[PATCH 12/13] wifi: rtl8xxxu: drop redundant device reference

From: Johan Hovold

Date: Thu Mar 05 2026 - 06:11:39 EST


Driver core holds a reference to the USB interface and its parent USB
device while the interface is bound to a driver and there is no need to
take additional references unless the structures are needed after
disconnect.

Drop the redundant device reference to reduce cargo culting, make it
easier to spot drivers where an extra reference is needed, and reduce
the risk of memory leaks when drivers fail to release it.

Signed-off-by: Johan Hovold <johan@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtl8xxxu/core.c | 11 +++--------
1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtl8xxxu/core.c b/drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtl8xxxu/core.c
index 794187d28caa..f131ca09ae43 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtl8xxxu/core.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtl8xxxu/core.c
@@ -7698,7 +7698,7 @@ static int rtl8xxxu_probe(struct usb_interface *interface,
int ret;
int untested = 1;

- udev = usb_get_dev(interface_to_usbdev(interface));
+ udev = interface_to_usbdev(interface);

switch (id->idVendor) {
case USB_VENDOR_ID_REALTEK:
@@ -7756,10 +7756,8 @@ static int rtl8xxxu_probe(struct usb_interface *interface,
}

hw = ieee80211_alloc_hw(sizeof(struct rtl8xxxu_priv), &rtl8xxxu_ops);
- if (!hw) {
- ret = -ENOMEM;
- goto err_put_dev;
- }
+ if (!hw)
+ return -ENOMEM;

priv = hw->priv;
priv->hw = hw;
@@ -7901,8 +7899,6 @@ static int rtl8xxxu_probe(struct usb_interface *interface,
mutex_destroy(&priv->h2c_mutex);

ieee80211_free_hw(hw);
-err_put_dev:
- usb_put_dev(udev);

return ret;
}
@@ -7935,7 +7931,6 @@ static void rtl8xxxu_disconnect(struct usb_interface *interface)
"Device still attached, trying to reset\n");
usb_reset_device(priv->udev);
}
- usb_put_dev(priv->udev);
ieee80211_free_hw(hw);
}

--
2.52.0