diff --git a/fs/reiserfs/inode.c b/fs/reiserfs/inode.c
index 9ea12004fa57..0804289d355d 100644
--- a/fs/reiserfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/reiserfs/inode.c
@@ -3061,7 +3061,11 @@ int reiserfs_setattr(struct dentry *dentry, struct iattr *attr)
 {
 	struct inode *inode = dentry->d_inode;
 	int error;
-	unsigned int ia_valid = attr->ia_valid;
+	unsigned int ia_valid;
+
+	/* must be turned off for recursive notify_change calls */
+	ia_valid = attr->ia_valid &= ~(ATTR_KILL_SUID|ATTR_KILL_SGID);
+
 	reiserfs_write_lock(inode->i_sb);
 	if (attr->ia_valid & ATTR_SIZE) {
 		/* version 2 items will be caught by the s_maxbytes check