diff --git a/sys/netsmb/smb_iod.c b/sys/netsmb/smb_iod.c
index 860ff4b291a..29b48e737a8 100644
--- a/sys/netsmb/smb_iod.c
+++ b/sys/netsmb/smb_iod.c
@@ -652,6 +652,8 @@ smb_iod_thread(void *arg)
 {
 	struct smbiod *iod = arg;
 
+	mtx_lock(&Giant);
+
 	/*
 	 * Here we assume that the thread structure will be the same
 	 * for an entire kthread (kproc, to be more precise) life.
@@ -665,6 +667,7 @@ smb_iod_thread(void *arg)
 			break;
 		tsleep(&iod->iod_flags, PWAIT, "90idle", iod->iod_sleeptimo);
 	}
+	mtx_unlock(&Giant);
 	kproc_exit(0);
 }