diff --git a/hw/virtio/virtio.c b/hw/virtio/virtio.c
index f6a588ab57e1..94f5c8e52a4e 100644
--- a/hw/virtio/virtio.c
+++ b/hw/virtio/virtio.c
@@ -358,6 +358,10 @@ int virtio_queue_ready(VirtQueue *vq)
  * Called within rcu_read_lock().  */
 static int virtio_queue_empty_rcu(VirtQueue *vq)
 {
+    if (unlikely(vq->vdev->broken)) {
+        return 1;
+    }
+
     if (unlikely(!vq->vring.avail)) {
         return 1;
     }
@@ -373,6 +377,10 @@ int virtio_queue_empty(VirtQueue *vq)
 {
     bool empty;
 
+    if (unlikely(vq->vdev->broken)) {
+        return 1;
+    }
+
     if (unlikely(!vq->vring.avail)) {
         return 1;
     }