diff --git a/fs/configfs/configfs_internal.h b/fs/configfs/configfs_internal.h
index acdeea8e2d69..337e313651e7 100644
--- a/fs/configfs/configfs_internal.h
+++ b/fs/configfs/configfs_internal.h
@@ -124,8 +124,9 @@ static inline struct config_item *configfs_get_config_item(struct dentry *dentry
 	spin_lock(&dentry->d_lock);
 	if (!d_unhashed(dentry)) {
 		struct configfs_dirent * sd = dentry->d_fsdata;
-		item = config_item_get(sd->s_element);
+		item = config_item_get_unless_zero(sd->s_element);
 	}
+
 	spin_unlock(&dentry->d_lock);
 
 	return item;