diff --git a/hw/i386/x86-common.c b/hw/i386/x86-common.c
index dc031af662..dadc9d99e7 100644
--- a/hw/i386/x86-common.c
+++ b/hw/i386/x86-common.c
@@ -945,7 +945,7 @@ void x86_load_linux(X86MachineState *x86ms,
      * kernel on the other side of the fw_cfg interface matches the hash of the
      * file the user passed in.
      */
-    if (!sev_enabled()) {
+    if (!sev_enabled() && protocol > 0) {
         memcpy(setup, header, MIN(sizeof(header), setup_size));
     }