diff --git a/kernel/kcov.c b/kernel/kcov.c
index 96dbc198d166..7cd05bd1fada 100644
--- a/kernel/kcov.c
+++ b/kernel/kcov.c
@@ -318,10 +318,10 @@ static void kcov_start(struct task_struct *t, struct kcov *kcov,
 	/* Cache in task struct for performance. */
 	t->kcov_size = size;
 	t->kcov_area = area;
+	t->kcov_sequence = sequence;
 	/* See comment in check_kcov_mode(). */
 	barrier();
 	WRITE_ONCE(t->kcov_mode, mode);
-	t->kcov_sequence = sequence;
 }
 
 static void kcov_stop(struct task_struct *t)