diff --git a/qemu-char.c b/qemu-char.c
index e0147f3e8b..fc4611d3b8 100644
--- a/qemu-char.c
+++ b/qemu-char.c
@@ -2697,6 +2697,7 @@ static int tcp_set_msgfds(CharDriverState *chr, int *fds, int num)
     }
     /* clear old pending fd array */
     g_free(s->write_msgfds);
+    s->write_msgfds = NULL;
 
     if (num) {
         s->write_msgfds = g_new(int, num);