diff --git a/src/controller/CHIPDeviceController.cpp b/src/controller/CHIPDeviceController.cpp
index 8bcba1f5c06564..88bef7820efd71 100644
--- a/src/controller/CHIPDeviceController.cpp
+++ b/src/controller/CHIPDeviceController.cpp
@@ -489,6 +489,17 @@ void DeviceCommissioner::Shutdown()
     }
 #endif // CHIP_DEVICE_CONFIG_ENABLE_COMMISSIONER_DISCOVERY
 
+    // If we have a commissionee device for the device being commissioned,
+    // release it now, before we release our whole commissionee pool.
+    if (mDeviceBeingCommissioned != nullptr)
+    {
+        auto * commissionee = FindCommissioneeDevice(mDeviceBeingCommissioned->GetDeviceId());
+        if (commissionee)
+        {
+            ReleaseCommissioneeDevice(commissionee);
+        }
+    }
+
     // Release everything from the commissionee device pool here. DeviceController::Shutdown releases operational.
     mCommissioneeDevicePool.ReleaseAll();
 
@@ -1561,6 +1572,15 @@ void DeviceCommissioner::CommissioningStageComplete(CHIP_ERROR err, Commissionin
 {
     // Once this stage is complete, reset mDeviceBeingCommissioned - this will be reset when the delegate calls the next step.
     MATTER_TRACE_EVENT_SCOPE("CommissioningStageComplete", "DeviceCommissioner");
+
+    if (mDeviceBeingCommissioned == nullptr)
+    {
+        // We are getting a stray callback (e.g. due to un-cancellable
+        // operations) when we are not in fact commissioning anything.  Just
+        // ignore it.
+        return;
+    }
+
     NodeId nodeId            = mDeviceBeingCommissioned->GetDeviceId();
     DeviceProxy * proxy      = mDeviceBeingCommissioned;
     mDeviceBeingCommissioned = nullptr;