diff --git a/drivers/base/cpu.c b/drivers/base/cpu.c
index db87e78d745940a3ba19332799930057edfd0615..23f2c4cd48d1d7a93f8e183b0f3652faa3dedb0b 100644
--- a/drivers/base/cpu.c
+++ b/drivers/base/cpu.c
@@ -208,6 +208,25 @@ static ssize_t print_cpus_offline(struct device *dev,
 }
 static DEVICE_ATTR(offline, 0444, print_cpus_offline, NULL);
 
+static void cpu_device_release(struct device *dev)
+{
+	/*
+	 * This is an empty function to prevent the driver core from spitting a
+	 * warning at us.  Yes, I know this is directly opposite of what the
+	 * documentation for the driver core and kobjects say, and the author
+	 * of this code has already been publically ridiculed for doing
+	 * something as foolish as this.  However, at this point in time, it is
+	 * the only way to handle the issue of statically allocated cpu
+	 * devices.  The different architectures will have their cpu device
+	 * code reworked to properly handle this in the near future, so this
+	 * function will then be changed to correctly free up the memory held
+	 * by the cpu device.
+	 *
+	 * Never copy this way of doing things, or you too will be made fun of
+	 * on the linux-kerenl list, you have been warned.
+	 */
+}
+
 /*
  * register_cpu - Setup a sysfs device for a CPU.
  * @cpu - cpu->hotpluggable field set to 1 will generate a control file in
@@ -223,6 +242,7 @@ int __cpuinit register_cpu(struct cpu *cpu, int num)
 	cpu->node_id = cpu_to_node(num);
 	cpu->dev.id = num;
 	cpu->dev.bus = &cpu_subsys;
+	cpu->dev.release = cpu_device_release;
 	error = device_register(&cpu->dev);
 	if (!error && cpu->hotpluggable)
 		register_cpu_control(cpu);