[PATCH v2 04/18] wifi: ath10k: drop redundant device reference

From: Johan Hovold

Date: Fri Mar 06 2026 - 04:00:29 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/ath/ath10k/usb.c | 4 ----
1 file changed, 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath10k/usb.c b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath10k/usb.c
index 6661fff326e0..ad1cf0681b19 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath10k/usb.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath10k/usb.c
@@ -1016,7 +1016,6 @@ static int ath10k_usb_probe(struct usb_interface *interface,

netif_napi_add(ar->napi_dev, &ar->napi, ath10k_usb_napi_poll);

- usb_get_dev(dev);
vendor_id = le16_to_cpu(dev->descriptor.idVendor);
product_id = le16_to_cpu(dev->descriptor.idProduct);

@@ -1055,8 +1054,6 @@ static int ath10k_usb_probe(struct usb_interface *interface,
err:
ath10k_core_destroy(ar);

- usb_put_dev(dev);
-
return ret;
}

@@ -1071,7 +1068,6 @@ static void ath10k_usb_remove(struct usb_interface *interface)
ath10k_core_unregister(ar_usb->ar);
netif_napi_del(&ar_usb->ar->napi);
ath10k_usb_destroy(ar_usb->ar);
- usb_put_dev(interface_to_usbdev(interface));
ath10k_core_destroy(ar_usb->ar);
}

--
2.52.0