diff --git a/drivers/md/md-cluster.c b/drivers/md/md-cluster.c
index 11f1e91d387d..896279988dfd 100644
--- a/drivers/md/md-cluster.c
+++ b/drivers/md/md-cluster.c
@@ -549,8 +549,13 @@ static void process_metadata_update(struct mddev *mddev, struct cluster_msg *msg
 
 	dlm_lock_sync(cinfo->no_new_dev_lockres, DLM_LOCK_CR);
 
-	/* daemaon thread must exist */
 	thread = rcu_dereference_protected(mddev->thread, true);
+	if (!thread) {
+		pr_warn("md-cluster: Received metadata update but MD thread is not ready\n");
+		dlm_unlock_sync(cinfo->no_new_dev_lockres);
+		return;
+	}
+
 	wait_event(thread->wqueue,
 		   (got_lock = mddev_trylock(mddev)) ||
 		    test_bit(MD_CLUSTER_HOLDING_MUTEX_FOR_RECVD, &cinfo->state));