diff --git a/kernel/kallsyms.c b/kernel/kallsyms.c
index 474219a41929..2fc25810509e 100644
--- a/kernel/kallsyms.c
+++ b/kernel/kallsyms.c
@@ -32,9 +32,14 @@
 
 /* These will be re-linked against their real values during the second link stage */
 extern const unsigned long kallsyms_addresses[] __attribute__((weak));
-extern const unsigned long kallsyms_num_syms __attribute__((weak));
 extern const u8 kallsyms_names[] __attribute__((weak));
 
+/* tell the compiler that the count isn't in the small data section if the arch
+ * has one (eg: FRV)
+ */
+extern const unsigned long kallsyms_num_syms
+__attribute__((weak, section(".rodata")));
+
 extern const u8 kallsyms_token_table[] __attribute__((weak));
 extern const u16 kallsyms_token_index[] __attribute__((weak));