diff --git a/drivers/overlay/overlay.go b/drivers/overlay/overlay.go
index c911acb5c3..fc3f9d7e0e 100644
--- a/drivers/overlay/overlay.go
+++ b/drivers/overlay/overlay.go
@@ -942,6 +942,11 @@ func (d *Driver) create(id, parent string, opts *graphdriver.CreateOpts, disable
 		rootUID = int(st.UID())
 		rootGID = int(st.GID())
 	}
+
+	// --- Only access "dir" below.
+	d.locker.Lock(id)
+	defer d.locker.Unlock(id)
+
 	if err := idtools.MkdirAllAndChownNew(dir, 0700, idPair); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}