diff --git a/mm/memcontrol.c b/mm/memcontrol.c
index 8ca42e79686c..22f55aeb94f3 100644
--- a/mm/memcontrol.c
+++ b/mm/memcontrol.c
@@ -4854,6 +4854,10 @@ static ssize_t memory_max_write(struct kernfs_open_file *of,
 		if (signal_pending(current))
 			break;
 
+		/* cgroup_rmdir() waits for us with cgroup_mutex held. */
+		if (memcg_is_dying(memcg))
+			break;
+
 		if (!drained) {
 			drain_all_stock(memcg);
 			drained = true;