diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/link.c b/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/link.c
index b66e84d2365f..be2cdf43c72e 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/link.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/link.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 OR BSD-3-Clause
 /*
- * Copyright (C) 2024-2025 Intel Corporation
+ * Copyright (C) 2024-2026 Intel Corporation
  */
 
 #include "constants.h"
@@ -504,7 +504,6 @@ void iwl_mld_remove_link(struct iwl_mld *mld,
 	struct iwl_mld_vif *mld_vif = iwl_mld_vif_from_mac80211(bss_conf->vif);
 	struct iwl_mld_link *link = iwl_mld_link_from_mac80211(bss_conf);
 	bool is_deflink = link == &mld_vif->deflink;
-	u8 fw_id = link->fw_id;
 
 	if (WARN_ON(!link || link->active))
 		return;
@@ -512,15 +511,15 @@ void iwl_mld_remove_link(struct iwl_mld *mld,
 	iwl_mld_rm_link_from_fw(mld, bss_conf);
 	/* Continue cleanup on failure */
 
-	if (!is_deflink)
-		kfree_rcu(link, rcu_head);
-
 	RCU_INIT_POINTER(mld_vif->link[bss_conf->link_id], NULL);
 
-	if (WARN_ON(fw_id >= mld->fw->ucode_capa.num_links))
+	if (WARN_ON(link->fw_id >= mld->fw->ucode_capa.num_links))
 		return;
 
-	RCU_INIT_POINTER(mld->fw_id_to_bss_conf[fw_id], NULL);
+	RCU_INIT_POINTER(mld->fw_id_to_bss_conf[link->fw_id], NULL);
+
+	if (!is_deflink)
+		kfree_rcu(link, rcu_head);
 }
 
 void iwl_mld_handle_missed_beacon_notif(struct iwl_mld *mld,