diff --git a/mm/arch_numa.c b/mm/arch_numa.c
index 442ea239bba7..459fa60a5621 100644
--- a/mm/arch_numa.c
+++ b/mm/arch_numa.c
@@ -105,6 +105,18 @@ static void __init setup_node_to_cpumask_map(void)
 	if (nr_node_ids == MAX_NUMNODES)
 		setup_nr_node_ids();
 
+	/*
+	 * This check should never be true but it makes it clear to compilers
+	 * that node_to_cpumask_map is bound by nr_node_ids, avoiding false
+	 * positive fortify warnings when accessing node_to_cpumask_map in the
+	 * for loop below.
+	 */
+	if (unlikely(nr_node_ids > MAX_NUMNODES)) {
+		pr_err("nr_node_ids (%u) is larger than MAX_NUMNODES (%u)\n",
+		       nr_node_ids, MAX_NUMNODES);
+		return;
+	}
+
 	/* allocate and clear the mapping */
 	for (node = 0; node < nr_node_ids; node++) {
 		alloc_bootmem_cpumask_var(&node_to_cpumask_map[node]);