diff --git a/include/linux/cma.h b/include/linux/cma.h
index b1ba94f1cc9c..90fd742fd1ef 100644
--- a/include/linux/cma.h
+++ b/include/linux/cma.h
@@ -58,4 +58,6 @@ extern bool cma_pages_valid(struct cma *cma, const struct page *pages, unsigned
 extern bool cma_release(struct cma *cma, const struct page *pages, unsigned long count);
 
 extern int cma_for_each_area(int (*it)(struct cma *cma, void *data), void *data);
+
+extern void cma_reserve_pages_on_error(struct cma *cma);
 #endif
diff --git a/mm/cma.c b/mm/cma.c
index 5a2cd5851658..eaa4b5c920a2 100644
--- a/mm/cma.c
+++ b/mm/cma.c
@@ -131,8 +131,10 @@ static void __init cma_activate_area(struct cma *cma)
 	bitmap_free(cma->bitmap);
 out_error:
 	/* Expose all pages to the buddy, they are useless for CMA. */
-	for (pfn = base_pfn; pfn < base_pfn + cma->count; pfn++)
-		free_reserved_page(pfn_to_page(pfn));
+	if (!cma->reserve_pages_on_error) {
+		for (pfn = base_pfn; pfn < base_pfn + cma->count; pfn++)
+			free_reserved_page(pfn_to_page(pfn));
+	}
 	totalcma_pages -= cma->count;
 	cma->count = 0;
 	pr_err("CMA area %s could not be activated\n", cma->name);
@@ -150,6 +152,11 @@ static int __init cma_init_reserved_areas(void)
 }
 core_initcall(cma_init_reserved_areas);
 
+void __init cma_reserve_pages_on_error(struct cma *cma)
+{
+	cma->reserve_pages_on_error = true;
+}
+
 /**
  * cma_init_reserved_mem() - create custom contiguous area from reserved memory
  * @base: Base address of the reserved area
diff --git a/mm/cma.h b/mm/cma.h
index 2c775877eae2..88a0595670b7 100644
--- a/mm/cma.h
+++ b/mm/cma.h
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ struct cma {
 	/* kobject requires dynamic object */
 	struct cma_kobject *cma_kobj;
 #endif
+	bool reserve_pages_on_error;
 };
 
 extern struct cma cma_areas[MAX_CMA_AREAS];