diff --git a/net/ax25/ax25_dev.c b/net/ax25/ax25_dev.c
index 742d7c68e7e7..9efd6690b344 100644
--- a/net/ax25/ax25_dev.c
+++ b/net/ax25/ax25_dev.c
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ void __exit ax25_dev_free(void)
 	list_for_each_entry_safe(s, n, &ax25_dev_list, list) {
 		netdev_put(s->dev, &s->dev_tracker);
 		list_del(&s->list);
-		kfree(s);
+		ax25_dev_put(s);
 	}
 	spin_unlock_bh(&ax25_dev_lock);
 }