diff --git a/src/libvirt-domain.c b/src/libvirt-domain.c
index 21c234ecc9..d36aa6b902 100644
--- a/src/libvirt-domain.c
+++ b/src/libvirt-domain.c
@@ -11314,6 +11314,7 @@ virConnectGetDomainCapabilities(virConnectPtr conn,
     virResetLastError();
 
     virCheckConnectReturn(conn, NULL);
+    virCheckReadOnlyGoto(conn->flags, error);
 
     if (conn->driver->connectGetDomainCapabilities) {
         char *ret;