diff --git a/include/spdk/nvme.h b/include/spdk/nvme.h
index d67c668b8..3b4d2e4e8 100644
--- a/include/spdk/nvme.h
+++ b/include/spdk/nvme.h
@@ -551,6 +551,25 @@ int spdk_nvme_ctrlr_cmd_get_log_page(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr,
 				     uint64_t offset,
 				     spdk_nvme_cmd_cb cb_fn, void *cb_arg);
 
+/**
+ * \brief Abort a specific previously-submitted NVMe command.
+ *
+ * \param ctrlr NVMe controller to which the command was submitted.
+ * \param qpair NVMe queue pair to which the command was submitted.
+ * \param cid Command ID of the command to abort.
+ * \param cb_fn Callback function to invoke when the abort has completed.
+ * \param cb_arg Argument to pass to the callback function.\
+ *
+ * \return 0 if successfully submitted, negated errno value otherwise.
+ *
+ * \sa spdk_nvme_ctrlr_register_timeout_callback()
+ */
+int spdk_nvme_ctrlr_cmd_abort(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr,
+			      struct spdk_nvme_qpair *qpair,
+			      uint16_t cid,
+			      spdk_nvme_cmd_cb cb_fn,
+			      void *cb_arg);
+
 /**
  * \brief Set specific feature for the given NVMe controller.
  *
diff --git a/lib/nvme/nvme_ctrlr_cmd.c b/lib/nvme/nvme_ctrlr_cmd.c
index 8d3ccb0ee..4f1c0b4dc 100644
--- a/lib/nvme/nvme_ctrlr_cmd.c
+++ b/lib/nvme/nvme_ctrlr_cmd.c
@@ -393,14 +393,18 @@ spdk_nvme_ctrlr_cmd_get_log_page(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr, uint8_t log_page
 }
 
 int
-nvme_ctrlr_cmd_abort(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr, uint16_t cid,
-		     uint16_t sqid, spdk_nvme_cmd_cb cb_fn, void *cb_arg)
+spdk_nvme_ctrlr_cmd_abort(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr, struct spdk_nvme_qpair *qpair,
+			  uint16_t cid, spdk_nvme_cmd_cb cb_fn, void *cb_arg)
 {
+	int rc;
 	struct nvme_request *req;
 	struct spdk_nvme_cmd *cmd;
+	uint16_t sqid = qpair->id;
 
+	nvme_robust_mutex_lock(&ctrlr->ctrlr_lock);
 	req = nvme_allocate_request_null(cb_fn, cb_arg);
 	if (req == NULL) {
+		nvme_robust_mutex_unlock(&ctrlr->ctrlr_lock);
 		return -ENOMEM;
 	}
 
@@ -408,7 +412,9 @@ nvme_ctrlr_cmd_abort(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr, uint16_t cid,
 	cmd->opc = SPDK_NVME_OPC_ABORT;
 	cmd->cdw10 = (cid << 16) | sqid;
 
-	return nvme_ctrlr_submit_admin_request(ctrlr, req);
+	rc = nvme_ctrlr_submit_admin_request(ctrlr, req);
+	nvme_robust_mutex_unlock(&ctrlr->ctrlr_lock);
+	return rc;
 }
 
 int
diff --git a/lib/nvme/nvme_internal.h b/lib/nvme/nvme_internal.h
index 2364cdd1e..648812542 100644
--- a/lib/nvme/nvme_internal.h
+++ b/lib/nvme/nvme_internal.h
@@ -483,8 +483,6 @@ int	nvme_ctrlr_cmd_set_num_queues(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr,
 int	nvme_ctrlr_cmd_set_async_event_config(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr,
 		union spdk_nvme_critical_warning_state state,
 		spdk_nvme_cmd_cb cb_fn, void *cb_arg);
-int	nvme_ctrlr_cmd_abort(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr, uint16_t cid,
-			     uint16_t sqid, spdk_nvme_cmd_cb cb_fn, void *cb_arg);
 int	nvme_ctrlr_cmd_attach_ns(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr, uint32_t nsid,
 				 struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr_list *payload, spdk_nvme_cmd_cb cb_fn, void *cb_arg);
 int	nvme_ctrlr_cmd_detach_ns(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr, uint32_t nsid,
diff --git a/test/lib/nvme/unit/nvme_ctrlr_cmd_c/nvme_ctrlr_cmd_ut.c b/test/lib/nvme/unit/nvme_ctrlr_cmd_c/nvme_ctrlr_cmd_ut.c
index cf7657878..59d848797 100644
--- a/test/lib/nvme/unit/nvme_ctrlr_cmd_c/nvme_ctrlr_cmd_ut.c
+++ b/test/lib/nvme/unit/nvme_ctrlr_cmd_c/nvme_ctrlr_cmd_ut.c
@@ -459,10 +459,12 @@ static void
 test_abort_cmd(void)
 {
 	struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr	ctrlr = {};
+	struct spdk_nvme_qpair	qpair = {};
 
 	verify_fn = verify_abort_cmd;
 
-	nvme_ctrlr_cmd_abort(&ctrlr, abort_cid, abort_sqid, NULL, NULL);
+	qpair.id = abort_sqid;
+	spdk_nvme_ctrlr_cmd_abort(&ctrlr, &qpair, abort_cid, NULL, NULL);
 }
 
 static void