diff --git a/src/mem/mem_pool.c b/src/mem/mem_pool.c
index 3c721debf..404ff6d34 100644
--- a/src/mem/mem_pool.c
+++ b/src/mem/mem_pool.c
@@ -81,12 +81,12 @@ int mem_pool_alloc(struct mem_pool **poolp, size_t nmemb, size_t membsize,
 		goto error;
 	}
 
+	mem_destructor(p, mem_pool_destroy);
+
 	err = mutex_alloc(&p->lock);
 	if (err)
 		goto error;
 
-	mem_destructor(p, mem_pool_destroy);
-
 	for (size_t i = 0; i < nmemb; i++) {
 		p->objs[i].member = mem_zalloc(membsize, dh);
 		if (!p->objs[i].member) {