diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_netdev.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_netdev.c
index 67e9633ea9c7..232191417b93 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_netdev.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_netdev.c
@@ -2282,7 +2282,7 @@ static int mlx4_en_set_vf_mac(struct net_device *dev, int queue, u8 *mac)
 	struct mlx4_en_dev *mdev = en_priv->mdev;
 	u64 mac_u64 = mlx4_mac_to_u64(mac);
 
-	if (!is_valid_ether_addr(mac))
+	if (is_multicast_ether_addr(mac))
 		return -EINVAL;
 
 	return mlx4_set_vf_mac(mdev->dev, en_priv->port, queue, mac_u64);