diff --git a/src/util/virfile.c b/src/util/virfile.c
index e09992e41a..f6f01ec1e1 100644
--- a/src/util/virfile.c
+++ b/src/util/virfile.c
@@ -4072,11 +4072,18 @@ virFileInData(int fd,
     ret = 0;
  cleanup:
     /* At any rate, reposition back to where we started. */
-    if (cur != (off_t) -1 &&
-        lseek(fd, cur, SEEK_SET) == (off_t) -1) {
-        virReportSystemError(errno, "%s",
-                             _("unable to restore position in file"));
-        ret = -1;
+    if (cur != (off_t) -1) {
+        int theerrno = errno;
+
+        if (lseek(fd, cur, SEEK_SET) == (off_t) -1) {
+            virReportSystemError(errno, "%s",
+                                 _("unable to restore position in file"));
+            ret = -1;
+            if (theerrno == 0)
+                theerrno = errno;
+        }
+
+        errno = theerrno;
     }
     return ret;
 }