++ b/drivers/media/media-devnode.c
@@ -197,10 +197,11 @@ static int media_release(struct inode *inode, struct file *filp)
 	if (mdev->fops->release)
 		mdev->fops->release(filp);
 
+	filp->private_data = NULL;
+
 	/* decrease the refcount unconditionally since the release()
 	   return value is ignored. */
 	put_device(&mdev->dev);
-	filp->private_data = NULL;
 	return 0;
 }