diff --git a/libcontainer/container_linux.go b/libcontainer/container_linux.go
index b7c9173e..70284080 100644
--- a/libcontainer/container_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainer/container_linux.go
@@ -1015,9 +1015,14 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) Checkpoint(criuOpts *CriuOpts) error {
 		}
 	}
 
-	fcg := c.cgroupManager.GetPaths()["freezer"]
-	if fcg != "" {
-		rpcOpts.FreezeCgroup = proto.String(fcg)
+	if !cgroups.IsCgroup2UnifiedMode() && c.checkCriuVersion(31400) == nil {
+		// CRIU currently cannot handle the v2 freezer correctly
+		// before release 3.14. For older releases we are telling
+		// CRIU to not use the cgroup v2 freezer. CRIU will pause
+		// each process manually using ptrace().
+		if fcg := c.cgroupManager.GetPaths()["freezer"]; fcg != "" {
+			rpcOpts.FreezeCgroup = proto.String(fcg)
+		}
 	}
 
 	// append optional criu opts, e.g., page-server and port