diff --git a/lib/env_dpdk/env.c b/lib/env_dpdk/env.c
index ceacf3c79..c2801da2e 100644
--- a/lib/env_dpdk/env.c
+++ b/lib/env_dpdk/env.c
@@ -98,19 +98,7 @@ spdk_realloc(void *buf, size_t size, size_t align)
 void
 spdk_free(void *buf)
 {
-	struct spdk_mem_region *region, *tmp;
-
 	rte_free(buf);
-	pthread_mutex_lock(&g_spdk_mem_region_mutex);
-	g_spdk_mem_do_not_notify = true;
-	/* Perform memory unregister previously postponed in memory_hotplug_cb() */
-	TAILQ_FOREACH_SAFE(region, &g_spdk_mem_regions, tailq, tmp) {
-		spdk_mem_unregister(region->addr, region->len);
-		TAILQ_REMOVE(&g_spdk_mem_regions, region, tailq);
-		free(region);
-	}
-	g_spdk_mem_do_not_notify = false;
-	pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_spdk_mem_region_mutex);
 }
 
 void *
diff --git a/lib/env_dpdk/env_internal.h b/lib/env_dpdk/env_internal.h
index 513e9dcd7..670b8cc39 100644
--- a/lib/env_dpdk/env_internal.h
+++ b/lib/env_dpdk/env_internal.h
@@ -50,18 +50,6 @@
 #error RTE_VERSION is too old! Minimum 19.11 is required.
 #endif
 
-extern __thread bool g_spdk_mem_do_not_notify;
-extern struct spdk_mem_region_head g_spdk_mem_regions;
-extern pthread_mutex_t g_spdk_mem_region_mutex;
-
-struct spdk_mem_region {
-	void *addr;
-	size_t len;
-	TAILQ_ENTRY(spdk_mem_region) tailq;
-};
-
-TAILQ_HEAD(spdk_mem_region_head, spdk_mem_region);
-
 /* x86-64 and ARM userspace virtual addresses use only the low 48 bits [0..47],
  * which is enough to cover 256 TB.
  */
diff --git a/lib/env_dpdk/memory.c b/lib/env_dpdk/memory.c
index e5b77ccc5..dd30c79c1 100644
--- a/lib/env_dpdk/memory.c
+++ b/lib/env_dpdk/memory.c
@@ -146,10 +146,7 @@ struct spdk_mem_map {
 static struct spdk_mem_map *g_mem_reg_map;
 static TAILQ_HEAD(spdk_mem_map_head, spdk_mem_map) g_spdk_mem_maps =
 	TAILQ_HEAD_INITIALIZER(g_spdk_mem_maps);
-struct spdk_mem_region_head g_spdk_mem_regions = TAILQ_HEAD_INITIALIZER(g_spdk_mem_regions);
 static pthread_mutex_t g_spdk_mem_map_mutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
-pthread_mutex_t g_spdk_mem_region_mutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
-__thread bool g_spdk_mem_do_not_notify;
 
 static bool g_legacy_mem;
 
@@ -735,19 +732,7 @@ memory_hotplug_cb(enum rte_mem_event event_type,
 			len -= seg->hugepage_sz;
 		}
 	} else if (event_type == RTE_MEM_EVENT_FREE) {
-		/* We need to postpone spdk_mem_unregister() call here to avoid
-		 * double lock of SPDK mutex (g_spdk_mem_map_mutex) and DPDK mutex
-		 * (memory_hotplug_lock) which may happen when one thread is calling
-		 * spdk_free() and another one is calling vhost_session_mem_unregister() */
-		struct spdk_mem_region *region;
-
-		region = calloc(1, sizeof(*region));
-		assert(region != NULL);
-		region->addr = (void *)addr;
-		region->len = len;
-		pthread_mutex_lock(&g_spdk_mem_region_mutex);
-		TAILQ_INSERT_TAIL(&g_spdk_mem_regions, region, tailq);
-		pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_spdk_mem_region_mutex);
+		spdk_mem_unregister((void *)addr, len);
 	}
 }
 
@@ -800,6 +785,126 @@ static TAILQ_HEAD(, spdk_vtophys_pci_device) g_vtophys_pci_devices =
 static struct spdk_mem_map *g_vtophys_map;
 static struct spdk_mem_map *g_phys_ref_map;
 
+#if VFIO_ENABLED
+static int
+vtophys_iommu_map_dma(uint64_t vaddr, uint64_t iova, uint64_t size)
+{
+	struct spdk_vfio_dma_map *dma_map;
+	uint64_t refcount;
+	int ret;
+
+	refcount = spdk_mem_map_translate(g_phys_ref_map, iova, NULL);
+	assert(refcount < UINT64_MAX);
+	if (refcount > 0) {
+		spdk_mem_map_set_translation(g_phys_ref_map, iova, size, refcount + 1);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	dma_map = calloc(1, sizeof(*dma_map));
+	if (dma_map == NULL) {
+		return -ENOMEM;
+	}
+
+	dma_map->map.argsz = sizeof(dma_map->map);
+	dma_map->map.flags = VFIO_DMA_MAP_FLAG_READ | VFIO_DMA_MAP_FLAG_WRITE;
+	dma_map->map.vaddr = vaddr;
+	dma_map->map.iova = iova;
+	dma_map->map.size = size;
+
+	pthread_mutex_lock(&g_vfio.mutex);
+	if (g_vfio.device_ref == 0) {
+		/* VFIO requires at least one device (IOMMU group) to be added to
+		 * a VFIO container before it is possible to perform any IOMMU
+		 * operations on that container. This memory will be mapped once
+		 * the first device (IOMMU group) is hotplugged.
+		 *
+		 * Since the vfio container is managed internally by DPDK, it is
+		 * also possible that some device is already in that container, but
+		 * it's not managed by SPDK -  e.g. an NIC attached internally
+		 * inside DPDK. We could map the memory straight away in such
+		 * scenario, but there's no need to do it. DPDK devices clearly
+		 * don't need our mappings and hence we defer the mapping
+		 * unconditionally until the first SPDK-managed device is
+		 * hotplugged.
+		 */
+		goto out_insert;
+	}
+
+	ret = ioctl(g_vfio.fd, VFIO_IOMMU_MAP_DMA, &dma_map->map);
+	if (ret) {
+		DEBUG_PRINT("Cannot set up DMA mapping, error %d\n", errno);
+		pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_vfio.mutex);
+		free(dma_map);
+		return ret;
+	}
+
+out_insert:
+	TAILQ_INSERT_TAIL(&g_vfio.maps, dma_map, tailq);
+	pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_vfio.mutex);
+	spdk_mem_map_set_translation(g_phys_ref_map, iova, size, refcount + 1);
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int
+vtophys_iommu_unmap_dma(uint64_t iova, uint64_t size)
+{
+	struct spdk_vfio_dma_map *dma_map;
+	uint64_t refcount;
+	int ret;
+	struct vfio_iommu_type1_dma_unmap unmap = {};
+
+	pthread_mutex_lock(&g_vfio.mutex);
+	TAILQ_FOREACH(dma_map, &g_vfio.maps, tailq) {
+		if (dma_map->map.iova == iova) {
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (dma_map == NULL) {
+		DEBUG_PRINT("Cannot clear DMA mapping for IOVA %"PRIx64" - it's not mapped\n", iova);
+		pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_vfio.mutex);
+		return -ENXIO;
+	}
+
+	refcount = spdk_mem_map_translate(g_phys_ref_map, iova, NULL);
+	assert(refcount < UINT64_MAX);
+	if (refcount > 0) {
+		spdk_mem_map_set_translation(g_phys_ref_map, iova, size, refcount - 1);
+	}
+
+	/* We still have outstanding references, don't clear it. */
+	if (refcount > 1) {
+		pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_vfio.mutex);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	/** don't support partial or multiple-page unmap for now */
+	assert(dma_map->map.size == size);
+
+	if (g_vfio.device_ref == 0) {
+		/* Memory is not mapped anymore, just remove it's references */
+		goto out_remove;
+	}
+
+	unmap.argsz = sizeof(unmap);
+	unmap.flags = 0;
+	unmap.iova = dma_map->map.iova;
+	unmap.size = dma_map->map.size;
+	ret = ioctl(g_vfio.fd, VFIO_IOMMU_UNMAP_DMA, &unmap);
+	if (ret) {
+		DEBUG_PRINT("Cannot clear DMA mapping, error %d\n", errno);
+		pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_vfio.mutex);
+		return ret;
+	}
+
+out_remove:
+	TAILQ_REMOVE(&g_vfio.maps, dma_map, tailq);
+	pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_vfio.mutex);
+	free(dma_map);
+	return 0;
+}
+#endif
+
 static uint64_t
 vtophys_get_paddr_memseg(uint64_t vaddr)
 {
@@ -883,14 +988,6 @@ vtophys_notify(void *cb_ctx, struct spdk_mem_map *map,
 {
 	int rc = 0, pci_phys = 0;
 	uint64_t paddr;
-#if VFIO_ENABLED
-	uint32_t num_pages, i;
-	rte_iova_t *iovas = NULL;
-	rte_iova_t iova;
-	struct rte_dev_iterator dev_iter;
-	struct rte_device *dev;
-	const char *devstr = "bus=pci";
-#endif
 
 	if ((uintptr_t)vaddr & ~MASK_256TB) {
 		DEBUG_PRINT("invalid usermode virtual address %p\n", vaddr);
@@ -909,9 +1006,7 @@ vtophys_notify(void *cb_ctx, struct spdk_mem_map *map,
 	switch (action) {
 	case SPDK_MEM_MAP_NOTIFY_REGISTER:
 		if (paddr == SPDK_VTOPHYS_ERROR) {
-			/* This is not an address that DPDK is managing currently.
-			 * Let's register it. */
-
+			/* This is not an address that DPDK is managing. */
 #if VFIO_ENABLED
 			enum rte_iova_mode iova_mode;
 
@@ -920,38 +1015,19 @@ vtophys_notify(void *cb_ctx, struct spdk_mem_map *map,
 			if (spdk_iommu_is_enabled() && iova_mode == RTE_IOVA_VA) {
 				/* We'll use the virtual address as the iova to match DPDK. */
 				paddr = (uint64_t)vaddr;
-
-				num_pages = len / VALUE_2MB;
-				iovas = calloc(num_pages, sizeof(rte_iova_t));
-				if (iovas == NULL) {
-					return -ENOMEM;
+				rc = vtophys_iommu_map_dma((uint64_t)vaddr, paddr, len);
+				if (rc) {
+					return -EFAULT;
 				}
-
-				for (i = 0; i < num_pages; i++) {
-					iovas[i] = paddr;
-					paddr += VALUE_2MB;
-				}
-
-				rc = rte_extmem_register(vaddr, len, iovas, num_pages, VALUE_2MB);
-				if (rc != 0) {
-					goto error;
-				}
-
-				/* For each device, map the memory */
-				RTE_DEV_FOREACH(dev, devstr, &dev_iter) {
-					rte_dev_dma_map(dev, vaddr, (uint64_t)vaddr, len);
-				}
-
-				for (i = 0; i < num_pages; i++) {
-					rc = spdk_mem_map_set_translation(map, (uint64_t)vaddr, VALUE_2MB, iovas[i]);
+				while (len > 0) {
+					rc = spdk_mem_map_set_translation(map, (uint64_t)vaddr, VALUE_2MB, paddr);
 					if (rc != 0) {
-						goto error;
+						return rc;
 					}
-
 					vaddr += VALUE_2MB;
+					paddr += VALUE_2MB;
+					len -= VALUE_2MB;
 				}
-
-				free(iovas);
 			} else
 #endif
 			{
@@ -962,8 +1038,7 @@ vtophys_notify(void *cb_ctx, struct spdk_mem_map *map,
 					paddr = vtophys_get_paddr_pci((uint64_t)vaddr);
 					if (paddr == SPDK_VTOPHYS_ERROR) {
 						DEBUG_PRINT("could not get phys addr for %p\n", vaddr);
-						rc = -EFAULT;
-						goto error;
+						return -EFAULT;
 					}
 					/* The beginning of this address range points to a PCI resource,
 					 * so the rest must point to a PCI resource as well.
@@ -982,39 +1057,29 @@ vtophys_notify(void *cb_ctx, struct spdk_mem_map *map,
 
 					if (paddr == SPDK_VTOPHYS_ERROR) {
 						DEBUG_PRINT("could not get phys addr for %p\n", vaddr);
-						rc = -EFAULT;
-						goto error;
-
+						return -EFAULT;
 					}
 
 					/* Since PCI paddr can break the 2MiB physical alignment skip this check for that. */
 					if (!pci_phys && (paddr & MASK_2MB)) {
 						DEBUG_PRINT("invalid paddr 0x%" PRIx64 " - must be 2MB aligned\n", paddr);
-						rc = -EINVAL;
-						goto error;
-
+						return -EINVAL;
 					}
 #if VFIO_ENABLED
 					/* If the IOMMU is on, but DPDK is using iova-mode=pa, we want to register this memory
 					 * with the IOMMU using the physical address to match. */
 					if (spdk_iommu_is_enabled()) {
-						iova = paddr;
-
-						rc = rte_extmem_register(vaddr, VALUE_2MB, &iova, 1, VALUE_2MB);
-						if (rc != 0) {
-							goto error;
-						}
-
-						/* For each device, map the memory */
-						RTE_DEV_FOREACH(dev, devstr, &dev_iter) {
-							rte_dev_dma_map(dev, vaddr, paddr, len);
+						rc = vtophys_iommu_map_dma((uint64_t)vaddr, paddr, VALUE_2MB);
+						if (rc) {
+							DEBUG_PRINT("Unable to assign vaddr %p to paddr 0x%" PRIx64 "\n", vaddr, paddr);
+							return -EFAULT;
 						}
 					}
 #endif
 
 					rc = spdk_mem_map_set_translation(map, (uint64_t)vaddr, VALUE_2MB, paddr);
 					if (rc != 0) {
-						goto error;
+						return rc;
 					}
 
 					vaddr += VALUE_2MB;
@@ -1043,8 +1108,11 @@ vtophys_notify(void *cb_ctx, struct spdk_mem_map *map,
 		break;
 	case SPDK_MEM_MAP_NOTIFY_UNREGISTER:
 #if VFIO_ENABLED
-		if (g_spdk_mem_do_not_notify == false) {
-			/* If vfio is enabled, we need to unmap the range from the IOMMU */
+		if (paddr == SPDK_VTOPHYS_ERROR) {
+			/*
+			 * This is not an address that DPDK is managing. If vfio is enabled,
+			 * we need to unmap the range from the IOMMU
+			 */
 			if (spdk_iommu_is_enabled()) {
 				uint64_t buffer_len = len;
 				uint8_t *va = vaddr;
@@ -1063,33 +1131,29 @@ vtophys_notify(void *cb_ctx, struct spdk_mem_map *map,
 							    va, len, paddr, buffer_len);
 						return -EINVAL;
 					}
-
-					/* For each device, map the memory */
-					RTE_DEV_FOREACH(dev, devstr, &dev_iter) {
-						rte_dev_dma_unmap(dev, vaddr, (uint64_t)vaddr, len);
-					}
-
-					rc = rte_extmem_unregister(vaddr, len);
-					if (rc != 0) {
-						return rc;
+					rc = vtophys_iommu_unmap_dma(paddr, len);
+					if (rc) {
+						DEBUG_PRINT("Failed to iommu unmap paddr 0x%" PRIx64 "\n", paddr);
+						return -EFAULT;
 					}
 				} else if (iova_mode == RTE_IOVA_PA) {
 					/* Get paddr for each 2MB chunk in this address range */
-					paddr = spdk_mem_map_translate(map, (uint64_t)va, NULL);
+					while (buffer_len > 0) {
+						paddr = spdk_mem_map_translate(map, (uint64_t)va, NULL);
 
-					if (paddr == SPDK_VTOPHYS_ERROR || buffer_len < VALUE_2MB) {
-						DEBUG_PRINT("could not get phys addr for %p\n", va);
-						return -EFAULT;
-					}
+						if (paddr == SPDK_VTOPHYS_ERROR || buffer_len < VALUE_2MB) {
+							DEBUG_PRINT("could not get phys addr for %p\n", va);
+							return -EFAULT;
+						}
 
-					/* For each device, map the memory */
-					RTE_DEV_FOREACH(dev, devstr, &dev_iter) {
-						rte_dev_dma_unmap(dev, vaddr, (uint64_t)vaddr, len);
-					}
+						rc = vtophys_iommu_unmap_dma(paddr, VALUE_2MB);
+						if (rc) {
+							DEBUG_PRINT("Failed to iommu unmap paddr 0x%" PRIx64 "\n", paddr);
+							return -EFAULT;
+						}
 
-					rc = rte_extmem_unregister(vaddr, len);
-					if (rc != 0) {
-						return rc;
+						va += VALUE_2MB;
+						buffer_len -= VALUE_2MB;
 					}
 				}
 			}
@@ -1110,13 +1174,6 @@ vtophys_notify(void *cb_ctx, struct spdk_mem_map *map,
 		SPDK_UNREACHABLE();
 	}
 
-	return rc;
-
-error:
-#if VFIO_ENABLED
-	free(iovas);
-#endif
-
 	return rc;
 }
 
diff --git a/test/env/memory/memory_ut.c b/test/env/memory/memory_ut.c
index f43232f3c..696cc7c1a 100644
--- a/test/env/memory/memory_ut.c
+++ b/test/env/memory/memory_ut.c
@@ -65,13 +65,6 @@ DEFINE_STUB(rte_dev_event_callback_unregister, int, (const char *device_name,
 		rte_dev_event_cb_fn cb_fn, void *cb_arg), 0);
 DEFINE_STUB(rte_dev_event_monitor_start, int, (void), 0);
 DEFINE_STUB(rte_dev_event_monitor_stop, int, (void), 0);
-DEFINE_STUB(rte_extmem_register, int, (void *va_addr, size_t len, rte_iova_t iova_addrs[],
-				       unsigned int n_pages, size_t page_sz), 0);
-DEFINE_STUB(rte_extmem_unregister, int, (void *va_addr, size_t len), 0);
-DEFINE_STUB(rte_dev_dma_map, int, (struct rte_device *dev, void *addr, uint64_t iova,
-				   size_t len), 0);
-DEFINE_STUB(rte_dev_dma_unmap, int, (struct rte_device *dev, void *addr, uint64_t iova,
-				     size_t len), 0);
 
 static int
 test_mem_map_notify(void *cb_ctx, struct spdk_mem_map *map,