diff --git a/actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/http/cache.rb b/actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/http/cache.rb
index e9fdf75cc8..047fab006e 100644
--- a/actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/http/cache.rb
+++ b/actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/http/cache.rb
@@ -113,10 +113,10 @@ module ActionDispatch
         DEFAULT_CACHE_CONTROL = "max-age=0, private, must-revalidate"
 
         def set_conditional_cache_control!
-          control = @cache_control
-
           return if self["Cache-Control"].present?
 
+          control = @cache_control
+
           if control.empty?
             headers["Cache-Control"] = DEFAULT_CACHE_CONTROL
           elsif @cache_control[:no_cache]