diff --git a/lib/lockref.c b/lib/lockref.c
index 3d468b5..5b34bbd 100644
--- a/lib/lockref.c
+++ b/lib/lockref.c
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
  * failure case.
  */
 #define CMPXCHG_LOOP(CODE, SUCCESS) do {					\
+	int retry = 100;							\
 	struct lockref old;							\
 	BUILD_BUG_ON(sizeof(old) != 8);						\
 	old.lock_count = READ_ONCE(lockref->lock_count);			\
@@ -21,6 +22,8 @@
 		if (likely(old.lock_count == prev.lock_count)) {		\
 			SUCCESS;						\
 		}								\
+		if (!--retry)							\
+			break;							\
 		cpu_relax();							\
 	}									\
 } while (0)