diff --git a/src/util/virstoragefile.c b/src/util/virstoragefile.c
index 8d831b10cc..a2e544a036 100644
--- a/src/util/virstoragefile.c
+++ b/src/util/virstoragefile.c
@@ -2458,8 +2458,12 @@ virStorageSourceParseBackingColon(virStorageSourcePtr src,
             goto cleanup;
         break;
 
-    case VIR_STORAGE_NET_PROTOCOL_SHEEPDOG:
     case VIR_STORAGE_NET_PROTOCOL_RBD:
+        if (virStorageSourceParseRBDColonString(path, src) < 0)
+            goto cleanup;
+        break;
+
+    case VIR_STORAGE_NET_PROTOCOL_SHEEPDOG:
     case VIR_STORAGE_NET_PROTOCOL_LAST:
     case VIR_STORAGE_NET_PROTOCOL_NONE:
         virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR,
diff --git a/tests/virstoragetest.c b/tests/virstoragetest.c
index ee6f576df9..2601edc93b 100644
--- a/tests/virstoragetest.c
+++ b/tests/virstoragetest.c
@@ -972,6 +972,49 @@ mymain(void)
                (&wrap, &qcow2), EXP_WARN,
                (&wrap, &qcow2), ALLOW_PROBE | EXP_WARN);
 
+    /* Rewrite qcow2 to use an rbd: protocol as backend */
+    virCommandFree(cmd);
+    cmd = virCommandNewArgList(qemuimg, "rebase", "-u", "-f", "qcow2",
+                               "-F", "raw", "-b", "rbd:testshare",
+                               "qcow2", NULL);
+    if (virCommandRun(cmd, NULL) < 0)
+        ret = -1;
+    qcow2.expBackingStoreRaw = "rbd:testshare";
+
+    /* Qcow2 file with backing protocol instead of file */
+    testFileData rbd1 = {
+        .path = "testshare",
+        .type = VIR_STORAGE_TYPE_NETWORK,
+        .format = VIR_STORAGE_FILE_RAW,
+        .protocol = VIR_STORAGE_NET_PROTOCOL_RBD,
+    };
+    TEST_CHAIN(19, absqcow2, VIR_STORAGE_FILE_QCOW2,
+               (&qcow2, &rbd1), EXP_PASS,
+               (&qcow2, &rbd1), ALLOW_PROBE | EXP_PASS);
+
+    /* Rewrite qcow2 to use an rbd: protocol as backend */
+    virCommandFree(cmd);
+    cmd = virCommandNewArgList(qemuimg, "rebase", "-u", "-f", "qcow2",
+                               "-F", "raw", "-b", "rbd:testshare:id=asdf:mon_host=example.com",
+                               "qcow2", NULL);
+    if (virCommandRun(cmd, NULL) < 0)
+        ret = -1;
+    qcow2.expBackingStoreRaw = "rbd:testshare:id=asdf:mon_host=example.com";
+
+    /* Qcow2 file with backing protocol instead of file */
+    testFileData rbd2 = {
+        .path = "testshare",
+        .type = VIR_STORAGE_TYPE_NETWORK,
+        .format = VIR_STORAGE_FILE_RAW,
+        .protocol = VIR_STORAGE_NET_PROTOCOL_RBD,
+        .secret = "asdf",
+        .hostname = "example.com",
+    };
+    TEST_CHAIN(20, absqcow2, VIR_STORAGE_FILE_QCOW2,
+               (&qcow2, &rbd2), EXP_PASS,
+               (&qcow2, &rbd2), ALLOW_PROBE | EXP_PASS);
+
+
     /* Rewrite wrap and qcow2 back to 3-deep chain, absolute backing */
     virCommandFree(cmd);
     cmd = virCommandNewArgList(qemuimg, "rebase", "-u", "-f", "qcow2",