diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio_net.c b/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
index 743fb04a4df9..23e4a69d92de 100644
--- a/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
+++ b/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
@@ -132,9 +132,6 @@ struct virtnet_info {
 	/* Work struct for config space updates */
 	struct work_struct config_work;
 
-	/* Lock for config space updates */
-	struct mutex config_lock;
-
 	/* Does the affinity hint is set for virtqueues? */
 	bool affinity_hint_set;
 
@@ -1404,7 +1401,6 @@ static void virtnet_config_changed_work(struct work_struct *work)
 		container_of(work, struct virtnet_info, config_work);
 	u16 v;
 
-	mutex_lock(&vi->config_lock);
 	if (virtio_cread_feature(vi->vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_STATUS,
 				 struct virtio_net_config, status, &v) < 0)
 		goto done;
@@ -1430,7 +1426,7 @@ static void virtnet_config_changed_work(struct work_struct *work)
 		netif_tx_stop_all_queues(vi->dev);
 	}
 done:
-	mutex_unlock(&vi->config_lock);
+	return;
 }
 
 static void virtnet_config_changed(struct virtio_device *vdev)
@@ -1751,7 +1747,6 @@ static int virtnet_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev)
 		u64_stats_init(&virtnet_stats->rx_syncp);
 	}
 
-	mutex_init(&vi->config_lock);
 	INIT_WORK(&vi->config_work, virtnet_config_changed_work);
 
 	/* If we can receive ANY GSO packets, we must allocate large ones. */