diff --git a/hw/net/virtio-net.c b/hw/net/virtio-net.c
index 1011a524bf..a0fa63e7cb 100644
--- a/hw/net/virtio-net.c
+++ b/hw/net/virtio-net.c
@@ -3136,7 +3136,7 @@ static bool failover_replug_primary(VirtIONet *n, Error **errp)
         return false;
     }
     qdev_set_parent_bus(n->primary_dev, n->primary_bus, &error_abort);
-    n->primary_should_be_hidden = false;
+    qatomic_set(&n->primary_should_be_hidden, false);
     if (!qemu_opt_set_bool(n->primary_device_opts,
                            "partially_hotplugged", true, errp)) {
         return false;