diff --git a/fs/bcachefs/alloc_foreground.c b/fs/bcachefs/alloc_foreground.c
index a7e6852271d2..95829bbfe033 100644
--- a/fs/bcachefs/alloc_foreground.c
+++ b/fs/bcachefs/alloc_foreground.c
@@ -371,7 +371,8 @@ static struct open_bucket *try_alloc_bucket(struct btree_trans *trans, struct bc
 	if (!ob)
 		iter.path->preserve = false;
 err:
-	set_btree_iter_dontneed(&iter);
+	if (iter.trans && iter.path)
+		set_btree_iter_dontneed(&iter);
 	bch2_trans_iter_exit(trans, &iter);
 	printbuf_exit(&buf);
 	return ob;