diff --git a/include/linux/llist.h b/include/linux/llist.h
index 85bda2d02d65..d8b1b73f3df0 100644
--- a/include/linux/llist.h
+++ b/include/linux/llist.h
@@ -248,6 +248,8 @@ static inline struct llist_node *__llist_del_all(struct llist_head *head)
 }
 
 extern struct llist_node *llist_del_first(struct llist_head *head);
+extern struct llist_node *llist_del_first_this(struct llist_head *head,
+					       struct llist_node *this);
 
 struct llist_node *llist_reverse_order(struct llist_node *head);
 
diff --git a/include/linux/sunrpc/svc.h b/include/linux/sunrpc/svc.h
index 5216f95411e3..dafa362b4fdd 100644
--- a/include/linux/sunrpc/svc.h
+++ b/include/linux/sunrpc/svc.h
@@ -266,30 +266,6 @@ enum {
 	RQ_DATA,		/* request has data */
 };
 
-/**
- * svc_thread_set_busy - mark a thread as busy
- * @rqstp: the thread which is now busy
- *
- * By convention a thread is busy if rq_idle.next points to rq_idle.
- * This ensures it is not on the idle list.
- */
-static inline void svc_thread_set_busy(struct svc_rqst *rqstp)
-{
-	rqstp->rq_idle.next = &rqstp->rq_idle;
-}
-
-/**
- * svc_thread_busy - check if a thread as busy
- * @rqstp: the thread which might be busy
- *
- * By convention a thread is busy if rq_idle.next points to rq_idle.
- * This ensures it is not on the idle list.
- */
-static inline bool svc_thread_busy(struct svc_rqst *rqstp)
-{
-	return rqstp->rq_idle.next == &rqstp->rq_idle;
-}
-
 #define SVC_NET(rqst) (rqst->rq_xprt ? rqst->rq_xprt->xpt_net : rqst->rq_bc_net)
 
 /*
diff --git a/lib/llist.c b/lib/llist.c
index 6e668fa5a2c6..7e8a13a13586 100644
--- a/lib/llist.c
+++ b/lib/llist.c
@@ -65,6 +65,33 @@ struct llist_node *llist_del_first(struct llist_head *head)
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(llist_del_first);
 
+/**
+ * llist_del_first_this - delete given entry of lock-less list if it is first
+ * @head:	the head for your lock-less list
+ * @this:	a list entry.
+ *
+ * If head of the list is given entry, delete and return it, else
+ * return %NULL.
+ *
+ * Providing the caller has exclusive access to @this, multiple callers can
+ * safely call this concurrently with multiple llist_add() callers.
+ */
+struct llist_node *llist_del_first_this(struct llist_head *head,
+					struct llist_node *this)
+{
+	struct llist_node *entry, *next;
+
+	entry = smp_load_acquire(&head->first);
+	do {
+		if (entry != this)
+			return NULL;
+		next = READ_ONCE(entry->next);
+	} while (!try_cmpxchg(&head->first, &entry, next));
+
+	return entry;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(llist_del_first_this);
+
 /**
  * llist_reverse_order - reverse order of a llist chain
  * @head:	first item of the list to be reversed
diff --git a/net/sunrpc/svc.c b/net/sunrpc/svc.c
index addbf28ea50a..3267d740235e 100644
--- a/net/sunrpc/svc.c
+++ b/net/sunrpc/svc.c
@@ -642,7 +642,6 @@ svc_rqst_alloc(struct svc_serv *serv, struct svc_pool *pool, int node)
 
 	folio_batch_init(&rqstp->rq_fbatch);
 
-	svc_thread_set_busy(rqstp);
 	rqstp->rq_server = serv;
 	rqstp->rq_pool = pool;
 
@@ -704,18 +703,16 @@ void svc_pool_wake_idle_thread(struct svc_pool *pool)
 	struct llist_node *ln;
 
 	rcu_read_lock();
-	spin_lock_bh(&pool->sp_lock);
-	ln = llist_del_first(&pool->sp_idle_threads);
-	spin_unlock_bh(&pool->sp_lock);
+	ln = READ_ONCE(pool->sp_idle_threads.first);
 	if (ln) {
 		rqstp = llist_entry(ln, struct svc_rqst, rq_idle);
-		svc_thread_set_busy(rqstp);
-
 		WRITE_ONCE(rqstp->rq_qtime, ktime_get());
-		wake_up_process(rqstp->rq_task);
+		if (!task_is_running(rqstp->rq_task)) {
+			wake_up_process(rqstp->rq_task);
+			trace_svc_wake_up(rqstp->rq_task->pid);
+			percpu_counter_inc(&pool->sp_threads_woken);
+		}
 		rcu_read_unlock();
-		percpu_counter_inc(&pool->sp_threads_woken);
-		trace_svc_wake_up(rqstp->rq_task->pid);
 		return;
 	}
 	rcu_read_unlock();
diff --git a/net/sunrpc/svc_xprt.c b/net/sunrpc/svc_xprt.c
index 81327001e074..397ca12299a2 100644
--- a/net/sunrpc/svc_xprt.c
+++ b/net/sunrpc/svc_xprt.c
@@ -732,26 +732,21 @@ static void svc_rqst_wait_for_work(struct svc_rqst *rqstp)
 	if (rqst_should_sleep(rqstp)) {
 		set_current_state(TASK_IDLE | TASK_FREEZABLE);
 		llist_add(&rqstp->rq_idle, &pool->sp_idle_threads);
+		/* Maybe there were no idle threads when some work
+		 * became ready and so nothing was woken.  We've just
+		 * become idle so someone can do the work - maybe us.
+		 * So check again for work to do.
+		 */
+		if (likely(rqst_should_sleep(rqstp)))
+			schedule();
 
-		if (unlikely(!rqst_should_sleep(rqstp)))
-			/* maybe there were no idle threads when some work
-			 * became ready and so nothing was woken.  We've just
-			 * become idle so someone can to the work - maybe us.
-			 * But we cannot reliably remove ourselves from the
-			 * idle list - we can only remove the first task which
-			 * might be us, and might not.
-			 * So remove and wake it, then schedule().  If it was
-			 * us, we won't sleep.  If it is some other thread, they
-			 * will do the work.
+		while (llist_del_first_this(&pool->sp_idle_threads,
+					    &rqstp->rq_idle) == NULL) {
+			/* Cannot remove myself, so some other thread
+			 * must have queued themselves after finding
+			 * no work to do, so they have taken responsibility
+			 * for any outstanding work.
 			 */
-			svc_pool_wake_idle_thread(pool);
-
-		/* We mustn't continue while on the idle list, and we
-		 * cannot remove outselves reliably.  The only "work"
-		 * we can do while on the idle list is to freeze.
-		 * So loop until someone removes us
-		 */
-		while (!svc_thread_busy(rqstp)) {
 			schedule();
 			set_current_state(TASK_IDLE | TASK_FREEZABLE);
 		}
@@ -841,6 +836,15 @@ static void svc_handle_xprt(struct svc_rqst *rqstp, struct svc_xprt *xprt)
 	svc_xprt_release(rqstp);
 }
 
+static void wake_next(struct svc_rqst *rqstp)
+{
+	if (!rqst_should_sleep(rqstp))
+		/* More work pending after I dequeued some,
+		 * wake another worker
+		 */
+		svc_pool_wake_idle_thread(rqstp->rq_pool);
+}
+
 /**
  * svc_recv - Receive and process the next request on any transport
  * @rqstp: an idle RPC service thread
@@ -860,13 +864,16 @@ void svc_recv(struct svc_rqst *rqstp)
 
 	clear_bit(SP_TASK_PENDING, &pool->sp_flags);
 
-	if (svc_thread_should_stop(rqstp))
+	if (svc_thread_should_stop(rqstp)) {
+		wake_next(rqstp);
 		return;
+	}
 
 	rqstp->rq_xprt = svc_xprt_dequeue(pool);
 	if (rqstp->rq_xprt) {
 		struct svc_xprt *xprt = rqstp->rq_xprt;
 
+		wake_next(rqstp);
 		/* Normally we will wait up to 5 seconds for any required
 		 * cache information to be provided.  When there are no
 		 * idle threads, we reduce the wait time.
@@ -891,6 +898,7 @@ void svc_recv(struct svc_rqst *rqstp)
 		if (req) {
 			list_del(&req->rq_bc_list);
 			spin_unlock_bh(&serv->sv_cb_lock);
+			wake_next(rqstp);
 
 			svc_process_bc(req, rqstp);
 			return;
