diff --git a/net/core/rtnetlink.c b/net/core/rtnetlink.c
index 79f62517e24a..794db633f1c9 100644
--- a/net/core/rtnetlink.c
+++ b/net/core/rtnetlink.c
@@ -2702,7 +2702,10 @@ static int rtnl_setlink(struct sk_buff *skb, struct nlmsghdr *nlh,
 	ifm = nlmsg_data(nlh);
 	if (ifm->ifi_index > 0)
 		dev = __dev_get_by_index(net, ifm->ifi_index);
-	else if (tb[IFLA_IFNAME])
+	else if (ifm->ifi_index < 0) {
+		NL_SET_ERR_MSG(extack, "ifindex can't be negative");
+		return -EINVAL;
+	} else if (tb[IFLA_IFNAME])
 		dev = __dev_get_by_name(net, ifname);
 	else
 		goto errout;