diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
index d930ff9a74..bfa742577f 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
@@ -318,7 +318,9 @@ qemuProcessHandleMonitorEOF(qemuMonitorPtr mon,
     /* We don't want this EOF handler to be called over and over while the
      * thread is waiting for a job.
      */
+    virObjectLock(mon);
     qemuMonitorUnregister(mon);
+    virObjectUnlock(mon);
 
     /* We don't want any cleanup from EOF handler (or any other
      * thread) to enter qemu namespace. */