diff --git a/include/linux/ftrace.h b/include/linux/ftrace.h
index 770f0dc993cc..a3a8989e3268 100644
--- a/include/linux/ftrace.h
+++ b/include/linux/ftrace.h
@@ -1167,7 +1167,7 @@ static inline void ftrace_init(void) { }
  */
 struct ftrace_graph_ent {
 	unsigned long func; /* Current function */
-	unsigned long depth;
+	long depth; /* signed to check for less than zero */
 } __packed;
 
 /*