diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
index 2b600c138e999585b258e45c6e0acabc0818d4fa..6c870f54f85b6f98efb78630e568de0da958c4f0 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
@@ -3444,6 +3444,7 @@ qemuDomainPerfRestart(virDomainObjPtr vm)
 
  cleanup:
     virPerfFree(priv->perf);
+    priv->perf = NULL;
     return -1;
 }
 
@@ -5970,6 +5971,7 @@ void qemuProcessStop(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
     virCgroupFree(&priv->cgroup);
 
     virPerfFree(priv->perf);
+    priv->perf = NULL;
 
     qemuProcessRemoveDomainStatus(driver, vm);