diff --git a/fs/btrfs/extent_io.c b/fs/btrfs/extent_io.c
index c59e073600839e54991bcd478059632a92a402cf..95313bb7fe40d2cdb8f79e76fcfdf696cdc9c83e 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/extent_io.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/extent_io.c
@@ -5086,25 +5086,28 @@ struct extent_buffer *alloc_dummy_extent_buffer(struct btrfs_fs_info *fs_info,
 static void check_buffer_tree_ref(struct extent_buffer *eb)
 {
 	int refs;
-	/* the ref bit is tricky.  We have to make sure it is set
-	 * if we have the buffer dirty.   Otherwise the
-	 * code to free a buffer can end up dropping a dirty
-	 * page
+	/*
+	 * The TREE_REF bit is first set when the extent_buffer is added
+	 * to the radix tree. It is also reset, if unset, when a new reference
+	 * is created by find_extent_buffer.
 	 *
-	 * Once the ref bit is set, it won't go away while the
-	 * buffer is dirty or in writeback, and it also won't
-	 * go away while we have the reference count on the
-	 * eb bumped.
+	 * It is only cleared in two cases: freeing the last non-tree
+	 * reference to the extent_buffer when its STALE bit is set or
+	 * calling releasepage when the tree reference is the only reference.
 	 *
-	 * We can't just set the ref bit without bumping the
-	 * ref on the eb because free_extent_buffer might
-	 * see the ref bit and try to clear it.  If this happens
-	 * free_extent_buffer might end up dropping our original
-	 * ref by mistake and freeing the page before we are able
-	 * to add one more ref.
+	 * In both cases, care is taken to ensure that the extent_buffer's
+	 * pages are not under io. However, releasepage can be concurrently
+	 * called with creating new references, which is prone to race
+	 * conditions between the calls to check_buffer_tree_ref in those
+	 * codepaths and clearing TREE_REF in try_release_extent_buffer.
 	 *
-	 * So bump the ref count first, then set the bit.  If someone
-	 * beat us to it, drop the ref we added.
+	 * The actual lifetime of the extent_buffer in the radix tree is
+	 * adequately protected by the refcount, but the TREE_REF bit and
+	 * its corresponding reference are not. To protect against this
+	 * class of races, we call check_buffer_tree_ref from the codepaths
+	 * which trigger io after they set eb->io_pages. Note that once io is
+	 * initiated, TREE_REF can no longer be cleared, so that is the
+	 * moment at which any such race is best fixed.
 	 */
 	refs = atomic_read(&eb->refs);
 	if (refs >= 2 && test_bit(EXTENT_BUFFER_TREE_REF, &eb->bflags))
@@ -5555,6 +5558,11 @@ int read_extent_buffer_pages(struct extent_buffer *eb, int wait, int mirror_num)
 	clear_bit(EXTENT_BUFFER_READ_ERR, &eb->bflags);
 	eb->read_mirror = 0;
 	atomic_set(&eb->io_pages, num_reads);
+	/*
+	 * It is possible for releasepage to clear the TREE_REF bit before we
+	 * set io_pages. See check_buffer_tree_ref for a more detailed comment.
+	 */
+	check_buffer_tree_ref(eb);
 	for (i = 0; i < num_pages; i++) {
 		page = eb->pages[i];