Hi, I am looking at this code in input_register_device(): error = mutex_lock_interruptible(&input_mutex); if (error) goto err_device_del; The problem is not the scope of the locking, but how the lock is taken. AFAICT this code will be called in the context of an ordinary task when you set a configuration through usbfs. usb_set_configuration() has to probe all interfaces of a device under its new configuration and does not handle -EINTR, which input_register_device() will return when a signal interrupts taking the mutex. Hence there is a window for a race during which a mistimed harmless signal will cause a failure of probe() Now, as this is fairly core code I'd rather ask what you think before I make the simple fix of taking the mutex with uninterruptible sleep. What is to be done? Regards Oliver