diff --git a/src/conf/cpu_conf.c b/src/conf/cpu_conf.c
index 2650208901..67203c6094 100644
--- a/src/conf/cpu_conf.c
+++ b/src/conf/cpu_conf.c
@@ -658,7 +658,7 @@ virCPUDefFormatBuf(virBufferPtr buf,
         virBufferAddLit(buf, "/>\n");
     }
 
-    for (i = 0; i < def->nfeatures; i++) {
+    for (i = 0; formatModel && i < def->nfeatures; i++) {
         virCPUFeatureDefPtr feature = def->features + i;
 
         if (!feature->name) {