diff --git a/net/mac80211/cfg.c b/net/mac80211/cfg.c
index e9cecca..7d5108a 100644
--- a/net/mac80211/cfg.c
+++ b/net/mac80211/cfg.c
@@ -2093,6 +2093,9 @@
 	struct ieee80211_local *local = wdev_priv(dev->ieee80211_ptr);
 	int i, ret;
 
+	if (!ieee80211_sdata_running(sdata))
+		return -ENETDOWN;
+
 	if (local->hw.flags & IEEE80211_HW_HAS_RATE_CONTROL) {
 		ret = drv_set_bitrate_mask(local, sdata, mask);
 		if (ret)