diff --git a/hw/pci/pci.c b/hw/pci/pci.c
index b7fee4bdf2..3c24888870 100644
--- a/hw/pci/pci.c
+++ b/hw/pci/pci.c
@@ -2270,12 +2270,8 @@ int pci_add_capability(PCIDevice *pdev, uint8_t cap_id,
     Error *local_err = NULL;
 
     ret = pci_add_capability2(pdev, cap_id, offset, size, &local_err);
-    if (local_err) {
-        assert(ret < 0);
+    if (ret < 0) {
         error_report_err(local_err);
-    } else {
-        /* success implies a positive offset in config space */
-        assert(ret > 0);
     }
     return ret;
 }