diff --git a/mm/memory.c b/mm/memory.c
index 732b8f926de6..77d4bbf444bc 100644
--- a/mm/memory.c
+++ b/mm/memory.c
@@ -6957,8 +6957,12 @@ vm_fault_t handle_mm_fault(struct vm_area_struct *vma, unsigned long address,
 
 	lru_gen_exit_fault();
 
-	/* If the mapping is droppable, then errors due to OOM aren't fatal. */
-	if (is_droppable)
+	/*
+	 * If the mapping is droppable, then errors due to OOM aren't fatal: the
+	 * task returns to user mode, handles its signals and tries again. A
+	 * fault from kernel mode has no such return, so it must see the error.
+	 */
+	if (is_droppable && (flags & FAULT_FLAG_USER))
 		ret &= ~VM_FAULT_OOM;
 
 	if (flags & FAULT_FLAG_USER) {