diff --git a/lib/kunit/kunit-test.c b/lib/kunit/kunit-test.c
index 4f3d36a..03f3eca 100644
--- a/lib/kunit/kunit-test.c
+++ b/lib/kunit/kunit-test.c
@@ -118,14 +118,14 @@ static int fake_resource_init(struct kunit_resource *res, void *context)
 {
 	struct kunit_test_resource_context *ctx = context;
 
-	res->allocation = &ctx->is_resource_initialized;
+	res->data = &ctx->is_resource_initialized;
 	ctx->is_resource_initialized = true;
 	return 0;
 }
 
 static void fake_resource_free(struct kunit_resource *res)
 {
-	bool *is_resource_initialized = res->allocation;
+	bool *is_resource_initialized = res->data;
 
 	*is_resource_initialized = false;
 }
@@ -154,11 +154,21 @@ static void kunit_resource_test_alloc_resource(struct kunit *test)
 	KUNIT_ASSERT_NOT_ERR_OR_NULL(test, res);
 	KUNIT_EXPECT_PTR_EQ(test,
 			    &ctx->is_resource_initialized,
-			    (bool *) res->allocation);
+			    (bool *)res->data);
 	KUNIT_EXPECT_TRUE(test, list_is_last(&res->node, &ctx->test.resources));
 	KUNIT_EXPECT_PTR_EQ(test, free, res->free);
+
+	kunit_put_resource(res);
 }
 
+/*
+ * Note: tests below use kunit_alloc_and_get_resource(), so as a consequence
+ * they have a reference to the associated resource that they must release
+ * via kunit_put_resource().  In normal operation, users will only
+ * have to do this for cases where they use kunit_find_resource(), and the
+ * kunit_alloc_resource() function will be used (which does not take a
+ * resource reference).
+ */
 static void kunit_resource_test_destroy_resource(struct kunit *test)
 {
 	struct kunit_test_resource_context *ctx = test->priv;
@@ -169,11 +179,12 @@ static void kunit_resource_test_destroy_resource(struct kunit *test)
 			GFP_KERNEL,
 			ctx);
 
+	kunit_put_resource(res);
+
 	KUNIT_ASSERT_FALSE(test,
-			   kunit_resource_destroy(&ctx->test,
+			   kunit_destroy_resource(&ctx->test,
 						  kunit_resource_instance_match,
-						  res->free,
-						  res->allocation));
+						  res->data));
 
 	KUNIT_EXPECT_FALSE(test, ctx->is_resource_initialized);
 	KUNIT_EXPECT_TRUE(test, list_empty(&ctx->test.resources));
@@ -191,6 +202,7 @@ static void kunit_resource_test_cleanup_resources(struct kunit *test)
 							    fake_resource_free,
 							    GFP_KERNEL,
 							    ctx);
+		kunit_put_resource(resources[i]);
 	}
 
 	kunit_cleanup(&ctx->test);
@@ -221,14 +233,14 @@ static int fake_resource_2_init(struct kunit_resource *res, void *context)
 
 	KUNIT_RESOURCE_TEST_MARK_ORDER(ctx, allocate_order, 2);
 
-	res->allocation = ctx;
+	res->data = ctx;
 
 	return 0;
 }
 
 static void fake_resource_2_free(struct kunit_resource *res)
 {
-	struct kunit_test_resource_context *ctx = res->allocation;
+	struct kunit_test_resource_context *ctx = res->data;
 
 	KUNIT_RESOURCE_TEST_MARK_ORDER(ctx, free_order, 2);
 }
@@ -236,23 +248,26 @@ static void fake_resource_2_free(struct kunit_resource *res)
 static int fake_resource_1_init(struct kunit_resource *res, void *context)
 {
 	struct kunit_test_resource_context *ctx = context;
+	struct kunit_resource *res2;
 
-	kunit_alloc_and_get_resource(&ctx->test,
-				     fake_resource_2_init,
-				     fake_resource_2_free,
-				     GFP_KERNEL,
-				     ctx);
+	res2 = kunit_alloc_and_get_resource(&ctx->test,
+					    fake_resource_2_init,
+					    fake_resource_2_free,
+					    GFP_KERNEL,
+					    ctx);
 
 	KUNIT_RESOURCE_TEST_MARK_ORDER(ctx, allocate_order, 1);
 
-	res->allocation = ctx;
+	res->data = ctx;
+
+	kunit_put_resource(res2);
 
 	return 0;
 }
 
 static void fake_resource_1_free(struct kunit_resource *res)
 {
-	struct kunit_test_resource_context *ctx = res->allocation;
+	struct kunit_test_resource_context *ctx = res->data;
 
 	KUNIT_RESOURCE_TEST_MARK_ORDER(ctx, free_order, 1);
 }
@@ -265,13 +280,14 @@ static void fake_resource_1_free(struct kunit_resource *res)
 static void kunit_resource_test_proper_free_ordering(struct kunit *test)
 {
 	struct kunit_test_resource_context *ctx = test->priv;
+	struct kunit_resource *res;
 
 	/* fake_resource_1 allocates a fake_resource_2 in its init. */
-	kunit_alloc_and_get_resource(&ctx->test,
-				     fake_resource_1_init,
-				     fake_resource_1_free,
-				     GFP_KERNEL,
-				     ctx);
+	res = kunit_alloc_and_get_resource(&ctx->test,
+					   fake_resource_1_init,
+					   fake_resource_1_free,
+					   GFP_KERNEL,
+					   ctx);
 
 	/*
 	 * Since fake_resource_2_init calls KUNIT_RESOURCE_TEST_MARK_ORDER
@@ -281,6 +297,8 @@ static void kunit_resource_test_proper_free_ordering(struct kunit *test)
 	KUNIT_EXPECT_EQ(test, ctx->allocate_order[0], 2);
 	KUNIT_EXPECT_EQ(test, ctx->allocate_order[1], 1);
 
+	kunit_put_resource(res);
+
 	kunit_cleanup(&ctx->test);
 
 	/*
@@ -292,6 +310,21 @@ static void kunit_resource_test_proper_free_ordering(struct kunit *test)
 	KUNIT_EXPECT_EQ(test, ctx->free_order[1], 2);
 }
 
+static void kunit_resource_test_static(struct kunit *test)
+{
+	struct kunit_test_resource_context ctx;
+	struct kunit_resource res;
+
+	KUNIT_EXPECT_EQ(test, kunit_add_resource(test, NULL, NULL, &res, &ctx),
+			0);
+
+	KUNIT_EXPECT_PTR_EQ(test, res.data, (void *)&ctx);
+
+	kunit_cleanup(test);
+
+	KUNIT_EXPECT_TRUE(test, list_empty(&test->resources));
+}
+
 static int kunit_resource_test_init(struct kunit *test)
 {
 	struct kunit_test_resource_context *ctx =
@@ -320,6 +353,7 @@ static struct kunit_case kunit_resource_test_cases[] = {
 	KUNIT_CASE(kunit_resource_test_destroy_resource),
 	KUNIT_CASE(kunit_resource_test_cleanup_resources),
 	KUNIT_CASE(kunit_resource_test_proper_free_ordering),
+	KUNIT_CASE(kunit_resource_test_static),
 	{}
 };
 
diff --git a/lib/kunit/string-stream.c b/lib/kunit/string-stream.c
index 3503920..141789c 100644
--- a/lib/kunit/string-stream.c
+++ b/lib/kunit/string-stream.c
@@ -33,14 +33,14 @@ static int string_stream_fragment_init(struct kunit_resource *res,
 	if (!frag->fragment)
 		return -ENOMEM;
 
-	res->allocation = frag;
+	res->data = frag;
 
 	return 0;
 }
 
 static void string_stream_fragment_free(struct kunit_resource *res)
 {
-	struct string_stream_fragment *frag = res->allocation;
+	struct string_stream_fragment *frag = res->data;
 
 	list_del(&frag->node);
 	kunit_kfree(frag->test, frag->fragment);
@@ -65,9 +65,8 @@ static struct string_stream_fragment *alloc_string_stream_fragment(
 
 static int string_stream_fragment_destroy(struct string_stream_fragment *frag)
 {
-	return kunit_resource_destroy(frag->test,
+	return kunit_destroy_resource(frag->test,
 				      kunit_resource_instance_match,
-				      string_stream_fragment_free,
 				      frag);
 }
 
@@ -179,7 +178,7 @@ static int string_stream_init(struct kunit_resource *res, void *context)
 	if (!stream)
 		return -ENOMEM;
 
-	res->allocation = stream;
+	res->data = stream;
 	stream->gfp = ctx->gfp;
 	stream->test = ctx->test;
 	INIT_LIST_HEAD(&stream->fragments);
@@ -190,7 +189,7 @@ static int string_stream_init(struct kunit_resource *res, void *context)
 
 static void string_stream_free(struct kunit_resource *res)
 {
-	struct string_stream *stream = res->allocation;
+	struct string_stream *stream = res->data;
 
 	string_stream_clear(stream);
 }
@@ -211,8 +210,7 @@ struct string_stream *alloc_string_stream(struct kunit *test, gfp_t gfp)
 
 int string_stream_destroy(struct string_stream *stream)
 {
-	return kunit_resource_destroy(stream->test,
+	return kunit_destroy_resource(stream->test,
 				      kunit_resource_instance_match,
-				      string_stream_free,
 				      stream);
 }
diff --git a/lib/kunit/test.c b/lib/kunit/test.c
index ccb2ffa..569b7f9 100644
--- a/lib/kunit/test.c
+++ b/lib/kunit/test.c
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 
 #include <kunit/test.h>
 #include <linux/kernel.h>
+#include <linux/kref.h>
 #include <linux/sched/debug.h>
 
 #include "debugfs.h"
@@ -406,11 +407,45 @@ void __kunit_test_suites_exit(struct kunit_suite **suites)
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(__kunit_test_suites_exit);
 
+/*
+ * Used for static resources and when a kunit_resource * has been created by
+ * kunit_alloc_resource().  When an init function is supplied, @data is passed
+ * into the init function; otherwise, we simply set the resource data field to
+ * the data value passed in.
+ */
+int kunit_add_resource(struct kunit *test,
+		       kunit_resource_init_t init,
+		       kunit_resource_free_t free,
+		       struct kunit_resource *res,
+		       void *data)
+{
+	int ret = 0;
+
+	res->free = free;
+	kref_init(&res->refcount);
+
+	if (init) {
+		ret = init(res, data);
+		if (ret)
+			return ret;
+	} else {
+		res->data = data;
+	}
+
+	spin_lock(&test->lock);
+	list_add_tail(&res->node, &test->resources);
+	/* refcount for list is established by kref_init() */
+	spin_unlock(&test->lock);
+
+	return ret;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(kunit_add_resource);
+
 struct kunit_resource *kunit_alloc_and_get_resource(struct kunit *test,
 						    kunit_resource_init_t init,
 						    kunit_resource_free_t free,
 						    gfp_t internal_gfp,
-						    void *context)
+						    void *data)
 {
 	struct kunit_resource *res;
 	int ret;
@@ -419,77 +454,45 @@ struct kunit_resource *kunit_alloc_and_get_resource(struct kunit *test,
 	if (!res)
 		return NULL;
 
-	ret = init(res, context);
-	if (ret)
-		return NULL;
-
-	res->free = free;
-	spin_lock(&test->lock);
-	list_add_tail(&res->node, &test->resources);
-	spin_unlock(&test->lock);
-
-	return res;
+	ret = kunit_add_resource(test, init, free, res, data);
+	if (!ret) {
+		/*
+		 * bump refcount for get; kunit_resource_put() should be called
+		 * when done.
+		 */
+		kunit_get_resource(res);
+		return res;
+	}
+	return NULL;
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(kunit_alloc_and_get_resource);
 
-static void kunit_resource_free(struct kunit *test, struct kunit_resource *res)
+void kunit_remove_resource(struct kunit *test, struct kunit_resource *res)
 {
-	res->free(res);
-	kfree(res);
-}
-
-static struct kunit_resource *kunit_resource_find(struct kunit *test,
-						  kunit_resource_match_t match,
-						  kunit_resource_free_t free,
-						  void *match_data)
-{
-	struct kunit_resource *resource;
-
-	lockdep_assert_held(&test->lock);
-
-	list_for_each_entry_reverse(resource, &test->resources, node) {
-		if (resource->free != free)
-			continue;
-		if (match(test, resource->allocation, match_data))
-			return resource;
-	}
-
-	return NULL;
-}
-
-static struct kunit_resource *kunit_resource_remove(
-		struct kunit *test,
-		kunit_resource_match_t match,
-		kunit_resource_free_t free,
-		void *match_data)
-{
-	struct kunit_resource *resource;
-
 	spin_lock(&test->lock);
-	resource = kunit_resource_find(test, match, free, match_data);
-	if (resource)
-		list_del(&resource->node);
+	list_del(&res->node);
 	spin_unlock(&test->lock);
-
-	return resource;
+	kunit_put_resource(res);
 }
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(kunit_remove_resource);
 
-int kunit_resource_destroy(struct kunit *test,
-			   kunit_resource_match_t match,
-			   kunit_resource_free_t free,
+int kunit_destroy_resource(struct kunit *test, kunit_resource_match_t match,
 			   void *match_data)
 {
-	struct kunit_resource *resource;
+	struct kunit_resource *res = kunit_find_resource(test, match,
+							 match_data);
 
-	resource = kunit_resource_remove(test, match, free, match_data);
-
-	if (!resource)
+	if (!res)
 		return -ENOENT;
 
-	kunit_resource_free(test, resource);
+	kunit_remove_resource(test, res);
+
+	/* We have a reference also via _find(); drop it. */
+	kunit_put_resource(res);
+
 	return 0;
 }
-EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(kunit_resource_destroy);
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(kunit_destroy_resource);
 
 struct kunit_kmalloc_params {
 	size_t size;
@@ -500,8 +503,8 @@ static int kunit_kmalloc_init(struct kunit_resource *res, void *context)
 {
 	struct kunit_kmalloc_params *params = context;
 
-	res->allocation = kmalloc(params->size, params->gfp);
-	if (!res->allocation)
+	res->data = kmalloc(params->size, params->gfp);
+	if (!res->data)
 		return -ENOMEM;
 
 	return 0;
@@ -509,7 +512,7 @@ static int kunit_kmalloc_init(struct kunit_resource *res, void *context)
 
 static void kunit_kmalloc_free(struct kunit_resource *res)
 {
-	kfree(res->allocation);
+	kfree(res->data);
 }
 
 void *kunit_kmalloc(struct kunit *test, size_t size, gfp_t gfp)
@@ -529,20 +532,25 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(kunit_kmalloc);
 
 void kunit_kfree(struct kunit *test, const void *ptr)
 {
-	int rc;
+	struct kunit_resource *res;
 
-	rc = kunit_resource_destroy(test,
-				    kunit_resource_instance_match,
-				    kunit_kmalloc_free,
-				    (void *)ptr);
+	res = kunit_find_resource(test, kunit_resource_instance_match,
+				  (void *)ptr);
 
-	WARN_ON(rc);
+	/*
+	 * Removing the resource from the list of resources drops the
+	 * reference count to 1; the final put will trigger the free.
+	 */
+	kunit_remove_resource(test, res);
+
+	kunit_put_resource(res);
+
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(kunit_kfree);
 
 void kunit_cleanup(struct kunit *test)
 {
-	struct kunit_resource *resource;
+	struct kunit_resource *res;
 
 	/*
 	 * test->resources is a stack - each allocation must be freed in the
@@ -559,13 +567,16 @@ void kunit_cleanup(struct kunit *test)
 			spin_unlock(&test->lock);
 			break;
 		}
-		resource = list_last_entry(&test->resources,
-					   struct kunit_resource,
-					   node);
-		list_del(&resource->node);
+		res = list_last_entry(&test->resources,
+				      struct kunit_resource,
+				      node);
+		/*
+		 * Need to unlock here as a resource may remove another
+		 * resource, and this can't happen if the test->lock
+		 * is held.
+		 */
 		spin_unlock(&test->lock);
-
-		kunit_resource_free(test, resource);
+		kunit_remove_resource(test, res);
 	}
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(kunit_cleanup);