diff --git a/drivers/dma-buf/dma-fence.c b/drivers/dma-buf/dma-fence.c
index 698260c49f52..4ad863d2a52c 100644
--- a/drivers/dma-buf/dma-fence.c
+++ b/drivers/dma-buf/dma-fence.c
@@ -343,7 +343,6 @@ void __dma_fence_might_wait(void)
 }
 #endif
 
-
 /**
  * dma_fence_signal_timestamp_locked - signal completion of a fence
  * @fence: the fence to signal
@@ -1070,7 +1069,6 @@ static void
 __dma_fence_init(struct dma_fence *fence, const struct dma_fence_ops *ops,
 	         spinlock_t *lock, u64 context, u64 seqno, unsigned long flags)
 {
-	BUG_ON(!lock);
 	BUG_ON(!ops || !ops->get_driver_name || !ops->get_timeline_name);
 
 	kref_init(&fence->refcount);
@@ -1082,10 +1080,15 @@ __dma_fence_init(struct dma_fence *fence, const struct dma_fence_ops *ops,
 	 */
 	RCU_INIT_POINTER(fence->ops, ops);
 	INIT_LIST_HEAD(&fence->cb_list);
-	fence->lock = lock;
 	fence->context = context;
 	fence->seqno = seqno;
 	fence->flags = flags | BIT(DMA_FENCE_FLAG_INITIALIZED_BIT);
+	if (lock) {
+		fence->extern_lock = lock;
+	} else {
+		spin_lock_init(&fence->inline_lock);
+		fence->flags |= BIT(DMA_FENCE_FLAG_INLINE_LOCK_BIT);
+	}
 	fence->error = 0;
 
 	trace_dma_fence_init(fence);
@@ -1095,7 +1098,7 @@ __dma_fence_init(struct dma_fence *fence, const struct dma_fence_ops *ops,
  * dma_fence_init - Initialize a custom fence.
  * @fence: the fence to initialize
  * @ops: the dma_fence_ops for operations on this fence
- * @lock: the irqsafe spinlock to use for locking this fence
+ * @lock: optional irqsafe spinlock to use for locking this fence
  * @context: the execution context this fence is run on
  * @seqno: a linear increasing sequence number for this context
  *
@@ -1105,6 +1108,10 @@ __dma_fence_init(struct dma_fence *fence, const struct dma_fence_ops *ops,
  *
  * context and seqno are used for easy comparison between fences, allowing
  * to check which fence is later by simply using dma_fence_later().
+ *
+ * It is strongly discouraged to provide an external lock because this couples
+ * lock and fence life time. This is only allowed for legacy use cases when
+ * multiple fences need to be prevented from signaling out of order.
  */
 void
 dma_fence_init(struct dma_fence *fence, const struct dma_fence_ops *ops,
@@ -1118,7 +1125,7 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(dma_fence_init);
  * dma_fence_init64 - Initialize a custom fence with 64-bit seqno support.
  * @fence: the fence to initialize
  * @ops: the dma_fence_ops for operations on this fence
- * @lock: the irqsafe spinlock to use for locking this fence
+ * @lock: optional irqsafe spinlock to use for locking this fence
  * @context: the execution context this fence is run on
  * @seqno: a linear increasing sequence number for this context
  *
@@ -1128,6 +1135,10 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(dma_fence_init);
  *
  * Context and seqno are used for easy comparison between fences, allowing
  * to check which fence is later by simply using dma_fence_later().
+ *
+ * It is strongly discouraged to provide an external lock because this couples
+ * lock and fence life time. This is only allowed for legacy use cases when
+ * multiple fences need to be prevented from signaling out of order.
  */
 void
 dma_fence_init64(struct dma_fence *fence, const struct dma_fence_ops *ops,
diff --git a/drivers/dma-buf/sync_debug.h b/drivers/dma-buf/sync_debug.h
index 02af347293d0..c49324505b20 100644
--- a/drivers/dma-buf/sync_debug.h
+++ b/drivers/dma-buf/sync_debug.h
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ struct sync_timeline {
 
 static inline struct sync_timeline *dma_fence_parent(struct dma_fence *fence)
 {
-	return container_of(fence->lock, struct sync_timeline, lock);
+	return container_of(fence->extern_lock, struct sync_timeline, lock);
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
index 960fdc1cc6ba..8d6f721c2c9a 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ static const struct dma_fence_ops drm_crtc_fence_ops;
 static struct drm_crtc *fence_to_crtc(struct dma_fence *fence)
 {
 	BUG_ON(rcu_access_pointer(fence->ops) != &drm_crtc_fence_ops);
-	return container_of(fence->lock, struct drm_crtc, fence_lock);
+	return container_of(fence->extern_lock, struct drm_crtc, fence_lock);
 }
 
 static const char *drm_crtc_fence_get_driver_name(struct dma_fence *fence)
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_writeback.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_writeback.c
index 09362cf4f22f..4da5d6094721 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_writeback.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_writeback.c
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@
  *	From userspace, this property will always read as zero.
  */
 
-#define fence_to_wb_connector(x) container_of(x->lock, \
+#define fence_to_wb_connector(x) container_of(x->extern_lock, \
 					      struct drm_writeback_connector, \
 					      fence_lock)
 
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/nouveau/nouveau_fence.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/nouveau/nouveau_fence.c
index 903d326927ca..edbe9e08ba0f 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/nouveau/nouveau_fence.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/nouveau/nouveau_fence.c
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ static const struct dma_fence_ops nouveau_fence_ops_legacy;
 static inline struct nouveau_fence_chan *
 nouveau_fctx(struct nouveau_fence *fence)
 {
-	return container_of(fence->base.lock, struct nouveau_fence_chan, lock);
+	return container_of(fence->base.extern_lock, struct nouveau_fence_chan,
+			    lock);
 }
 
 static bool
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/qxl/qxl_release.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/qxl/qxl_release.c
index 720d6d57151c..06979d0e8a9f 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/qxl/qxl_release.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/qxl/qxl_release.c
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ static long qxl_fence_wait(struct dma_fence *fence, bool intr,
 	struct qxl_device *qdev;
 	unsigned long cur, end = jiffies + timeout;
 
-	qdev = container_of(fence->lock, struct qxl_device, release_lock);
+	qdev = container_of(fence->extern_lock, struct qxl_device,
+			    release_lock);
 
 	if (!wait_event_timeout(qdev->release_event,
 				(dma_fence_is_signaled(fence) ||
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx/vmwgfx_fence.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx/vmwgfx_fence.c
index 3469e2c9e706..4ef84ff9b638 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx/vmwgfx_fence.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx/vmwgfx_fence.c
@@ -47,7 +47,8 @@ struct vmw_event_fence_action {
 static struct vmw_fence_manager *
 fman_from_fence(struct vmw_fence_obj *fence)
 {
-	return container_of(fence->base.lock, struct vmw_fence_manager, lock);
+	return container_of(fence->base.extern_lock, struct vmw_fence_manager,
+			    lock);
 }
 
 static void vmw_fence_obj_destroy(struct dma_fence *f)
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_hw_fence.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_hw_fence.c
index ae8ed15b64c5..14720623ad00 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_hw_fence.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_hw_fence.c
@@ -124,7 +124,8 @@ static struct xe_hw_fence *to_xe_hw_fence(struct dma_fence *fence);
 
 static struct xe_hw_fence_irq *xe_hw_fence_irq(struct xe_hw_fence *fence)
 {
-	return container_of(fence->dma.lock, struct xe_hw_fence_irq, lock);
+	return container_of(fence->dma.extern_lock, struct xe_hw_fence_irq,
+			    lock);
 }
 
 static const char *xe_hw_fence_get_driver_name(struct dma_fence *dma_fence)
diff --git a/include/linux/dma-fence.h b/include/linux/dma-fence.h
index 85d6eac9fa85..3dc93f068bf6 100644
--- a/include/linux/dma-fence.h
+++ b/include/linux/dma-fence.h
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ struct seq_file;
  * @ops: dma_fence_ops associated with this fence
  * @rcu: used for releasing fence with kfree_rcu
  * @cb_list: list of all callbacks to call
- * @lock: spin_lock_irqsave used for locking
+ * @extern_lock: external spin_lock_irqsave used for locking (deprecated)
+ * @inline_lock: alternative internal spin_lock_irqsave used for locking
  * @context: execution context this fence belongs to, returned by
  *           dma_fence_context_alloc()
  * @seqno: the sequence number of this fence inside the execution context,
@@ -49,6 +50,7 @@ struct seq_file;
  * of the time.
  *
  * DMA_FENCE_FLAG_INITIALIZED_BIT - fence was initialized
+ * DMA_FENCE_FLAG_INLINE_LOCK_BIT - use inline spinlock instead of external one
  * DMA_FENCE_FLAG_SIGNALED_BIT - fence is already signaled
  * DMA_FENCE_FLAG_TIMESTAMP_BIT - timestamp recorded for fence signaling
  * DMA_FENCE_FLAG_ENABLE_SIGNAL_BIT - enable_signaling might have been called
@@ -66,7 +68,10 @@ struct seq_file;
  * been completed, or never called at all.
  */
 struct dma_fence {
-	spinlock_t *lock;
+	union {
+		spinlock_t *extern_lock;
+		spinlock_t inline_lock;
+	};
 	const struct dma_fence_ops __rcu *ops;
 	/*
 	 * We clear the callback list on kref_put so that by the time we
@@ -100,6 +105,7 @@ struct dma_fence {
 
 enum dma_fence_flag_bits {
 	DMA_FENCE_FLAG_INITIALIZED_BIT,
+	DMA_FENCE_FLAG_INLINE_LOCK_BIT,
 	DMA_FENCE_FLAG_SEQNO64_BIT,
 	DMA_FENCE_FLAG_SIGNALED_BIT,
 	DMA_FENCE_FLAG_TIMESTAMP_BIT,
@@ -381,11 +387,12 @@ dma_fence_get_rcu_safe(struct dma_fence __rcu **fencep)
  * dma_fence_spinlock - return pointer to the spinlock protecting the fence
  * @fence: the fence to get the lock from
  *
- * Return the pointer to the extern lock.
+ * Return either the pointer to the embedded or the external spin lock.
  */
 static inline spinlock_t *dma_fence_spinlock(struct dma_fence *fence)
 {
-	return fence->lock;
+	return test_bit(DMA_FENCE_FLAG_INLINE_LOCK_BIT, &fence->flags) ?
+		&fence->inline_lock : fence->extern_lock;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -396,7 +403,7 @@ static inline spinlock_t *dma_fence_spinlock(struct dma_fence *fence)
  * Lock the fence, preventing it from changing to the signaled state.
  */
 #define dma_fence_lock_irqsave(fence, flags)	\
-	spin_lock_irqsave(fence->lock, flags)
+	spin_lock_irqsave(dma_fence_spinlock(fence), flags)
 
 /**
  * dma_fence_unlock_irqrestore - unlock the fence and irqrestore
@@ -406,7 +413,7 @@ static inline spinlock_t *dma_fence_spinlock(struct dma_fence *fence)
  * Unlock the fence, allowing it to change it's state to signaled again.
  */
 #define dma_fence_unlock_irqrestore(fence, flags)	\
-	spin_unlock_irqrestore(fence->lock, flags)
+	spin_unlock_irqrestore(dma_fence_spinlock(fence), flags)
 
 /**
  * dma_fence_assert_held - lockdep assertion that fence is locked