diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/virtio/virtgpu_vq.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/virtio/virtgpu_vq.c
index d99fb9e32..21271966b 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/virtio/virtgpu_vq.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/virtio/virtgpu_vq.c
@@ -208,6 +208,25 @@ static void free_vbuf(struct virtio_gpu_device *vgdev,
 	kmem_cache_free(vgdev->vbufs, vbuf);
 }
 
+/*
+ * Free a vbuf that never made it into the virtqueue.  The caller handed
+ * over the references in vbuf->objs, which would otherwise have been
+ * dropped by the dequeue worker once the host completed the command, so
+ * release them here.  If a fence was passed, the reservations are still
+ * locked and must be unlocked first.
+ */
+static void virtio_gpu_drop_vbuf(struct virtio_gpu_device *vgdev,
+				 struct virtio_gpu_vbuffer *vbuf,
+				 struct virtio_gpu_fence *fence)
+{
+	if (vbuf->objs) {
+		if (fence)
+			virtio_gpu_array_unlock_resv(vbuf->objs);
+		virtio_gpu_array_put_free(vbuf->objs);
+	}
+	free_vbuf(vgdev, vbuf);
+}
+
 void virtio_gpu_reclaim_vbufs(struct virtio_gpu_device *vgdev)
 {
 	struct virtio_gpu_vbuffer *vbuf;
@@ -437,9 +456,7 @@ static int virtio_gpu_queue_ctrl_sgs(struct virtio_gpu_device *vgdev,
 	int ret, idx;
 
 	if (!drm_dev_enter(vgdev->ddev, &idx)) {
-		if (fence && vbuf->objs)
-			virtio_gpu_array_unlock_resv(vbuf->objs);
-		free_vbuf(vgdev, vbuf);
+		virtio_gpu_drop_vbuf(vgdev, vbuf, fence);
 		return -ENODEV;
 	}
 
@@ -459,9 +476,7 @@ static int virtio_gpu_queue_ctrl_sgs(struct virtio_gpu_device *vgdev,
 		 * synchronize_srcu() wait in drm_dev_unplug().
 		 */
 		if (vgdev->vqs_released) {
-			if (fence && vbuf->objs)
-				virtio_gpu_array_unlock_resv(vbuf->objs);
-			free_vbuf(vgdev, vbuf);
+			virtio_gpu_drop_vbuf(vgdev, vbuf, fence);
 			drm_dev_exit(idx);
 			return -ENODEV;
 		}
@@ -542,8 +557,7 @@ static int virtio_gpu_queue_fenced_ctrl_buffer(struct virtio_gpu_device *vgdev,
 			sgt = vmalloc_to_sgt(vbuf->data_buf, vbuf->data_size,
 					     &sg_ents);
 			if (!sgt) {
-				if (fence && vbuf->objs)
-					virtio_gpu_array_unlock_resv(vbuf->objs);
+				virtio_gpu_drop_vbuf(vgdev, vbuf, fence);
 				return -ENOMEM;
 			}