diff --git a/runtime/runtime-inl.h b/runtime/runtime-inl.h
index e6cc471..2ffaf98 100644
--- a/runtime/runtime-inl.h
+++ b/runtime/runtime-inl.h
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include "art_method.h"
 #include "base/callee_save_type.h"
 #include "base/casts.h"
+#include "base/mutex.h"
 #include "entrypoints/quick/callee_save_frame.h"
 #include "gc_root-inl.h"
 #include "interpreter/mterp/mterp.h"
diff --git a/runtime/runtime.cc b/runtime/runtime.cc
index 84526f3..d53cc07 100644
--- a/runtime/runtime.cc
+++ b/runtime/runtime.cc
@@ -234,8 +234,7 @@
       class_linker_(nullptr),
       signal_catcher_(nullptr),
       java_vm_(nullptr),
-      fault_message_lock_("Fault message lock"),
-      fault_message_(""),
+      fault_message_(nullptr),
       threads_being_born_(0),
       shutdown_cond_(new ConditionVariable("Runtime shutdown", *Locks::runtime_shutdown_lock_)),
       shutting_down_(false),
@@ -2367,8 +2366,27 @@
 }
 
 void Runtime::SetFaultMessage(const std::string& message) {
-  MutexLock mu(Thread::Current(), fault_message_lock_);
-  fault_message_ = message;
+  std::string* new_msg = new std::string(message);
+  std::string* cur_msg = fault_message_.exchange(new_msg);
+  delete cur_msg;
+}
+
+std::string Runtime::GetFaultMessage() {
+  // Retrieve the message. Temporarily replace with null so that SetFaultMessage will not delete
+  // the string in parallel.
+  std::string* cur_msg = fault_message_.exchange(nullptr);
+
+  // Make a copy of the string.
+  std::string ret = cur_msg == nullptr ? "" : *cur_msg;
+
+  // Put the message back if it hasn't been updated.
+  std::string* null_str = nullptr;
+  if (!fault_message_.compare_exchange_strong(null_str, cur_msg)) {
+    // Already replaced.
+    delete cur_msg;
+  }
+
+  return ret;
 }
 
 void Runtime::AddCurrentRuntimeFeaturesAsDex2OatArguments(std::vector<std::string>* argv)
diff --git a/runtime/runtime.h b/runtime/runtime.h
index c74647e..5450c0f 100644
--- a/runtime/runtime.h
+++ b/runtime/runtime.h
@@ -28,9 +28,9 @@
 #include <vector>
 
 #include "arch/instruction_set.h"
+#include "base/locks.h"
 #include "base/macros.h"
 #include "base/mem_map.h"
-#include "base/mutex.h"
 #include "deoptimization_kind.h"
 #include "dex/dex_file_types.h"
 #include "experimental_flags.h"
@@ -511,12 +511,7 @@
   void RecordResolveString(ObjPtr<mirror::DexCache> dex_cache, dex::StringIndex string_idx) const
       REQUIRES_SHARED(Locks::mutator_lock_);
 
-  void SetFaultMessage(const std::string& message) REQUIRES(!fault_message_lock_);
-  // Only read by the signal handler, NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS to prevent lock order violations
-  // with the unexpected_signal_lock_.
-  const std::string& GetFaultMessage() NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS {
-    return fault_message_;
-  }
+  void SetFaultMessage(const std::string& message);
 
   void AddCurrentRuntimeFeaturesAsDex2OatArguments(std::vector<std::string>* arg_vector) const;
 
@@ -824,6 +819,12 @@
   void VisitConstantRoots(RootVisitor* visitor)
       REQUIRES_SHARED(Locks::mutator_lock_);
 
+  // Note: To be lock-free, GetFaultMessage temporarily replaces the lock message with null.
+  //       As such, there is a window where a call will return an empty string. In general,
+  //       only aborting code should retrieve this data (via GetFaultMessageForAbortLogging
+  //       friend).
+  std::string GetFaultMessage();
+
   // A pointer to the active runtime or null.
   static Runtime* instance_;
 
@@ -909,9 +910,9 @@
   std::unique_ptr<jit::JitCodeCache> jit_code_cache_;
   std::unique_ptr<jit::JitOptions> jit_options_;
 
-  // Fault message, printed when we get a SIGSEGV.
-  Mutex fault_message_lock_ DEFAULT_MUTEX_ACQUIRED_AFTER;
-  std::string fault_message_ GUARDED_BY(fault_message_lock_);
+  // Fault message, printed when we get a SIGSEGV. Stored as a native-heap object and accessed
+  // lock-free, so needs to be atomic.
+  std::atomic<std::string*> fault_message_;
 
   // A non-zero value indicates that a thread has been created but not yet initialized. Guarded by
   // the shutdown lock so that threads aren't born while we're shutting down.
@@ -1111,6 +1112,9 @@
 
   uint32_t verifier_logging_threshold_ms_;
 
+  // Note: See comments on GetFaultMessage.
+  friend std::string GetFaultMessageForAbortLogging();
+
   DISALLOW_COPY_AND_ASSIGN(Runtime);
 };
 
diff --git a/runtime/runtime_common.cc b/runtime/runtime_common.cc
index eae2505..5676577 100644
--- a/runtime/runtime_common.cc
+++ b/runtime/runtime_common.cc
@@ -371,6 +371,11 @@
 #pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wframe-larger-than="
 #endif
 
+std::string GetFaultMessageForAbortLogging() {
+  Runtime* runtime = Runtime::Current();
+  return  (runtime != nullptr) ? runtime->GetFaultMessage() : "";
+}
+
 static void HandleUnexpectedSignalCommonDump(int signal_number,
                                              siginfo_t* info,
                                              void* raw_context,
@@ -427,9 +432,9 @@
     }
 
     if (dump_on_stderr) {
-      std::cerr << "Fault message: " << runtime->GetFaultMessage() << std::endl;
+      std::cerr << "Fault message: " << GetFaultMessageForAbortLogging() << std::endl;
     } else {
-      LOG(FATAL_WITHOUT_ABORT) << "Fault message: " << runtime->GetFaultMessage();
+      LOG(FATAL_WITHOUT_ABORT) << "Fault message: " << GetFaultMessageForAbortLogging();
     }
   }
 }