diff --git a/arch/riscv/kernel/head.S b/arch/riscv/kernel/head.S
index 98a406474e7d..7ed1b22950fd 100644
--- a/arch/riscv/kernel/head.S
+++ b/arch/riscv/kernel/head.S
@@ -161,11 +161,20 @@ ENTRY(_start_kernel)
 	/* Reset all registers except ra, a0, a1 */
 	call reset_regs
 
-	/* Setup a PMP to permit access to all of memory. */
+	/*
+	 * Setup a PMP to permit access to all of memory.  Some machines may
+	 * not implement PMPs, so we set up a quick trap handler to just skip
+	 * touching the PMPs on any trap.
+	 */
+	la a0, pmp_done
+	csrw CSR_TVEC, a0
+
 	li a0, -1
 	csrw CSR_PMPADDR0, a0
 	li a0, (PMP_A_NAPOT | PMP_R | PMP_W | PMP_X)
 	csrw CSR_PMPCFG0, a0
+.align 2
+pmp_done:
 
 	/*
 	 * The hartid in a0 is expected later on, and we have no firmware