--- x/drivers/net/netdevsim/netdev.c
+++ y/drivers/net/netdevsim/netdev.c
@@ -981,6 +981,7 @@ err_free_prev:
 	while (i--)
 		kfree(ns->rq[i]);
 	kfree(ns->rq);
+	ns->rq = NULL;
 	return -ENOMEM;
 }
 
@@ -989,6 +990,8 @@ static void nsim_queue_uninit(struct net
 	struct net_device *dev = ns->netdev;
 	int i;
 
+	if (!ns->rq)
+		return;
 	for (i = 0; i < dev->num_rx_queues; i++)
 		nsim_queue_free(dev, ns->rq[i]);