diff --git a/src/conf/virnwfilterobj.c b/src/conf/virnwfilterobj.c
index b5aaa6b0d4..0027d45b61 100644
--- a/src/conf/virnwfilterobj.c
+++ b/src/conf/virnwfilterobj.c
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ virNWFilterObjTestUnassignDef(virNWFilterObjPtr obj)
 
     obj->wantRemoved = true;
     /* trigger the update on VMs referencing the filter */
-    if (virNWFilterTriggerVMFilterRebuild())
+    if (virNWFilterTriggerVMFilterRebuild() < 0)
         rc = -1;
 
     obj->wantRemoved = false;
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ virNWFilterObjListAssignDef(virNWFilterObjListPtr nwfilters,
 
         obj->newDef = def;
         /* trigger the update on VMs referencing the filter */
-        if (virNWFilterTriggerVMFilterRebuild()) {
+        if (virNWFilterTriggerVMFilterRebuild() < 0) {
             obj->newDef = NULL;
             virNWFilterObjUnlock(obj);
             return NULL;