diff --git a/src/conf/domain_conf.c b/src/conf/domain_conf.c
index d77983069a..1c3034db05 100644
--- a/src/conf/domain_conf.c
+++ b/src/conf/domain_conf.c
@@ -10925,12 +10925,29 @@ virDomainChrSourceDefParseXML(virDomainChrSourceDefPtr def,
     char *append = NULL;
     char *haveTLS = NULL;
     char *tlsFromConfig = NULL;
+    int sourceParsed = 0;
 
     for (; cur; cur = cur->next) {
         if (cur->type != XML_ELEMENT_NODE)
             continue;
 
         if (virXMLNodeNameEqual(cur, "source")) {
+            /* Parse only the first source element since only one is used
+             * for chardev devices, the only exception is UDP type, where
+             * user can specify two source elements. */
+            if (sourceParsed >= 1 && def->type != VIR_DOMAIN_CHR_TYPE_UDP) {
+                virReportError(VIR_ERR_XML_ERROR, "%s",
+                               _("only one source element is allowed for "
+                                 "character device"));
+                goto error;
+            } else if (sourceParsed >= 2) {
+                virReportError(VIR_ERR_XML_ERROR, "%s",
+                               _("only two source elements are allowed for "
+                                 "character device"));
+                goto error;
+            }
+            sourceParsed++;
+
             if (!mode)
                 mode = virXMLPropString(cur, "mode");
             if (!haveTLS)
diff --git a/tests/genericxml2xmlindata/generic-chardev-tcp-multiple-source.xml b/tests/genericxml2xmlindata/generic-chardev-tcp-multiple-source.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bb8592aa4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/genericxml2xmlindata/generic-chardev-tcp-multiple-source.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+<domain type='qemu'>
+  <name>QEMUGuest1</name>
+  <uuid>c7a5fdbd-edaf-9455-926a-d65c16db1809</uuid>
+  <memory unit='KiB'>219136</memory>
+  <currentMemory unit='KiB'>219136</currentMemory>
+  <vcpu placement='static'>1</vcpu>
+  <os>
+    <type arch='i686' machine='pc'>hvm</type>
+    <boot dev='hd'/>
+  </os>
+  <clock offset='utc'/>
+  <on_poweroff>destroy</on_poweroff>
+  <on_reboot>restart</on_reboot>
+  <on_crash>destroy</on_crash>
+  <devices>
+    <emulator>/usr/bin/qemu-system-i686</emulator>
+    <controller type='virtio-serial' index='0'/>
+    <channel type='tcp'>
+      <source mode='bind' host='localhost' service='5678'/>
+      <source mode='connect' host='localhost' service='5678'/>
+      <protocol type='raw'/>
+      <target type='virtio' name='test1'/>
+    </channel>
+    <memballoon model='none'/>
+  </devices>
+</domain>
diff --git a/tests/genericxml2xmlindata/generic-chardev-udp-multiple-source.xml b/tests/genericxml2xmlindata/generic-chardev-udp-multiple-source.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2b87a1bfaa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/genericxml2xmlindata/generic-chardev-udp-multiple-source.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+<domain type='qemu'>
+  <name>QEMUGuest1</name>
+  <uuid>c7a5fdbd-edaf-9455-926a-d65c16db1809</uuid>
+  <memory unit='KiB'>219136</memory>
+  <currentMemory unit='KiB'>219136</currentMemory>
+  <vcpu placement='static'>1</vcpu>
+  <os>
+    <type arch='i686' machine='pc'>hvm</type>
+    <boot dev='hd'/>
+  </os>
+  <clock offset='utc'/>
+  <on_poweroff>destroy</on_poweroff>
+  <on_reboot>restart</on_reboot>
+  <on_crash>destroy</on_crash>
+  <devices>
+    <emulator>/usr/bin/qemu-system-i686</emulator>
+    <controller type='virtio-serial' index='0'/>
+    <channel type='udp'>
+      <source mode='connect' host='localhost' service='5678'/>
+      <source mode='bind' host='localhost' service='4567'/>
+      <source mode='connect' host='localhost' service='3456'/>
+      <target type='virtio' name='test1'/>
+    </channel>
+    <memballoon model='none'/>
+  </devices>
+</domain>
diff --git a/tests/genericxml2xmltest.c b/tests/genericxml2xmltest.c
index 7dc137ed16..03913a68c9 100644
--- a/tests/genericxml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/genericxml2xmltest.c
@@ -110,9 +110,13 @@ mymain(void)
                  TEST_COMPARE_DOM_XML2XML_RESULT_FAIL_PARSE);
     DO_TEST_FULL("chardev-tcp-missing-service", 0, false,
                  TEST_COMPARE_DOM_XML2XML_RESULT_FAIL_PARSE);
+    DO_TEST_FULL("chardev-tcp-multiple-source", 0, false,
+                 TEST_COMPARE_DOM_XML2XML_RESULT_FAIL_PARSE);
     DO_TEST_DIFFERENT("chardev-udp");
     DO_TEST_FULL("chardev-udp-missing-connect-service", 0, false,
                  TEST_COMPARE_DOM_XML2XML_RESULT_FAIL_PARSE);
+    DO_TEST_FULL("chardev-udp-multiple-source", 0, false,
+                 TEST_COMPARE_DOM_XML2XML_RESULT_FAIL_PARSE);
     DO_TEST_DIFFERENT("chardev-unix");
     DO_TEST_FULL("chardev-unix-smartcard-missing-path", 0, false,
                  TEST_COMPARE_DOM_XML2XML_RESULT_FAIL_PARSE);