diff --git a/mm/damon/core.c b/mm/damon/core.c
index 3c5a46e1c079..d89a7f2faf35 100644
--- a/mm/damon/core.c
+++ b/mm/damon/core.c
@@ -1917,6 +1917,9 @@ int damon_start(struct damon_ctx **ctxs, int nr_ctxs, bool exclusive)
 		running_exclusive_ctxs = true;
 	mutex_unlock(&damon_lock);
 
+	if (i != nr_ctxs)
+		damon_stop(ctxs, i);
+
 	return err;
 }