diff --git a/hw/nvme/ctrl.c b/hw/nvme/ctrl.c
index f026245d1e..76fe039704 100644
--- a/hw/nvme/ctrl.c
+++ b/hw/nvme/ctrl.c
@@ -7924,7 +7924,7 @@ static void nvme_init_state(NvmeCtrl *n)
     n->aer_reqs = g_new0(NvmeRequest *, n->params.aerl + 1);
     QTAILQ_INIT(&n->aer_queue);
 
-    list->numcntl = cpu_to_le16(max_vfs);
+    list->numcntl = max_vfs;
     for (i = 0; i < max_vfs; i++) {
         sctrl = &list->sec[i];
         sctrl->pcid = cpu_to_le16(n->cntlid);