diff --git a/security/integrity/evm/evm_secfs.c b/security/integrity/evm/evm_secfs.c
index a99676eb7f41..8a9db7dfca7e 100644
--- a/security/integrity/evm/evm_secfs.c
+++ b/security/integrity/evm/evm_secfs.c
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ static ssize_t evm_write_xattrs(struct file *file, const char __user *buf,
 
 	ab = audit_log_start(audit_context(), GFP_KERNEL,
 			     AUDIT_INTEGRITY_EVM_XATTR);
-	if (!ab)
+	if (!ab && IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_AUDIT))
 		return -ENOMEM;
 
 	xattr = kmalloc(sizeof(struct xattr_list), GFP_KERNEL);