diff --git a/target-s390x/kvm.c b/target-s390x/kvm.c
index c3be180de2..75a0e5d1c3 100644
--- a/target-s390x/kvm.c
+++ b/target-s390x/kvm.c
@@ -258,7 +258,9 @@ int kvm_arch_init(MachineState *ms, KVMState *s)
     cap_mem_op = kvm_check_extension(s, KVM_CAP_S390_MEM_OP);
     cap_s390_irq = kvm_check_extension(s, KVM_CAP_S390_INJECT_IRQ);
 
-    kvm_s390_enable_cmma(s);
+    if (!mem_path) {
+        kvm_s390_enable_cmma(s);
+    }
 
     if (!kvm_check_extension(s, KVM_CAP_S390_GMAP)
         || !kvm_check_extension(s, KVM_CAP_S390_COW)) {