diff --git a/fs/ceph/mds_client.c b/fs/ceph/mds_client.c
index 98c8736cced2..a207b342e7da 100644
--- a/fs/ceph/mds_client.c
+++ b/fs/ceph/mds_client.c
@@ -1828,8 +1828,10 @@ __open_export_target_session(struct ceph_mds_client *mdsc, int target)
 	if (session->s_state == CEPH_MDS_SESSION_NEW ||
 	    session->s_state == CEPH_MDS_SESSION_CLOSING) {
 		ret = __open_session(mdsc, session);
-		if (ret)
+		if (ret) {
+			ceph_put_mds_session(session);
 			return ERR_PTR(ret);
+		}
 	}
 
 	return session;