diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_buf_item.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_buf_item.c
index 4ec431777048..e0451f4201cf 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_buf_item.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_buf_item.c
@@ -296,6 +296,10 @@ xfs_buf_item_format(
 	ASSERT(atomic_read(&bip->bli_refcount) > 0);
 	ASSERT((bip->bli_flags & XFS_BLI_LOGGED) ||
 	       (bip->bli_flags & XFS_BLI_STALE));
+	ASSERT((bip->bli_flags & XFS_BLI_STALE) ||
+	       (xfs_blft_from_flags(&bip->__bli_format) > XFS_BLFT_UNKNOWN_BUF
+	        && xfs_blft_from_flags(&bip->__bli_format) < XFS_BLFT_MAX_BUF));
+
 
 	/*
 	 * If it is an inode buffer, transfer the in-memory state to the