diff --git a/mm/page_cache_ext_ds.c b/mm/page_cache_ext_ds.c
index 5e50b8cdf..7ea4d87bd 100644
--- a/mm/page_cache_ext_ds.c
+++ b/mm/page_cache_ext_ds.c
@@ -347,7 +347,14 @@ int cache_ext_list_iterate_extended(struct mem_cgroup *memcg,
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (opts->continue_mode == CACHE_EXT_CONTINUE_ITER && opts->evict_mode == CACHE_EXT_CONTINUE_ITER)
+	/*
+	 * Must mirror the lock-acquisition condition above.  Comparing
+	 * against CACHE_EXT_CONTINUE_ITER (an iterate *return code*) only
+	 * worked because it happens to equal CACHE_EXT_ITERATE_SKIP (0);
+	 * reordering either enum would silently turn this into a
+	 * read_lock/write_unlock mismatch and corrupt the rwlock.
+	 */
+	if (opts->continue_mode == CACHE_EXT_ITERATE_SKIP && opts->evict_mode == CACHE_EXT_ITERATE_SKIP)
 		read_unlock(&registry->lock);
 	else
 		write_unlock(&registry->lock);
@@ -476,10 +483,21 @@ int __bpf_cache_ext_list_sample(struct mem_cgroup *memcg, u64 list,
 		pr_err("cache_ext: list is NULL\n");
 		return -1;
 	}
+	/*
+	 * Hold the registry write_lock across snip + score + putback.
+	 * valid_folios_del() kfrees the cache_ext_list_node wrapper after
+	 * dropping the same registry write_lock, so releasing the lock
+	 * during scoring exposes the per-CPU sample_folios_arr[] to a
+	 * use-after-free: a folio removed from the page cache while its
+	 * node sits in the sample array is freed underneath score_fn()
+	 * (the LIST_POISON check in __putback_list_nodes() detects only
+	 * some of these, and itself reads freed memory).  Serializing the
+	 * whole sample is the simple fix; a perf-preserving alternative
+	 * would refcount the wrapper.
+	 */
 	write_lock(&registry->lock);
 
-	// Optimization: Snip the front of the list and select the pages without
-	// holding the lock.
+	// Phase 1: snip the front of the list.
 	for (int i = 0; i < num_folios_to_sample; i++) {
 		if (list_empty(&list_ptr->head)) {
 			pr_warn("cache_ext: ran out of folios to sample\n");
@@ -497,9 +515,9 @@ int __bpf_cache_ext_list_sample(struct mem_cgroup *memcg, u64 list,
 		list_del_init(&node->node);
 	}
 
-	write_unlock(&registry->lock);
-
-	// 1. For every n elements, evict the one with the min score
+	// Phase 2: score under write_lock.  The score_fn callback is
+	// non-sleepable, so calling it under rwlock_t is safe.
+	// For every n elements, evict the one with the min score.
 	ctx->nr_folios_to_evict = 0;
 	int sample_folios_idx = 0;
 	for (int i = 0; i < ctx->request_nr_folios_to_evict; i++) {
@@ -528,8 +546,8 @@ int __bpf_cache_ext_list_sample(struct mem_cgroup *memcg, u64 list,
 		ctx->nr_folios_to_evict++;
 	}
 
-	// 2. Put everything to the back of the list.
-	write_lock(&registry->lock);
+	// Phase 3: put everything to the back of the list, still under
+	// the write_lock taken before Phase 1.
 	__putback_list_nodes(list_ptr, sample_folios_arr, sample_folios_size);
 	write_unlock(&registry->lock);