diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio_net.c b/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
index 075d5d42f5eb6..b7a4df4bab817 100644
--- a/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
+++ b/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
@@ -3825,6 +3825,8 @@ static int virtnet_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev)
 		eth_hw_addr_set(dev, addr);
 	} else {
 		eth_hw_addr_random(dev);
+		dev_info(&vdev->dev, "Assigned random MAC address %pM\n",
+			 dev->dev_addr);
 	}
 
 	/* Set up our device-specific information */
@@ -3954,6 +3956,24 @@ static int virtnet_probe(struct virtio_device *vdev)
 
 	virtio_device_ready(vdev);
 
+	/* a random MAC address has been assigned, notify the device.
+	 * We don't fail probe if VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_MAC_ADDR is not there
+	 * because many devices work fine without getting MAC explicitly
+	 */
+	if (!virtio_has_feature(vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_MAC) &&
+	    virtio_has_feature(vi->vdev, VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_MAC_ADDR)) {
+		struct scatterlist sg;
+
+		sg_init_one(&sg, dev->dev_addr, dev->addr_len);
+		if (!virtnet_send_command(vi, VIRTIO_NET_CTRL_MAC,
+					  VIRTIO_NET_CTRL_MAC_ADDR_SET, &sg)) {
+			pr_debug("virtio_net: setting MAC address failed\n");
+			rtnl_unlock();
+			err = -EINVAL;
+			goto free_unregister_netdev;
+		}
+	}
+
 	rtnl_unlock();
 
 	err = virtnet_cpu_notif_add(vi);