diff --git a/sys/netgraph7/ksocket/ng_ksocket.c b/sys/netgraph7/ksocket/ng_ksocket.c
--- a/sys/netgraph7/ksocket/ng_ksocket.c
+++ b/sys/netgraph7/ksocket/ng_ksocket.c
@@ -987,6 +987,7 @@
 {
 	const node_p node = arg;
 	const priv_p priv = NG_NODE_PRIVATE(node);
+	NG_NODE_REF(node);
 	int wait = ((waitflag & M_WAITOK) ? NG_WAITOK : 0) | NG_QUEUE;
 
 	/*