diff --git a/drivers/base/firmware_class.c b/drivers/base/firmware_class.c
index fc119ce..7d3a83b 100644
--- a/drivers/base/firmware_class.c
+++ b/drivers/base/firmware_class.c
@@ -742,6 +742,8 @@
  *      @name will be used as $FIRMWARE in the uevent environment and
  *      should be distinctive enough not to be confused with any other
  *      firmware image for this or any other device.
+ *
+ *	Caller must hold the reference count of @device.
  **/
 int
 request_firmware(const struct firmware **firmware_p, const char *name,
@@ -823,6 +825,7 @@
 
  out:
 	fw_work->cont(fw, fw_work->context);
+	put_device(fw_work->device);
 
 	module_put(fw_work->module);
 	kfree(fw_work);
@@ -841,6 +844,8 @@
  * @cont: function will be called asynchronously when the firmware
  *	request is over.
  *
+ *	Caller must hold the reference count of @device.
+ *
  *	Asynchronous variant of request_firmware() for user contexts where
  *	it is not possible to sleep for long time. It can't be called
  *	in atomic contexts.
@@ -869,6 +874,7 @@
 		return -EFAULT;
 	}
 
+	get_device(fw_work->device);
 	INIT_WORK(&fw_work->work, request_firmware_work_func);
 	schedule_work(&fw_work->work);
 	return 0;