diff --git a/src/qemu/libvirtd_qemu.aug b/src/qemu/libvirtd_qemu.aug
index 9ec8250840..e0d8b9dd83 100644
--- a/src/qemu/libvirtd_qemu.aug
+++ b/src/qemu/libvirtd_qemu.aug
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ module Libvirtd_qemu =
                  | int_entry "max_processes"
                  | int_entry "max_files"
                  | limits_entry "max_core"
+                 | bool_entry "dump_guest_core"
                  | str_entry "stdio_handler"
 
    let device_entry = bool_entry "mac_filter"
diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu.conf b/src/qemu/qemu.conf
index b1ece732c9..4bc062341f 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu.conf
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu.conf
@@ -406,10 +406,10 @@
 # RAM size is smaller than the limit set.
 #
 # Be warned that the core dump will include a full copy of the
-# guest RAM, unless it has been disabled via the guest XML by
-# setting:
+# guest RAM, if the 'dump_guest_core' setting has been enabled,
+# or if the guest XML contains
 #
-#   <memory dumpcore="off">...guest ram...</memory>
+#   <memory dumpcore="on">...guest ram...</memory>
 #
 # If guest RAM is to be included, ensure the max_core limit
 # is set to at least the size of the largest expected guest
@@ -425,6 +425,16 @@
 #
 #max_core = "unlimited"
 
+# Determine if guest RAM is included in QEMU core dumps. By
+# default guest RAM will be excluded if a new enough QEMU is
+# present. Setting this to '1' will force guest RAM to always
+# be included in QEMU core dumps.
+#
+# This setting will be ignored if the guest XML has set the
+# dumpcore attribute on the <memory> element.
+#
+#dump_guest_core = 1
+
 # mac_filter enables MAC addressed based filtering on bridge ports.
 # This currently requires ebtables to be installed.
 #
diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_command.c b/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
index 982c33cd26..ed1ca1fe71 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
@@ -6930,6 +6930,7 @@ qemuBuildNameCommandLine(virCommandPtr cmd,
 
 static int
 qemuBuildMachineCommandLine(virCommandPtr cmd,
+                            virQEMUDriverConfigPtr cfg,
                             const virDomainDef *def,
                             virQEMUCapsPtr qemuCaps)
 {
@@ -7014,16 +7015,21 @@ qemuBuildMachineCommandLine(virCommandPtr cmd,
                               virTristateSwitchTypeToString(smm));
         }
 
-        if (def->mem.dump_core) {
-            if (!virQEMUCapsGet(qemuCaps, QEMU_CAPS_DUMP_GUEST_CORE)) {
+        if (virQEMUCapsGet(qemuCaps, QEMU_CAPS_DUMP_GUEST_CORE)) {
+            if (def->mem.dump_core) {
+                virBufferAsprintf(&buf, ",dump-guest-core=%s",
+                                  virTristateSwitchTypeToString(def->mem.dump_core));
+            } else {
+                virBufferAsprintf(&buf, ",dump-guest-core=%s",
+                                  cfg->dumpGuestCore ? "on" : "off");
+            }
+        } else {
+            if (def->mem.dump_core) {
                 virReportError(VIR_ERR_CONFIG_UNSUPPORTED, "%s",
                                _("dump-guest-core is not available "
                                  "with this QEMU binary"));
                 goto cleanup;
             }
-
-            virBufferAsprintf(&buf, ",dump-guest-core=%s",
-                              virTristateSwitchTypeToString(def->mem.dump_core));
         }
 
         if (def->mem.nosharepages) {
@@ -9396,7 +9402,7 @@ qemuBuildCommandLine(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
     if (enableFips)
         virCommandAddArg(cmd, "-enable-fips");
 
-    if (qemuBuildMachineCommandLine(cmd, def, qemuCaps) < 0)
+    if (qemuBuildMachineCommandLine(cmd, cfg, def, qemuCaps) < 0)
         goto error;
 
     if (qemuBuildCpuCommandLine(cmd, driver, def, qemuCaps, !!migrateURI) < 0)
diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_conf.c b/src/qemu/qemu_conf.c
index b3db22c045..17b73c2c68 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_conf.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_conf.c
@@ -654,6 +654,9 @@ int virQEMUDriverConfigLoadFile(virQEMUDriverConfigPtr cfg,
         goto cleanup;
     }
 
+    if (virConfGetValueBool(conf, "dump_guest_core", &cfg->dumpGuestCore) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
+
     if (virConfGetValueString(conf, "lock_manager", &cfg->lockManagerName) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
     if (virConfGetValueString(conf, "stdio_handler", &stdioHandler) < 0)
diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_conf.h b/src/qemu/qemu_conf.h
index b730202c5e..c73d812da3 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_conf.h
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_conf.h
@@ -149,6 +149,7 @@ struct _virQEMUDriverConfig {
     unsigned int maxProcesses;
     unsigned int maxFiles;
     unsigned long long maxCore;
+    bool dumpGuestCore;
 
     unsigned int maxQueuedJobs;
 
diff --git a/src/qemu/test_libvirtd_qemu.aug.in b/src/qemu/test_libvirtd_qemu.aug.in
index 1d3c0b73a6..834c5340a8 100644
--- a/src/qemu/test_libvirtd_qemu.aug.in
+++ b/src/qemu/test_libvirtd_qemu.aug.in
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ module Test_libvirtd_qemu =
 { "max_processes" = "0" }
 { "max_files" = "0" }
 { "max_core" = "unlimited" }
+{ "dump_guest_core" = "1" }
 { "mac_filter" = "1" }
 { "relaxed_acs_check" = "1" }
 { "allow_disk_format_probing" = "1" }
diff --git a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
index 39abe726ef..aaf00c2fb6 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
+++ b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
@@ -614,8 +614,12 @@ mymain(void)
     DO_TEST("machine-aliases2", QEMU_CAPS_KVM);
     DO_TEST("machine-core-on", QEMU_CAPS_MACHINE_OPT,
             QEMU_CAPS_DUMP_GUEST_CORE);
+    driver.config->dumpGuestCore = true;
     DO_TEST("machine-core-off", QEMU_CAPS_MACHINE_OPT,
             QEMU_CAPS_DUMP_GUEST_CORE);
+    driver.config->dumpGuestCore = false;
+    DO_TEST("machine-core-cfg-off", QEMU_CAPS_MACHINE_OPT,
+            QEMU_CAPS_DUMP_GUEST_CORE);
     DO_TEST_FAILURE("machine-core-on", NONE);
     DO_TEST_FAILURE("machine-core-on", QEMU_CAPS_MACHINE_OPT);
     DO_TEST("machine-smm-opt",