diff --git a/fs/xfs/libxfs/xfs_attr_leaf.c b/fs/xfs/libxfs/xfs_attr_leaf.c
index d15e92858bf0..15a990409463 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/libxfs/xfs_attr_leaf.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/libxfs/xfs_attr_leaf.c
@@ -310,6 +310,15 @@ xfs_attr3_leaf_verify(
 	if (fa)
 		return fa;
 
+	/*
+	 * Empty leaf blocks should never occur;  they imply the existence of a
+	 * software bug that needs fixing. xfs_repair also flags them as a
+	 * corruption that needs fixing, so we should never let these go to
+	 * disk.
+	 */
+	if (ichdr.count == 0)
+		return __this_address;
+
 	/*
 	 * firstused is the block offset of the first name info structure.
 	 * Make sure it doesn't go off the block or crash into the header.