diff --git a/src/cpu/cpu_x86.c b/src/cpu/cpu_x86.c
index 67c88ae3b7..32aa01bc14 100644
--- a/src/cpu/cpu_x86.c
+++ b/src/cpu/cpu_x86.c
@@ -3212,6 +3212,7 @@ virCPUx86UpdateLive(virCPUDef *cpu,
          * behaved before the features were added.
          */
         if (!explicit &&
+            model->addedFeatures &&
             g_strv_contains((const char **) model->addedFeatures, feature->name))
             ignore = true;