diff --git a/arch/arm64/core/isr_wrapper.S b/arch/arm64/core/isr_wrapper.S
index 867f5156b28..ba7c00414b0 100644
--- a/arch/arm64/core/isr_wrapper.S
+++ b/arch/arm64/core/isr_wrapper.S
@@ -119,9 +119,28 @@ spurious_continue:
 	 * x0: 1st thread in the ready queue
 	 * x1: _current thread
 	 */
+
+#ifdef CONFIG_SMP
+	/*
+	 * 2 possibilities here:
+	 *  - x0 != NULL (implies x0 != x1): we need to context switch and set
+	 *    the switch_handle in the context switch code
+	 *  - x0 == NULL: no context switch
+	 */
+	cmp	x0, #0x0
+	bne	switch
+
+	/*
+	 * No context switch. Restore x0 from x1 (they are the same thread).
+	 * See also comments to z_arch_get_next_switch_handle()
+	 */
+	mov	x0, x1
+	b	exit
+switch:
+#else
 	cmp	x0, x1
 	beq	exit
-
+#endif
 	/* Switch thread */
 	bl	z_arm64_context_switch
 
diff --git a/arch/arm64/core/thread.c b/arch/arm64/core/thread.c
index b311baf0437..395ad00dc8e 100644
--- a/arch/arm64/core/thread.c
+++ b/arch/arm64/core/thread.c
@@ -124,9 +124,28 @@ void arch_new_thread(struct k_thread *thread, k_thread_stack_t *stack,
 
 void *z_arch_get_next_switch_handle(struct k_thread **old_thread)
 {
+	/*
+	 * When returning from this function we will have the current thread
+	 * onto the stack to be popped in x1 and the next thread in x0 returned
+	 * from z_get_next_switch_handle() (see isr_wrapper.S)
+	 */
 	*old_thread =  _current;
 
+#ifdef CONFIG_SMP
+	/*
+	 * XXX: see thread in #41840 and #40795
+	 *
+	 * The scheduler API requires a complete switch handle here, but arm64
+	 * optimizes things such that the callee-save registers are still
+	 * unsaved here (they get written out in z_arm64_context_switch()
+	 * below).  So pass a NULL instead, which the scheduler will store into
+	 * the thread switch_handle field.  The resulting thread won't be
+	 * switched into until we write that ourselves.
+	 */
+	return z_get_next_switch_handle(NULL);
+#else
 	return z_get_next_switch_handle(*old_thread);
+#endif
 }
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_USERSPACE