diff --git a/net/smc/smc_core.c b/net/smc/smc_core.c
index cf6b620fef05..b4208cb186c5 100644
--- a/net/smc/smc_core.c
+++ b/net/smc/smc_core.c
@@ -1572,10 +1572,10 @@ static void __smc_lgr_terminate(struct smc_link_group *lgr, bool soft)
 	read_lock_bh(&lgr->conns_lock);
 	node = rb_first(&lgr->conns_all);
 	while (node) {
-		read_unlock_bh(&lgr->conns_lock);
 		conn = rb_entry(node, struct smc_connection, alert_node);
 		smc = container_of(conn, struct smc_sock, conn);
 		sock_hold(&smc->sk); /* sock_put below */
+		read_unlock_bh(&lgr->conns_lock);
 		lock_sock(&smc->sk);
 		smc_conn_kill(conn, soft);
 		release_sock(&smc->sk);