diff --git a/fs/nfsd/nfs4state.c b/fs/nfsd/nfs4state.c
index b4c9ebec6c96..e59aec57e9e8 100644
--- a/fs/nfsd/nfs4state.c
+++ b/fs/nfsd/nfs4state.c
@@ -4665,15 +4665,26 @@ nfsd4_sequence(struct svc_rqst *rqstp, struct nfsd4_compound_state *cstate,
 	 * gently try to allocate another 20%.  This allows
 	 * fairly quick growth without grossly over-shooting what
 	 * the client might use.
+	 *
+	 * Bound that growth by the service's thread ceiling:
+	 * slots beyond the nfsd thread count cannot raise this
+	 * client's throughput, only deepen its backlog.  Cap each
+	 * session independently, since a session cannot use
+	 * another's slots; a shared budget would let idle sessions
+	 * pin an active client small.  Compare against the
+	 * configured maximum, not the running thread count, so a
+	 * client resuming from idle can grow back before the pool
+	 * scales up.
 	 */
 	if (seq->slotid == session->se_fchannel.maxreqs - 1 &&
-	    session->se_target_maxslots >= session->se_fchannel.maxreqs &&
-	    session->se_fchannel.maxreqs < NFSD_MAX_SLOTS_PER_SESSION) {
+	    session->se_target_maxslots >= session->se_fchannel.maxreqs) {
 		int s = session->se_fchannel.maxreqs;
-		int cnt = DIV_ROUND_UP(s, 5);
+		int ceiling = min_t(int, NFSD_MAX_SLOTS_PER_SESSION,
+				    svc_serv_maxthreads(rqstp->rq_server));
+		int cnt = min(DIV_ROUND_UP(s, 5), ceiling - s);
 		void *prev_slot;
 
-		do {
+		while (cnt-- > 0) {
 			/*
 			 * GFP_NOWAIT both allows allocation under a
 			 * spinlock, and only succeeds if there is
@@ -4681,13 +4692,14 @@ nfsd4_sequence(struct svc_rqst *rqstp, struct nfsd4_compound_state *cstate,
 			 */
 			slot = nfsd4_alloc_slot(&session->se_fchannel, s,
 						GFP_NOWAIT);
+			if (!slot)
+				break;
 			prev_slot = xa_load(&session->se_slots, s);
-			if (xa_is_value(prev_slot) && slot) {
+			if (xa_is_value(prev_slot)) {
 				slot->sl_seqid = xa_to_value(prev_slot);
 				slot->sl_flags |= NFSD4_SLOT_REUSED;
 			}
-			if (slot &&
-			    !xa_is_err(xa_store(&session->se_slots, s, slot,
+			if (!xa_is_err(xa_store(&session->se_slots, s, slot,
 						GFP_NOWAIT))) {
 				s += 1;
 				session->se_fchannel.maxreqs = s;
@@ -4696,9 +4708,9 @@ nfsd4_sequence(struct svc_rqst *rqstp, struct nfsd4_compound_state *cstate,
 				session->se_target_maxslots = s;
 			} else {
 				kfree(slot);
-				slot = NULL;
+				break;
 			}
-		} while (slot && --cnt > 0);
+		}
 	}
 
 out: