diff --git a/hw/xfree86/drivers/modesetting/driver.c b/hw/xfree86/drivers/modesetting/driver.c
index 06147fb96..4dfb79861 100644
--- a/hw/xfree86/drivers/modesetting/driver.c
+++ b/hw/xfree86/drivers/modesetting/driver.c
@@ -1959,7 +1959,7 @@ static Bool
 SetMaster(ScrnInfoPtr pScrn)
 {
     modesettingPtr ms = modesettingPTR(pScrn);
-    int ret;
+    int ret, retries = 5;
 
 #ifdef XF86_PDEV_SERVER_FD
     if (ms->pEnt->location.type == BUS_PLATFORM &&
@@ -1970,12 +1970,27 @@ SetMaster(ScrnInfoPtr pScrn)
     if (ms->fd_passed)
         return TRUE;
 
-    ret = drmSetMaster(ms->fd);
-    if (ret)
-        xf86DrvMsg(pScrn->scrnIndex, X_ERROR, "drmSetMaster failed: %s\n",
-                   strerror(errno));
+    /* Retry drmSetMaster a few times to handle race conditions
+     * where the DRM device is not yet fully initialized.
+     * This can happen when Xorg starts immediately after the
+     * kernel driver loads. */
+    do {
+        ret = drmSetMaster(ms->fd);
+        if (ret == 0)
+            return TRUE;
 
-    return ret == 0;
+        if (retries > 0 && (errno == EACCES || errno == EBUSY)) {
+            xf86DrvMsg(pScrn->scrnIndex, X_WARNING,
+                       "drmSetMaster failed: %s, retrying...\n",
+                       strerror(errno));
+            usleep(10000); /* 10ms */
+        }
+    } while (ret && retries-- > 0);
+
+    xf86DrvMsg(pScrn->scrnIndex, X_ERROR, "drmSetMaster failed: %s\n",
+               strerror(errno));
+
+    return FALSE;
 }
 
 /* When the root window is created, initialize the screen contents from