diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_command.c b/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
index 52e4ef03cd..4f4d8cf25c 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
@@ -240,6 +240,10 @@ qemuBuildDeviceCommandlineHandleOverrides(virJSONValue *props,
     const char *alias = virJSONValueObjectGetString(props, "id");
     size_t i;
 
+    /* If the device doesn't have an alias we can't override its props */
+    if (!alias)
+        return;
+
     for (i = 0; i < nsdef->ndeviceOverride; i++) {
         qemuDomainXmlNsDeviceOverride *dev = nsdef->deviceOverride + i;
         size_t j;