diff --git a/drivers/vhost/vdpa.c b/drivers/vhost/vdpa.c
index e0a27e3362935651067c87f7afc1099d54978924..bfa4c6ef554e58e98b5737690181e9ce228627a5 100644
--- a/drivers/vhost/vdpa.c
+++ b/drivers/vhost/vdpa.c
@@ -745,9 +745,11 @@ static int vhost_vdpa_process_iotlb_msg(struct vhost_dev *dev,
 	const struct vdpa_config_ops *ops = vdpa->config;
 	int r = 0;
 
+	mutex_lock(&dev->mutex);
+
 	r = vhost_dev_check_owner(dev);
 	if (r)
-		return r;
+		goto unlock;
 
 	switch (msg->type) {
 	case VHOST_IOTLB_UPDATE:
@@ -768,6 +770,8 @@ static int vhost_vdpa_process_iotlb_msg(struct vhost_dev *dev,
 		r = -EINVAL;
 		break;
 	}
+unlock:
+	mutex_unlock(&dev->mutex);
 
 	return r;
 }