diff --git a/fs/exportfs/expfs.c b/fs/exportfs/expfs.c
index 645158dc33f1fc86bfcca570361002c540068584..c8a3dfda176467329648ba9a5f261d10bd61070c 100644
--- a/fs/exportfs/expfs.c
+++ b/fs/exportfs/expfs.c
@@ -147,6 +147,7 @@ static struct dentry *reconnect_one(struct vfsmount *mnt,
 	tmp = lookup_one_len_unlocked(nbuf, parent, strlen(nbuf));
 	if (IS_ERR(tmp)) {
 		dprintk("%s: lookup failed: %d\n", __func__, PTR_ERR(tmp));
+		err = PTR_ERR(tmp);
 		goto out_err;
 	}
 	if (tmp != dentry) {