diff --git a/qemu-img.c b/qemu-img.c
index f7ffb79db6..02900ce1d1 100644
--- a/qemu-img.c
+++ b/qemu-img.c
@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@ static int img_add_key_secrets(void *opaque,
     QDict *options = opaque;
 
     if (g_str_has_suffix(name, "key-secret")) {
-        qdict_put(options, name, qstring_from_str(value));
+        qdict_put_str(options, name, value);
     }
 
     return 0;