diff --git a/drivers/base/memory.c b/drivers/base/memory.c
index 9e59f6535c44..bece691cb5d9 100644
--- a/drivers/base/memory.c
+++ b/drivers/base/memory.c
@@ -333,8 +333,10 @@ store_mem_state(struct device *dev,
 		online_type = ONLINE_KEEP;
 	else if (!strncmp(buf, "offline", min_t(int, count, 7)))
 		online_type = -1;
-	else
-		return -EINVAL;
+	else {
+		ret = -EINVAL;
+		goto err;
+	}
 
 	switch (online_type) {
 	case ONLINE_KERNEL:
@@ -357,6 +359,7 @@ store_mem_state(struct device *dev,
 		ret = -EINVAL; /* should never happen */
 	}
 
+err:
 	unlock_device_hotplug();
 
 	if (ret)