diff --git a/fs/nfs/inode.c b/fs/nfs/inode.c
index 5cb3345eb694..2501b864f7c3 100644
--- a/fs/nfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/nfs/inode.c
@@ -707,6 +707,13 @@ int nfs_attribute_timeout(struct inode *inode)
 
 	if (nfs_have_delegation(inode, FMODE_READ))
 		return 0;
+	/*
+	 * Special case: if the attribute timeout is set to 0, then always
+	 * 		 treat the cache as having expired (unless holding
+	 * 		 a delegation).
+	 */
+	if (nfsi->attrtimeo == 0)
+		return 1;
 	return !time_in_range(jiffies, nfsi->read_cache_jiffies, nfsi->read_cache_jiffies + nfsi->attrtimeo);
 }