diff --git a/sys/kern/kern_shutdown.c b/sys/kern/kern_shutdown.c
index 6c3d82dc57ec..e6d4f4466f2a 100644
--- a/sys/kern/kern_shutdown.c
+++ b/sys/kern/kern_shutdown.c
@@ -511,6 +511,7 @@ panic(const char *fmt, ...)
 	va_list ap;
 	static char buf[256];
 
+	critical_enter();
 #ifdef SMP
 	/*
 	 * We don't want multiple CPU's to panic at the same time, so we
@@ -569,6 +570,7 @@ panic(const char *fmt, ...)
 	/* thread_unlock(td); */
 	if (!sync_on_panic)
 		bootopt |= RB_NOSYNC;
+	critical_exit();
 	boot(bootopt);
 }