diff --git a/drivers/md/dm-table.c b/drivers/md/dm-table.c
index 1576b408768d..2fd5826bfce1 100644
--- a/drivers/md/dm-table.c
+++ b/drivers/md/dm-table.c
@@ -326,8 +326,11 @@ static int upgrade_mode(struct dm_dev_internal *dd, fmode_t new_mode,
 /*
  * Add a device to the list, or just increment the usage count if
  * it's already present.
+ *
+ * Note: the __ref annotation is because this function can call the __init
+ * marked early_lookup_bdev when called during early boot code from dm-init.c.
  */
-int dm_get_device(struct dm_target *ti, const char *path, fmode_t mode,
+int __ref dm_get_device(struct dm_target *ti, const char *path, fmode_t mode,
 		  struct dm_dev **result)
 {
 	int r;
@@ -346,8 +349,10 @@ int dm_get_device(struct dm_target *ti, const char *path, fmode_t mode,
 			return -EOVERFLOW;
 	} else {
 		r = lookup_bdev(path, &dev);
-		if (r)
+#ifndef MODULE
+		if (r && system_state < SYSTEM_RUNNING)
 			r = early_lookup_bdev(path, &dev);
+#endif
 		if (r)
 			return r;
 	}