diff --git a/fs/verity/enable.c b/fs/verity/enable.c
index 1f3858d88cf3..1645d6326e32 100644
--- a/fs/verity/enable.c
+++ b/fs/verity/enable.c
@@ -165,9 +165,11 @@ static int build_merkle_tree(struct file *filp,
 		return 0;
 	}
 
+	/* This allocation never fails, since it's mempool-backed. */
+	req = fsverity_alloc_hash_request(params->hash_alg, GFP_KERNEL);
+
 	pending_hashes = kmalloc(params->block_size, GFP_KERNEL);
-	req = ahash_request_alloc(params->hash_alg->tfm, GFP_KERNEL);
-	if (!pending_hashes || !req)
+	if (!pending_hashes)
 		goto out;
 
 	/*
@@ -189,7 +191,7 @@ static int build_merkle_tree(struct file *filp,
 	err = 0;
 out:
 	kfree(pending_hashes);
-	ahash_request_free(req);
+	fsverity_free_hash_request(params->hash_alg, req);
 	return err;
 }
 
diff --git a/fs/verity/fsverity_private.h b/fs/verity/fsverity_private.h
index ab9cfdd8f965..74768cf539da 100644
--- a/fs/verity/fsverity_private.h
+++ b/fs/verity/fsverity_private.h
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 #include <crypto/sha.h>
 #include <linux/fsverity.h>
+#include <linux/mempool.h>
 
 struct ahash_request;
 
@@ -37,11 +38,12 @@ struct fsverity_hash_alg {
 	const char *name;	  /* crypto API name, e.g. sha256 */
 	unsigned int digest_size; /* digest size in bytes, e.g. 32 for SHA-256 */
 	unsigned int block_size;  /* block size in bytes, e.g. 64 for SHA-256 */
+	mempool_t req_pool;	  /* mempool with a preallocated hash request */
 };
 
 /* Merkle tree parameters: hash algorithm, initial hash state, and topology */
 struct merkle_tree_params {
-	const struct fsverity_hash_alg *hash_alg; /* the hash algorithm */
+	struct fsverity_hash_alg *hash_alg; /* the hash algorithm */
 	const u8 *hashstate;		/* initial hash state or NULL */
 	unsigned int digest_size;	/* same as hash_alg->digest_size */
 	unsigned int block_size;	/* size of data and tree blocks */
@@ -115,14 +117,18 @@ struct fsverity_signed_digest {
 
 extern struct fsverity_hash_alg fsverity_hash_algs[];
 
-const struct fsverity_hash_alg *fsverity_get_hash_alg(const struct inode *inode,
-						      unsigned int num);
-const u8 *fsverity_prepare_hash_state(const struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
+struct fsverity_hash_alg *fsverity_get_hash_alg(const struct inode *inode,
+						unsigned int num);
+struct ahash_request *fsverity_alloc_hash_request(struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
+						  gfp_t gfp_flags);
+void fsverity_free_hash_request(struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
+				struct ahash_request *req);
+const u8 *fsverity_prepare_hash_state(struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
 				      const u8 *salt, size_t salt_size);
 int fsverity_hash_page(const struct merkle_tree_params *params,
 		       const struct inode *inode,
 		       struct ahash_request *req, struct page *page, u8 *out);
-int fsverity_hash_buffer(const struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
+int fsverity_hash_buffer(struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
 			 const void *data, size_t size, u8 *out);
 void __init fsverity_check_hash_algs(void);
 
diff --git a/fs/verity/hash_algs.c b/fs/verity/hash_algs.c
index 31e6d7d2389a..c37e186ebeb6 100644
--- a/fs/verity/hash_algs.c
+++ b/fs/verity/hash_algs.c
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ struct fsverity_hash_alg fsverity_hash_algs[] = {
 	},
 };
 
+static DEFINE_MUTEX(fsverity_hash_alg_init_mutex);
+
 /**
  * fsverity_get_hash_alg() - validate and prepare a hash algorithm
  * @inode: optional inode for logging purposes
@@ -36,8 +38,8 @@ struct fsverity_hash_alg fsverity_hash_algs[] = {
  *
  * Return: pointer to the hash alg on success, else an ERR_PTR()
  */
-const struct fsverity_hash_alg *fsverity_get_hash_alg(const struct inode *inode,
-						      unsigned int num)
+struct fsverity_hash_alg *fsverity_get_hash_alg(const struct inode *inode,
+						unsigned int num)
 {
 	struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg;
 	struct crypto_ahash *tfm;
@@ -50,10 +52,15 @@ const struct fsverity_hash_alg *fsverity_get_hash_alg(const struct inode *inode,
 	}
 	alg = &fsverity_hash_algs[num];
 
-	/* pairs with cmpxchg() below */
-	tfm = READ_ONCE(alg->tfm);
-	if (likely(tfm != NULL))
+	/* pairs with smp_store_release() below */
+	if (likely(smp_load_acquire(&alg->tfm) != NULL))
 		return alg;
+
+	mutex_lock(&fsverity_hash_alg_init_mutex);
+
+	if (alg->tfm != NULL)
+		goto out_unlock;
+
 	/*
 	 * Using the shash API would make things a bit simpler, but the ahash
 	 * API is preferable as it allows the use of crypto accelerators.
@@ -64,12 +71,14 @@ const struct fsverity_hash_alg *fsverity_get_hash_alg(const struct inode *inode,
 			fsverity_warn(inode,
 				      "Missing crypto API support for hash algorithm \"%s\"",
 				      alg->name);
-			return ERR_PTR(-ENOPKG);
+			alg = ERR_PTR(-ENOPKG);
+			goto out_unlock;
 		}
 		fsverity_err(inode,
 			     "Error allocating hash algorithm \"%s\": %ld",
 			     alg->name, PTR_ERR(tfm));
-		return ERR_CAST(tfm);
+		alg = ERR_CAST(tfm);
+		goto out_unlock;
 	}
 
 	err = -EINVAL;
@@ -78,18 +87,61 @@ const struct fsverity_hash_alg *fsverity_get_hash_alg(const struct inode *inode,
 	if (WARN_ON(alg->block_size != crypto_ahash_blocksize(tfm)))
 		goto err_free_tfm;
 
+	err = mempool_init_kmalloc_pool(&alg->req_pool, 1,
+					sizeof(struct ahash_request) +
+					crypto_ahash_reqsize(tfm));
+	if (err)
+		goto err_free_tfm;
+
 	pr_info("%s using implementation \"%s\"\n",
 		alg->name, crypto_ahash_driver_name(tfm));
 
-	/* pairs with READ_ONCE() above */
-	if (cmpxchg(&alg->tfm, NULL, tfm) != NULL)
-		crypto_free_ahash(tfm);
-
-	return alg;
+	/* pairs with smp_load_acquire() above */
+	smp_store_release(&alg->tfm, tfm);
+	goto out_unlock;
 
 err_free_tfm:
 	crypto_free_ahash(tfm);
-	return ERR_PTR(err);
+	alg = ERR_PTR(err);
+out_unlock:
+	mutex_unlock(&fsverity_hash_alg_init_mutex);
+	return alg;
+}
+
+/**
+ * fsverity_alloc_hash_request() - allocate a hash request object
+ * @alg: the hash algorithm for which to allocate the request
+ * @gfp_flags: memory allocation flags
+ *
+ * This is mempool-backed, so this never fails if __GFP_DIRECT_RECLAIM is set in
+ * @gfp_flags.  However, in that case this might need to wait for all
+ * previously-allocated requests to be freed.  So to avoid deadlocks, callers
+ * must never need multiple requests at a time to make forward progress.
+ *
+ * Return: the request object on success; NULL on failure (but see above)
+ */
+struct ahash_request *fsverity_alloc_hash_request(struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
+						  gfp_t gfp_flags)
+{
+	struct ahash_request *req = mempool_alloc(&alg->req_pool, gfp_flags);
+
+	if (req)
+		ahash_request_set_tfm(req, alg->tfm);
+	return req;
+}
+
+/**
+ * fsverity_free_hash_request() - free a hash request object
+ * @alg: the hash algorithm
+ * @req: the hash request object to free
+ */
+void fsverity_free_hash_request(struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
+				struct ahash_request *req)
+{
+	if (req) {
+		ahash_request_zero(req);
+		mempool_free(req, &alg->req_pool);
+	}
 }
 
 /**
@@ -101,7 +153,7 @@ const struct fsverity_hash_alg *fsverity_get_hash_alg(const struct inode *inode,
  * Return: NULL if the salt is empty, otherwise the kmalloc()'ed precomputed
  *	   initial hash state on success or an ERR_PTR() on failure.
  */
-const u8 *fsverity_prepare_hash_state(const struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
+const u8 *fsverity_prepare_hash_state(struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
 				      const u8 *salt, size_t salt_size)
 {
 	u8 *hashstate = NULL;
@@ -119,11 +171,8 @@ const u8 *fsverity_prepare_hash_state(const struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
 	if (!hashstate)
 		return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
 
-	req = ahash_request_alloc(alg->tfm, GFP_KERNEL);
-	if (!req) {
-		err = -ENOMEM;
-		goto err_free;
-	}
+	/* This allocation never fails, since it's mempool-backed. */
+	req = fsverity_alloc_hash_request(alg, GFP_KERNEL);
 
 	/*
 	 * Zero-pad the salt to the next multiple of the input size of the hash
@@ -158,7 +207,7 @@ const u8 *fsverity_prepare_hash_state(const struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
 	if (err)
 		goto err_free;
 out:
-	ahash_request_free(req);
+	fsverity_free_hash_request(alg, req);
 	kfree(padded_salt);
 	return hashstate;
 
@@ -229,7 +278,7 @@ int fsverity_hash_page(const struct merkle_tree_params *params,
  *
  * Return: 0 on success, -errno on failure
  */
-int fsverity_hash_buffer(const struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
+int fsverity_hash_buffer(struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
 			 const void *data, size_t size, u8 *out)
 {
 	struct ahash_request *req;
@@ -237,9 +286,8 @@ int fsverity_hash_buffer(const struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
 	DECLARE_CRYPTO_WAIT(wait);
 	int err;
 
-	req = ahash_request_alloc(alg->tfm, GFP_KERNEL);
-	if (!req)
-		return -ENOMEM;
+	/* This allocation never fails, since it's mempool-backed. */
+	req = fsverity_alloc_hash_request(alg, GFP_KERNEL);
 
 	sg_init_one(&sg, data, size);
 	ahash_request_set_callback(req, CRYPTO_TFM_REQ_MAY_SLEEP |
@@ -249,7 +297,7 @@ int fsverity_hash_buffer(const struct fsverity_hash_alg *alg,
 
 	err = crypto_wait_req(crypto_ahash_digest(req), &wait);
 
-	ahash_request_free(req);
+	fsverity_free_hash_request(alg, req);
 	return err;
 }
 
diff --git a/fs/verity/open.c b/fs/verity/open.c
index e9cdf7d00ed2..c5fe6948e262 100644
--- a/fs/verity/open.c
+++ b/fs/verity/open.c
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ int fsverity_init_merkle_tree_params(struct merkle_tree_params *params,
 				     unsigned int log_blocksize,
 				     const u8 *salt, size_t salt_size)
 {
-	const struct fsverity_hash_alg *hash_alg;
+	struct fsverity_hash_alg *hash_alg;
 	int err;
 	u64 blocks;
 	u64 offset;
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ int fsverity_init_merkle_tree_params(struct merkle_tree_params *params,
  * Compute the file measurement by hashing the fsverity_descriptor excluding the
  * signature and with the sig_size field set to 0.
  */
-static int compute_file_measurement(const struct fsverity_hash_alg *hash_alg,
+static int compute_file_measurement(struct fsverity_hash_alg *hash_alg,
 				    struct fsverity_descriptor *desc,
 				    u8 *measurement)
 {
diff --git a/fs/verity/verify.c b/fs/verity/verify.c
index 7fa561c343c2..e0cb62da3864 100644
--- a/fs/verity/verify.c
+++ b/fs/verity/verify.c
@@ -192,13 +192,12 @@ bool fsverity_verify_page(struct page *page)
 	struct ahash_request *req;
 	bool valid;
 
-	req = ahash_request_alloc(vi->tree_params.hash_alg->tfm, GFP_NOFS);
-	if (unlikely(!req))
-		return false;
+	/* This allocation never fails, since it's mempool-backed. */
+	req = fsverity_alloc_hash_request(vi->tree_params.hash_alg, GFP_NOFS);
 
 	valid = verify_page(inode, vi, req, page, 0);
 
-	ahash_request_free(req);
+	fsverity_free_hash_request(vi->tree_params.hash_alg, req);
 
 	return valid;
 }
@@ -229,12 +228,8 @@ void fsverity_verify_bio(struct bio *bio)
 	struct bvec_iter_all iter_all;
 	unsigned long max_ra_pages = 0;
 
-	req = ahash_request_alloc(params->hash_alg->tfm, GFP_NOFS);
-	if (unlikely(!req)) {
-		bio_for_each_segment_all(bv, bio, iter_all)
-			SetPageError(bv->bv_page);
-		return;
-	}
+	/* This allocation never fails, since it's mempool-backed. */
+	req = fsverity_alloc_hash_request(params->hash_alg, GFP_NOFS);
 
 	if (bio->bi_opf & REQ_RAHEAD) {
 		/*
@@ -262,7 +257,7 @@ void fsverity_verify_bio(struct bio *bio)
 			SetPageError(page);
 	}
 
-	ahash_request_free(req);
+	fsverity_free_hash_request(params->hash_alg, req);
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(fsverity_verify_bio);
 #endif /* CONFIG_BLOCK */
