diff --git a/drivers/net/tun.c b/drivers/net/tun.c
index e244f5d7512a..cf349e65a66b 100644
--- a/drivers/net/tun.c
+++ b/drivers/net/tun.c
@@ -2293,9 +2293,9 @@ static void tun_setup(struct net_device *dev)
 static int tun_validate(struct nlattr *tb[], struct nlattr *data[],
 			struct netlink_ext_ack *extack)
 {
-	if (!data)
-		return 0;
-	return -EINVAL;
+	NL_SET_ERR_MSG(extack,
+		       "tun/tap creation via rtnetlink is not supported.");
+	return -EOPNOTSUPP;
 }
 
 static size_t tun_get_size(const struct net_device *dev)