DPRINTK("subdevice busy\n");
                return -EBUSY;
        }
-       s->busy = file;
 
        /* make sure channel/gain list isn't too long */
        if (cmd.chanlist_len > s->len_chanlist) {
                DPRINTK("channel/gain list too long %u > %d\n",
                        cmd.chanlist_len, s->len_chanlist);
-               ret = -EINVAL;
-               goto cleanup;
+               return -EINVAL;
        }
 
        /* make sure channel/gain list isn't too short */
        if (cmd.chanlist_len < 1) {
                DPRINTK("channel/gain list too short %u < 1\n",
                        cmd.chanlist_len);
-               ret = -EINVAL;
-               goto cleanup;
+               return -EINVAL;
        }
 
        async->cmd = cmd;
            kmalloc(async->cmd.chanlist_len * sizeof(int), GFP_KERNEL);
        if (!async->cmd.chanlist) {
                DPRINTK("allocation failed\n");
-               ret = -ENOMEM;
-               goto cleanup;
+               return -ENOMEM;
        }
 
        if (copy_from_user(async->cmd.chanlist, user_chanlist,
 
        comedi_set_subdevice_runflags(s, ~0, SRF_USER | SRF_RUNNING);
 
+       /* set s->busy _after_ setting SRF_RUNNING flag to avoid race with
+        * comedi_read() or comedi_write() */
+       s->busy = file;
        ret = s->do_cmd(dev, s);
        if (ret == 0)
                return 0;
 
                if (!comedi_is_subdevice_running(s)) {
                        if (count == 0) {
+                               mutex_lock(&dev->mutex);
                                if (comedi_is_subdevice_in_error(s))
                                        retval = -EPIPE;
                                else
                                        retval = 0;
                                do_become_nonbusy(dev, s);
+                               mutex_unlock(&dev->mutex);
                        }
                        break;
                }
 
                if (n == 0) {
                        if (!comedi_is_subdevice_running(s)) {
+                               mutex_lock(&dev->mutex);
                                do_become_nonbusy(dev, s);
                                if (comedi_is_subdevice_in_error(s))
                                        retval = -EPIPE;
                                else
                                        retval = 0;
+                               mutex_unlock(&dev->mutex);
                                break;
                        }
                        if (file->f_flags & O_NONBLOCK) {
                buf += n;
                break;          /* makes device work like a pipe */
        }
-       if (comedi_is_subdevice_idle(s) &&
-           async->buf_read_count - async->buf_write_count == 0) {
-               do_become_nonbusy(dev, s);
+       if (comedi_is_subdevice_idle(s)) {
+               mutex_lock(&dev->mutex);
+               if (async->buf_read_count - async->buf_write_count == 0)
+                       do_become_nonbusy(dev, s);
+               mutex_unlock(&dev->mutex);
        }
        set_current_state(TASK_RUNNING);
        remove_wait_queue(&async->wait_head, &wait);