diff --git a/hw/net/virtio-net.c b/hw/net/virtio-net.c
index b2d99f9cd1..908e7b809e 100644
--- a/hw/net/virtio-net.c
+++ b/hw/net/virtio-net.c
@@ -1266,6 +1266,7 @@ static void virtio_net_guest_notifier_mask(VirtIODevice *vdev, int idx,
 void virtio_net_set_config_size(VirtIONet *n, uint32_t host_features)
 {
     int i, config_size = 0;
+    host_features |= (1 << VIRTIO_NET_F_MAC);
     for (i = 0; feature_sizes[i].flags != 0; i++) {
         if (host_features & feature_sizes[i].flags) {
             config_size = MAX(feature_sizes[i].end, config_size);