diff --git a/daemon/upcall.c b/daemon/upcall.c
index 62b7c4d..cea824a 100644
--- a/daemon/upcall.c
+++ b/daemon/upcall.c
@@ -99,12 +99,8 @@ int upcall_parse(
     if (status) goto out;
     status = safe_read(&buffer, &length, &upcall->root_ref, sizeof(HANDLE));
     if (status) goto out;
-    if (upcall->root_ref != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
-        nfs41_root_ref(upcall->root_ref);
     status = safe_read(&buffer, &length, &upcall->state_ref, sizeof(HANDLE));
     if (status) goto out;
-    if (upcall->state_ref != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
-        nfs41_open_state_ref(upcall->state_ref);
 
     dprintf(2, "version=%d xid=%d opcode=%s session=0x%x open_state=0x%x\n", 
         version, upcall->xid, opcode2string(upcall->opcode), upcall->root_ref, 
@@ -114,6 +110,10 @@ int upcall_parse(
         upcall->status = status = NFSD_VERSION_MISMATCH;
         goto out;
     }
+    if (upcall->root_ref != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
+        nfs41_root_ref(upcall->root_ref);
+    if (upcall->state_ref != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
+        nfs41_open_state_ref(upcall->state_ref);
 
     if (upcall->opcode >= g_upcall_op_table_size) {
         status = ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED;