diff --git a/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c b/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c
index 128ee3b300d6..16c3a39689f4 100644
--- a/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c
+++ b/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c
@@ -9363,7 +9363,7 @@ int nft_parse_u32_check(const struct nlattr *attr, int max, u32 *dest)
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(nft_parse_u32_check);
 
-static unsigned int nft_parse_register(const struct nlattr *attr, u32 *preg)
+static int nft_parse_register(const struct nlattr *attr, u32 *preg)
 {
 	unsigned int reg;