diff --git a/hw/net/virtio-net.c b/hw/net/virtio-net.c
index 8464eb4082..b423169a48 100644
--- a/hw/net/virtio-net.c
+++ b/hw/net/virtio-net.c
@@ -651,6 +651,7 @@ static void virtio_net_set_mrg_rx_bufs(VirtIONet *n, int mergeable_rx_bufs,
         n->guest_hdr_len = n->mergeable_rx_bufs ?
             sizeof(struct virtio_net_hdr_mrg_rxbuf) :
             sizeof(struct virtio_net_hdr);
+        n->rss_data.populate_hash = false;
     }
 
     for (i = 0; i < n->max_queue_pairs; i++) {