diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
index a760b06ea0..be678f3652 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
@@ -5570,7 +5570,7 @@ qemuDomainUpdateDeviceConfig(virDomainDefPtr vmdef,
             return -1;
         }
 
-        VIR_FREE(vmdef->nets[pos]);
+        virDomainNetDefFree(vmdef->nets[pos]);
 
         vmdef->nets[pos] = net;
         dev->data.net = NULL;