diff --git a/net/mptcp/protocol.c b/net/mptcp/protocol.c
index 9801cb077293..a25dcdf748ca 100644
--- a/net/mptcp/protocol.c
+++ b/net/mptcp/protocol.c
@@ -1257,7 +1257,12 @@ alloc_skb:
 	if (copy == 0) {
 		u64 snd_una = READ_ONCE(msk->snd_una);
 
-		if (snd_una != msk->snd_nxt || tcp_write_queue_tail(ssk)) {
+		/* No need for zero probe if there are any data pending
+		 * either at the msk or ssk level; skb is the current write
+		 * queue tail and can be empty at this point.
+		 */
+		if (snd_una != msk->snd_nxt || skb->len ||
+		    skb != tcp_send_head(ssk)) {
 			tcp_remove_empty_skb(ssk);
 			return 0;
 		}