diff --git a/kernel/irq/irq_test.c b/kernel/irq/irq_test.c
index 37568ec714b5..f71f46fdcfd5 100644
--- a/kernel/irq/irq_test.c
+++ b/kernel/irq/irq_test.c
@@ -178,6 +178,8 @@ static void irq_cpuhotplug_test(struct kunit *test)
 		kunit_skip(test, "requires more than 1 CPU for CPU hotplug");
 	if (!cpu_is_hotpluggable(1))
 		kunit_skip(test, "CPU 1 must be hotpluggable");
+	if (!cpu_online(1))
+		kunit_skip(test, "CPU 1 must be online");
 
 	cpumask_copy(&affinity.mask, cpumask_of(1));