diff --git a/trace/control.c b/trace/control.c
index 6c775e68eb..2ffe000818 100644
--- a/trace/control.c
+++ b/trace/control.c
@@ -226,10 +226,15 @@ void trace_init_file(const char *file)
 #ifdef CONFIG_TRACE_SIMPLE
     st_set_trace_file(file);
 #elif defined CONFIG_TRACE_LOG
-    /* If both the simple and the log backends are enabled, "--trace file"
-     * only applies to the simple backend; use "-D" for the log backend.
+    /*
+     * If both the simple and the log backends are enabled, "--trace file"
+     * only applies to the simple backend; use "-D" for the log
+     * backend. However we should only override -D if we actually have
+     * something to override it with.
      */
-    qemu_set_log_filename(file, &error_fatal);
+    if (file) {
+        qemu_set_log_filename(file, &error_fatal);
+    }
 #else
     if (file) {
         fprintf(stderr, "error: --trace file=...: "