diff --git a/kernel/workqueue.c b/kernel/workqueue.c
index 5bb2fba9cb8a4d15cf3d023cf839ed5e0564acfc..db78a74f5455fe187b054e32f9d4582ffd502f75 100644
--- a/kernel/workqueue.c
+++ b/kernel/workqueue.c
@@ -2940,23 +2940,27 @@ static int rescuer_thread(void *__rescuer)
  * check_flush_dependency - check for flush dependency sanity
  * @target_wq: workqueue being flushed
  * @target_work: work item being flushed (NULL for workqueue flushes)
+ * @from_cancel: are we called from the work cancel path
  *
  * %current is trying to flush the whole @target_wq or @target_work on it.
- * If @target_wq doesn't have %WQ_MEM_RECLAIM, verify that %current is not
- * reclaiming memory or running on a workqueue which doesn't have
- * %WQ_MEM_RECLAIM as that can break forward-progress guarantee leading to
- * a deadlock.
+ * If this is not the cancel path (which implies work being flushed is either
+ * already running, or will not be at all), check if @target_wq doesn't have
+ * %WQ_MEM_RECLAIM and verify that %current is not reclaiming memory or running
+ * on a workqueue which doesn't have %WQ_MEM_RECLAIM as that can break forward-
+ * progress guarantee leading to a deadlock.
  */
 static void check_flush_dependency(struct workqueue_struct *target_wq,
-				   struct work_struct *target_work)
+				   struct work_struct *target_work,
+				   bool from_cancel)
 {
-	work_func_t target_func = target_work ? target_work->func : NULL;
+	work_func_t target_func;
 	struct worker *worker;
 
-	if (target_wq->flags & WQ_MEM_RECLAIM)
+	if (from_cancel || target_wq->flags & WQ_MEM_RECLAIM)
 		return;
 
 	worker = current_wq_worker();
+	target_func = target_work ? target_work->func : NULL;
 
 	WARN_ONCE(current->flags & PF_MEMALLOC,
 		  "workqueue: PF_MEMALLOC task %d(%s) is flushing !WQ_MEM_RECLAIM %s:%ps",
@@ -3189,7 +3193,7 @@ void __flush_workqueue(struct workqueue_struct *wq)
 		list_add_tail(&this_flusher.list, &wq->flusher_overflow);
 	}
 
-	check_flush_dependency(wq, NULL);
+	check_flush_dependency(wq, NULL, false);
 
 	mutex_unlock(&wq->mutex);
 
@@ -3364,7 +3368,7 @@ static bool start_flush_work(struct work_struct *work, struct wq_barrier *barr,
 		pwq = worker->current_pwq;
 	}
 
-	check_flush_dependency(pwq->wq, work);
+	check_flush_dependency(pwq->wq, work, from_cancel);
 
 	insert_wq_barrier(pwq, barr, work, worker);
 	raw_spin_unlock_irq(&pool->lock);