diff --git a/drivers/android/binder_alloc.c b/drivers/android/binder_alloc.c
index ed607850f87f..ba9e96bc82c4 100644
--- a/drivers/android/binder_alloc.c
+++ b/drivers/android/binder_alloc.c
@@ -407,6 +407,10 @@ static struct binder_buffer *binder_alloc_new_buf_locked(
 				alloc->pid, extra_buffers_size);
 		return ERR_PTR(-EINVAL);
 	}
+
+	/* Pad 0-size buffers so they get assigned unique addresses */
+	size = max(size, sizeof(void *));
+
 	if (is_async &&
 	    alloc->free_async_space < size + sizeof(struct binder_buffer)) {
 		binder_alloc_debug(BINDER_DEBUG_BUFFER_ALLOC,
@@ -415,9 +419,6 @@ static struct binder_buffer *binder_alloc_new_buf_locked(
 		return ERR_PTR(-ENOSPC);
 	}
 
-	/* Pad 0-size buffers so they get assigned unique addresses */
-	size = max(size, sizeof(void *));
-
 	while (n) {
 		buffer = rb_entry(n, struct binder_buffer, rb_node);
 		BUG_ON(!buffer->free);