diff --git a/net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_ftp.c b/net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_ftp.c
index 0d9332e9cf71..617f744a2e3a 100644
--- a/net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_ftp.c
+++ b/net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_ftp.c
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ MODULE_AUTHOR("Rusty Russell <rusty@rustcorp.com.au>");
 MODULE_DESCRIPTION("ftp connection tracking helper");
 MODULE_ALIAS("ip_conntrack_ftp");
 MODULE_ALIAS_NFCT_HELPER(HELPER_NAME);
+static DEFINE_SPINLOCK(nf_ftp_lock);
 
 #define MAX_PORTS 8
 static u_int16_t ports[MAX_PORTS];
@@ -409,7 +410,8 @@ static int help(struct sk_buff *skb,
 	}
 	datalen = skb->len - dataoff;
 
-	spin_lock_bh(&ct->lock);
+	/* seqadj (nat) uses ct->lock internally, nf_nat_ftp would cause deadlock */
+	spin_lock_bh(&nf_ftp_lock);
 	fb_ptr = skb->data + dataoff;
 
 	ends_in_nl = (fb_ptr[datalen - 1] == '\n');
@@ -538,7 +540,7 @@ static int help(struct sk_buff *skb,
 	if (ends_in_nl)
 		update_nl_seq(ct, seq, ct_ftp_info, dir, skb);
  out:
-	spin_unlock_bh(&ct->lock);
+	spin_unlock_bh(&nf_ftp_lock);
 	return ret;
 }