diff --git a/fs/ext2/acl.c b/fs/ext2/acl.c
index 8369ee8d28c4..25f4a64fd6bc 100644
--- a/fs/ext2/acl.c
+++ b/fs/ext2/acl.c
@@ -283,6 +283,8 @@ ext2_check_acl(struct inode *inode, int mask)
 {
 	struct posix_acl *acl = ext2_get_acl(inode, ACL_TYPE_ACCESS);
 
+	if (IS_ERR(acl))
+		return PTR_ERR(acl);
 	if (acl) {
 		int error = posix_acl_permission(inode, acl, mask);
 		posix_acl_release(acl);
diff --git a/fs/ext3/acl.c b/fs/ext3/acl.c
index 328592c3a956..638c13a26c03 100644
--- a/fs/ext3/acl.c
+++ b/fs/ext3/acl.c
@@ -286,6 +286,8 @@ ext3_check_acl(struct inode *inode, int mask)
 {
 	struct posix_acl *acl = ext3_get_acl(inode, ACL_TYPE_ACCESS);
 
+	if (IS_ERR(acl))
+		return PTR_ERR(acl);
 	if (acl) {
 		int error = posix_acl_permission(inode, acl, mask);
 		posix_acl_release(acl);