diff --git a/modules/queue/base_levelqueue.go b/modules/queue/base_levelqueue.go
index afde50211..efc57c9c9 100644
--- a/modules/queue/base_levelqueue.go
+++ b/modules/queue/base_levelqueue.go
@@ -5,16 +5,21 @@ package queue
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"sync/atomic"
 
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/nosql"
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/queue/lqinternal"
 
 	"gitea.com/lunny/levelqueue"
+	"github.com/syndtr/goleveldb/leveldb"
 )
 
 type baseLevelQueue struct {
-	internal *levelqueue.Queue
-	conn     string
-	cfg      *BaseConfig
+	internal atomic.Pointer[levelqueue.Queue]
+
+	conn string
+	cfg  *BaseConfig
+	db   *leveldb.DB
 }
 
 var _ baseQueue = (*baseLevelQueue)(nil)
@@ -31,21 +36,23 @@ func newBaseLevelQueueSimple(cfg *BaseConfig) (baseQueue, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	q := &baseLevelQueue{conn: conn, cfg: cfg}
-	q.internal, err = levelqueue.NewQueue(db, []byte(cfg.QueueFullName), false)
+	q := &baseLevelQueue{conn: conn, cfg: cfg, db: db}
+	lq, err := levelqueue.NewQueue(db, []byte(cfg.QueueFullName), false)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-
+	q.internal.Store(lq)
 	return q, nil
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueue) PushItem(ctx context.Context, data []byte) error {
-	return baseLevelQueueCommon(q.cfg, q.internal, nil).PushItem(ctx, data)
+	c := baseLevelQueueCommon(q.cfg, nil, func() baseLevelQueuePushPoper { return q.internal.Load() })
+	return c.PushItem(ctx, data)
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueue) PopItem(ctx context.Context) ([]byte, error) {
-	return baseLevelQueueCommon(q.cfg, q.internal, nil).PopItem(ctx)
+	c := baseLevelQueueCommon(q.cfg, nil, func() baseLevelQueuePushPoper { return q.internal.Load() })
+	return c.PopItem(ctx)
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueue) HasItem(ctx context.Context, data []byte) (bool, error) {
@@ -53,20 +60,24 @@ func (q *baseLevelQueue) HasItem(ctx context.Context, data []byte) (bool, error)
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueue) Len(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
-	return int(q.internal.Len()), nil
+	return int(q.internal.Load().Len()), nil
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueue) Close() error {
-	err := q.internal.Close()
+	err := q.internal.Load().Close()
 	_ = nosql.GetManager().CloseLevelDB(q.conn)
+	q.db = nil // the db is not managed by us, it's managed by the nosql manager
 	return err
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueue) RemoveAll(ctx context.Context) error {
-	for q.internal.Len() > 0 {
-		if _, err := q.internal.LPop(); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
+	lqinternal.RemoveLevelQueueKeys(q.db, []byte(q.cfg.QueueFullName))
+	lq, err := levelqueue.NewQueue(q.db, []byte(q.cfg.QueueFullName), false)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
 	}
+	old := q.internal.Load()
+	q.internal.Store(lq)
+	_ = old.Close() // Not ideal for concurrency. Luckily, the levelqueue only sets its db=nil because it doesn't manage the db, so far so good
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_common.go b/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_common.go
index 409a96551..78d3b85a8 100644
--- a/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_common.go
+++ b/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_common.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/syndtr/goleveldb/leveldb"
 )
 
+// baseLevelQueuePushPoper is the common interface for levelqueue.Queue and levelqueue.UniqueQueue
 type baseLevelQueuePushPoper interface {
 	RPush(data []byte) error
 	LPop() ([]byte, error)
@@ -24,9 +25,9 @@ type baseLevelQueuePushPoper interface {
 }
 
 type baseLevelQueueCommonImpl struct {
-	length   int
-	internal baseLevelQueuePushPoper
-	mu       *sync.Mutex
+	length       int
+	internalFunc func() baseLevelQueuePushPoper
+	mu           *sync.Mutex
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueueCommonImpl) PushItem(ctx context.Context, data []byte) error {
@@ -36,11 +37,11 @@ func (q *baseLevelQueueCommonImpl) PushItem(ctx context.Context, data []byte) er
 			defer q.mu.Unlock()
 		}
 
-		cnt := int(q.internal.Len())
+		cnt := int(q.internalFunc().Len())
 		if cnt >= q.length {
 			return true, nil
 		}
-		retry, err = false, q.internal.RPush(data)
+		retry, err = false, q.internalFunc().RPush(data)
 		if err == levelqueue.ErrAlreadyInQueue {
 			err = ErrAlreadyInQueue
 		}
@@ -55,7 +56,7 @@ func (q *baseLevelQueueCommonImpl) PopItem(ctx context.Context) ([]byte, error)
 			defer q.mu.Unlock()
 		}
 
-		data, err = q.internal.LPop()
+		data, err = q.internalFunc().LPop()
 		if err == levelqueue.ErrNotFound {
 			return true, nil, nil
 		}
@@ -66,8 +67,8 @@ func (q *baseLevelQueueCommonImpl) PopItem(ctx context.Context) ([]byte, error)
 	})
 }
 
-func baseLevelQueueCommon(cfg *BaseConfig, internal baseLevelQueuePushPoper, mu *sync.Mutex) *baseLevelQueueCommonImpl {
-	return &baseLevelQueueCommonImpl{length: cfg.Length, internal: internal}
+func baseLevelQueueCommon(cfg *BaseConfig, mu *sync.Mutex, internalFunc func() baseLevelQueuePushPoper) *baseLevelQueueCommonImpl {
+	return &baseLevelQueueCommonImpl{length: cfg.Length, mu: mu, internalFunc: internalFunc}
 }
 
 func prepareLevelDB(cfg *BaseConfig) (conn string, db *leveldb.DB, err error) {
diff --git a/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_test.go b/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_test.go
index 712a0892c..b881802ca 100644
--- a/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_test.go
+++ b/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_test.go
@@ -6,9 +6,12 @@ package queue
 import (
 	"testing"
 
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/queue/lqinternal"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/setting"
 
+	"gitea.com/lunny/levelqueue"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/syndtr/goleveldb/leveldb"
 )
 
 func TestBaseLevelDB(t *testing.T) {
@@ -21,3 +24,55 @@ func TestBaseLevelDB(t *testing.T) {
 	testQueueBasic(t, newBaseLevelQueueSimple, toBaseConfig("baseLevelQueue", setting.QueueSettings{Datadir: t.TempDir() + "/queue-test", Length: 10}), false)
 	testQueueBasic(t, newBaseLevelQueueUnique, toBaseConfig("baseLevelQueueUnique", setting.QueueSettings{ConnStr: "leveldb://" + t.TempDir() + "/queue-test", Length: 10}), true)
 }
+
+func TestCorruptedLevelQueue(t *testing.T) {
+	// sometimes the levelqueue could be in a corrupted state, this test is to make sure it can recover from it
+	dbDir := t.TempDir() + "/levelqueue-test"
+	db, err := leveldb.OpenFile(dbDir, nil)
+	if !assert.NoError(t, err) {
+		return
+	}
+	defer db.Close()
+
+	assert.NoError(t, db.Put([]byte("other-key"), []byte("other-value"), nil))
+
+	nameQueuePrefix := []byte("queue_name")
+	nameSetPrefix := []byte("set_name")
+	lq, err := levelqueue.NewUniqueQueue(db, nameQueuePrefix, nameSetPrefix, false)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.NoError(t, lq.RPush([]byte("item-1")))
+
+	itemKey := lqinternal.QueueItemKeyBytes(nameQueuePrefix, 1)
+	itemValue, err := db.Get(itemKey, nil)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte("item-1"), itemValue)
+
+	// there should be 5 keys in db: queue low, queue high, 1 queue item, 1 set item, and "other-key"
+	keys := lqinternal.ListLevelQueueKeys(db)
+	assert.Len(t, keys, 5)
+
+	// delete the queue item key, to corrupt the queue
+	assert.NoError(t, db.Delete(itemKey, nil))
+	// now the queue is corrupted, it never works again
+	_, err = lq.LPop()
+	assert.ErrorIs(t, err, levelqueue.ErrNotFound)
+	assert.NoError(t, lq.Close())
+
+	// remove all the queue related keys to reset the queue
+	lqinternal.RemoveLevelQueueKeys(db, nameQueuePrefix)
+	lqinternal.RemoveLevelQueueKeys(db, nameSetPrefix)
+	// now there should be only 1 key in db: "other-key"
+	keys = lqinternal.ListLevelQueueKeys(db)
+	assert.Len(t, keys, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte("other-key"), keys[0])
+
+	// re-create a queue from db
+	lq, err = levelqueue.NewUniqueQueue(db, nameQueuePrefix, nameSetPrefix, false)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.NoError(t, lq.RPush([]byte("item-new-1")))
+	// now the queue works again
+	itemValue, err = lq.LPop()
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte("item-new-1"), itemValue)
+	assert.NoError(t, lq.Close())
+}
diff --git a/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_unique.go b/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_unique.go
index 1acd504e3..968a4e98d 100644
--- a/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_unique.go
+++ b/modules/queue/base_levelqueue_unique.go
@@ -6,18 +6,21 @@ package queue
 import (
 	"context"
 	"sync"
-	"unsafe"
+	"sync/atomic"
 
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/nosql"
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/queue/lqinternal"
 
 	"gitea.com/lunny/levelqueue"
 	"github.com/syndtr/goleveldb/leveldb"
 )
 
 type baseLevelQueueUnique struct {
-	internal *levelqueue.UniqueQueue
-	conn     string
-	cfg      *BaseConfig
+	internal atomic.Pointer[levelqueue.UniqueQueue]
+
+	conn string
+	cfg  *BaseConfig
+	db   *leveldb.DB
 
 	mu sync.Mutex // the levelqueue.UniqueQueue is not thread-safe, there is no mutex protecting the underlying queue&set together
 }
@@ -29,39 +32,42 @@ func newBaseLevelQueueUnique(cfg *BaseConfig) (baseQueue, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	q := &baseLevelQueueUnique{conn: conn, cfg: cfg}
-	q.internal, err = levelqueue.NewUniqueQueue(db, []byte(cfg.QueueFullName), []byte(cfg.SetFullName), false)
+	q := &baseLevelQueueUnique{conn: conn, cfg: cfg, db: db}
+	lq, err := levelqueue.NewUniqueQueue(db, []byte(cfg.QueueFullName), []byte(cfg.SetFullName), false)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-
+	q.internal.Store(lq)
 	return q, nil
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueueUnique) PushItem(ctx context.Context, data []byte) error {
-	return baseLevelQueueCommon(q.cfg, q.internal, &q.mu).PushItem(ctx, data)
+	c := baseLevelQueueCommon(q.cfg, &q.mu, func() baseLevelQueuePushPoper { return q.internal.Load() })
+	return c.PushItem(ctx, data)
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueueUnique) PopItem(ctx context.Context) ([]byte, error) {
-	return baseLevelQueueCommon(q.cfg, q.internal, &q.mu).PopItem(ctx)
+	c := baseLevelQueueCommon(q.cfg, &q.mu, func() baseLevelQueuePushPoper { return q.internal.Load() })
+	return c.PopItem(ctx)
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueueUnique) HasItem(ctx context.Context, data []byte) (bool, error) {
 	q.mu.Lock()
 	defer q.mu.Unlock()
-	return q.internal.Has(data)
+	return q.internal.Load().Has(data)
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueueUnique) Len(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
 	q.mu.Lock()
 	defer q.mu.Unlock()
-	return int(q.internal.Len()), nil
+	return int(q.internal.Load().Len()), nil
 }
 
 func (q *baseLevelQueueUnique) Close() error {
 	q.mu.Lock()
 	defer q.mu.Unlock()
-	err := q.internal.Close()
+	err := q.internal.Load().Close()
+	q.db = nil // the db is not managed by us, it's managed by the nosql manager
 	_ = nosql.GetManager().CloseLevelDB(q.conn)
 	return err
 }
@@ -69,28 +75,14 @@ func (q *baseLevelQueueUnique) Close() error {
 func (q *baseLevelQueueUnique) RemoveAll(ctx context.Context) error {
 	q.mu.Lock()
 	defer q.mu.Unlock()
-
-	type levelUniqueQueue struct {
-		q   *levelqueue.Queue
-		set *levelqueue.Set
-		db  *leveldb.DB
-	}
-	lq := (*levelUniqueQueue)(unsafe.Pointer(q.internal))
-
-	for lq.q.Len() > 0 {
-		if _, err := lq.q.LPop(); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-
-	// the "set" must be cleared after the "list" because there is no transaction.
-	// it's better to have duplicate items than losing items.
-	members, err := lq.set.Members()
+	lqinternal.RemoveLevelQueueKeys(q.db, []byte(q.cfg.QueueFullName))
+	lqinternal.RemoveLevelQueueKeys(q.db, []byte(q.cfg.SetFullName))
+	lq, err := levelqueue.NewUniqueQueue(q.db, []byte(q.cfg.QueueFullName), []byte(q.cfg.SetFullName), false)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err // seriously corrupted
-	}
-	for _, v := range members {
-		_, _ = lq.set.Remove(v)
+		return err
 	}
+	old := q.internal.Load()
+	q.internal.Store(lq)
+	_ = old.Close() // Not ideal for concurrency. Luckily, the levelqueue only sets its db=nil because it doesn't manage the db, so far so good
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/modules/queue/lqinternal/lqinternal.go b/modules/queue/lqinternal/lqinternal.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..89aa4e598
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/queue/lqinternal/lqinternal.go
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+// Copyright 2023 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+package lqinternal
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"encoding/binary"
+
+	"github.com/syndtr/goleveldb/leveldb"
+	"github.com/syndtr/goleveldb/leveldb/opt"
+)
+
+func QueueItemIDBytes(id int64) []byte {
+	buf := make([]byte, 8)
+	binary.PutVarint(buf, id)
+	return buf
+}
+
+func QueueItemKeyBytes(prefix []byte, id int64) []byte {
+	key := make([]byte, len(prefix), len(prefix)+1+8)
+	copy(key, prefix)
+	key = append(key, '-')
+	return append(key, QueueItemIDBytes(id)...)
+}
+
+func RemoveLevelQueueKeys(db *leveldb.DB, namePrefix []byte) {
+	keyPrefix := make([]byte, len(namePrefix)+1)
+	copy(keyPrefix, namePrefix)
+	keyPrefix[len(namePrefix)] = '-'
+
+	it := db.NewIterator(nil, &opt.ReadOptions{Strict: opt.NoStrict})
+	defer it.Release()
+	for it.Next() {
+		if bytes.HasPrefix(it.Key(), keyPrefix) {
+			_ = db.Delete(it.Key(), nil)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func ListLevelQueueKeys(db *leveldb.DB) (res [][]byte) {
+	it := db.NewIterator(nil, &opt.ReadOptions{Strict: opt.NoStrict})
+	defer it.Release()
+	for it.Next() {
+		res = append(res, it.Key())
+	}
+	return res
+}