diff --git a/scripts/mod/modpost.c b/scripts/mod/modpost.c
index 70b0e825a139..c7501dcc6609 100644
--- a/scripts/mod/modpost.c
+++ b/scripts/mod/modpost.c
@@ -426,10 +426,9 @@ static struct symbol *sym_add_exported(const char *name, struct module *mod,
 		s = new_symbol(name, mod, export);
 	} else if (!external_module || s->module->is_vmlinux ||
 		   s->module == mod) {
-		warn("%s: '%s' exported twice. Previous export was in %s%s\n",
-		     mod->name, name, s->module->name,
-		     s->module->is_vmlinux ? "" : ".ko");
-		return s;
+		fatal("%s: '%s' exported twice. Previous export was in %s%s\n",
+		      mod->name, name, s->module->name,
+		      s->module->is_vmlinux ? "" : ".ko");
 	}
 
 	s->module = mod;