diff --git a/drivers/dma-buf/dma-resv.c b/drivers/dma-buf/dma-resv.c
index e744fd87c63c..84fbe60629e3 100644
--- a/drivers/dma-buf/dma-resv.c
+++ b/drivers/dma-buf/dma-resv.c
@@ -48,6 +48,8 @@
  * write operations) or N shared fences (read operations).  The RCU
  * mechanism is used to protect read access to fences from locked
  * write-side updates.
+ *
+ * See struct dma_resv for more details.
  */
 
 DEFINE_WD_CLASS(reservation_ww_class);
@@ -137,7 +139,11 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(dma_resv_fini);
  * @num_fences: number of fences we want to add
  *
  * Should be called before dma_resv_add_shared_fence().  Must
- * be called with obj->lock held.
+ * be called with @obj locked through dma_resv_lock().
+ *
+ * Note that the preallocated slots need to be re-reserved if @obj is unlocked
+ * at any time before calling dma_resv_add_shared_fence(). This is validated
+ * when CONFIG_DEBUG_MUTEXES is enabled.
  *
  * RETURNS
  * Zero for success, or -errno
@@ -234,8 +240,10 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(dma_resv_reset_shared_max);
  * @obj: the reservation object
  * @fence: the shared fence to add
  *
- * Add a fence to a shared slot, obj->lock must be held, and
+ * Add a fence to a shared slot, @obj must be locked with dma_resv_lock(), and
  * dma_resv_reserve_shared() has been called.
+ *
+ * See also &dma_resv.fence for a discussion of the semantics.
  */
 void dma_resv_add_shared_fence(struct dma_resv *obj, struct dma_fence *fence)
 {
@@ -278,9 +286,11 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(dma_resv_add_shared_fence);
 /**
  * dma_resv_add_excl_fence - Add an exclusive fence.
  * @obj: the reservation object
- * @fence: the shared fence to add
+ * @fence: the exclusive fence to add
  *
- * Add a fence to the exclusive slot.  The obj->lock must be held.
+ * Add a fence to the exclusive slot. @obj must be locked with dma_resv_lock().
+ * Note that this function replaces all fences attached to @obj, see also
+ * &dma_resv.fence_excl for a discussion of the semantics.
  */
 void dma_resv_add_excl_fence(struct dma_resv *obj, struct dma_fence *fence)
 {
@@ -609,9 +619,11 @@ static inline int dma_resv_test_signaled_single(struct dma_fence *passed_fence)
  * fence
  *
  * Callers are not required to hold specific locks, but maybe hold
- * dma_resv_lock() already
+ * dma_resv_lock() already.
+ *
  * RETURNS
- * true if all fences signaled, else false
+ *
+ * True if all fences signaled, else false.
  */
 bool dma_resv_test_signaled(struct dma_resv *obj, bool test_all)
 {
diff --git a/include/linux/dma-buf.h b/include/linux/dma-buf.h
index 2b814fde0d11..8cc0c55877a6 100644
--- a/include/linux/dma-buf.h
+++ b/include/linux/dma-buf.h
@@ -420,6 +420,13 @@ struct dma_buf {
 	 * - Dynamic importers should set fences for any access that they can't
 	 *   disable immediately from their &dma_buf_attach_ops.move_notify
 	 *   callback.
+	 *
+	 * IMPORTANT:
+	 *
+	 * All drivers must obey the struct dma_resv rules, specifically the
+	 * rules for updating fences, see &dma_resv.fence_excl and
+	 * &dma_resv.fence. If these dependency rules are broken access tracking
+	 * can be lost resulting in use after free issues.
 	 */
 	struct dma_resv *resv;
 
diff --git a/include/linux/dma-resv.h b/include/linux/dma-resv.h
index e1ca2080a1ff..9100dd3dc21f 100644
--- a/include/linux/dma-resv.h
+++ b/include/linux/dma-resv.h
@@ -62,16 +62,90 @@ struct dma_resv_list {
 
 /**
  * struct dma_resv - a reservation object manages fences for a buffer
- * @lock: update side lock
- * @seq: sequence count for managing RCU read-side synchronization
- * @fence_excl: the exclusive fence, if there is one currently
- * @fence: list of current shared fences
+ *
+ * There are multiple uses for this, with sometimes slightly different rules in
+ * how the fence slots are used.
+ *
+ * One use is to synchronize cross-driver access to a struct dma_buf, either for
+ * dynamic buffer management or just to handle implicit synchronization between
+ * different users of the buffer in userspace. See &dma_buf.resv for a more
+ * in-depth discussion.
+ *
+ * The other major use is to manage access and locking within a driver in a
+ * buffer based memory manager. struct ttm_buffer_object is the canonical
+ * example here, since this is where reservation objects originated from. But
+ * use in drivers is spreading and some drivers also manage struct
+ * drm_gem_object with the same scheme.
  */
 struct dma_resv {
+	/**
+	 * @lock:
+	 *
+	 * Update side lock. Don't use directly, instead use the wrapper
+	 * functions like dma_resv_lock() and dma_resv_unlock().
+	 *
+	 * Drivers which use the reservation object to manage memory dynamically
+	 * also use this lock to protect buffer object state like placement,
+	 * allocation policies or throughout command submission.
+	 */
 	struct ww_mutex lock;
+
+	/**
+	 * @seq:
+	 *
+	 * Sequence count for managing RCU read-side synchronization, allows
+	 * read-only access to @fence_excl and @fence while ensuring we take a
+	 * consistent snapshot.
+	 */
 	seqcount_ww_mutex_t seq;
 
+	/**
+	 * @fence_excl:
+	 *
+	 * The exclusive fence, if there is one currently.
+	 *
+	 * There are two ways to update this fence:
+	 *
+	 * - First by calling dma_resv_add_excl_fence(), which replaces all
+	 *   fences attached to the reservation object. To guarantee that no
+	 *   fences are lost, this new fence must signal only after all previous
+	 *   fences, both shared and exclusive, have signalled. In some cases it
+	 *   is convenient to achieve that by attaching a struct dma_fence_array
+	 *   with all the new and old fences.
+	 *
+	 * - Alternatively the fence can be set directly, which leaves the
+	 *   shared fences unchanged. To guarantee that no fences are lost, this
+	 *   new fence must signal only after the previous exclusive fence has
+	 *   signalled. Since the shared fences are staying intact, it is not
+	 *   necessary to maintain any ordering against those. If semantically
+	 *   only a new access is added without actually treating the previous
+	 *   one as a dependency the exclusive fences can be strung together
+	 *   using struct dma_fence_chain.
+	 *
+	 * Note that actual semantics of what an exclusive or shared fence mean
+	 * is defined by the user, for reservation objects shared across drivers
+	 * see &dma_buf.resv.
+	 */
 	struct dma_fence __rcu *fence_excl;
+
+	/**
+	 * @fence:
+	 *
+	 * List of current shared fences.
+	 *
+	 * There are no ordering constraints of shared fences against the
+	 * exclusive fence slot. If a waiter needs to wait for all access, it
+	 * has to wait for both sets of fences to signal.
+	 *
+	 * A new fence is added by calling dma_resv_add_shared_fence(). Since
+	 * this often needs to be done past the point of no return in command
+	 * submission it cannot fail, and therefore sufficient slots need to be
+	 * reserved by calling dma_resv_reserve_shared().
+	 *
+	 * Note that actual semantics of what an exclusive or shared fence mean
+	 * is defined by the user, for reservation objects shared across drivers
+	 * see &dma_buf.resv.
+	 */
 	struct dma_resv_list __rcu *fence;
 };
 
@@ -98,6 +172,13 @@ static inline void dma_resv_reset_shared_max(struct dma_resv *obj) {}
  * undefined order, a #ww_acquire_ctx is passed to unwind if a cycle
  * is detected. See ww_mutex_lock() and ww_acquire_init(). A reservation
  * object may be locked by itself by passing NULL as @ctx.
+ *
+ * When a die situation is indicated by returning -EDEADLK all locks held by
+ * @ctx must be unlocked and then dma_resv_lock_slow() called on @obj.
+ *
+ * Unlocked by calling dma_resv_unlock().
+ *
+ * See also dma_resv_lock_interruptible() for the interruptible variant.
  */
 static inline int dma_resv_lock(struct dma_resv *obj,
 				struct ww_acquire_ctx *ctx)
@@ -119,6 +200,12 @@ static inline int dma_resv_lock(struct dma_resv *obj,
  * undefined order, a #ww_acquire_ctx is passed to unwind if a cycle
  * is detected. See ww_mutex_lock() and ww_acquire_init(). A reservation
  * object may be locked by itself by passing NULL as @ctx.
+ *
+ * When a die situation is indicated by returning -EDEADLK all locks held by
+ * @ctx must be unlocked and then dma_resv_lock_slow_interruptible() called on
+ * @obj.
+ *
+ * Unlocked by calling dma_resv_unlock().
  */
 static inline int dma_resv_lock_interruptible(struct dma_resv *obj,
 					      struct ww_acquire_ctx *ctx)
@@ -134,6 +221,8 @@ static inline int dma_resv_lock_interruptible(struct dma_resv *obj,
  * Acquires the reservation object after a die case. This function
  * will sleep until the lock becomes available. See dma_resv_lock() as
  * well.
+ *
+ * See also dma_resv_lock_slow_interruptible() for the interruptible variant.
  */
 static inline void dma_resv_lock_slow(struct dma_resv *obj,
 				      struct ww_acquire_ctx *ctx)
@@ -167,7 +256,7 @@ static inline int dma_resv_lock_slow_interruptible(struct dma_resv *obj,
  * if they overlap with a writer.
  *
  * Also note that since no context is provided, no deadlock protection is
- * possible.
+ * possible, which is also not needed for a trylock.
  *
  * Returns true if the lock was acquired, false otherwise.
  */
@@ -193,6 +282,11 @@ static inline bool dma_resv_is_locked(struct dma_resv *obj)
  *
  * Returns the context used to lock a reservation object or NULL if no context
  * was used or the object is not locked at all.
+ *
+ * WARNING: This interface is pretty horrible, but TTM needs it because it
+ * doesn't pass the struct ww_acquire_ctx around in some very long callchains.
+ * Everyone else just uses it to check whether they're holding a reservation or
+ * not.
  */
 static inline struct ww_acquire_ctx *dma_resv_locking_ctx(struct dma_resv *obj)
 {
