diff --git a/qemu-img.c b/qemu-img.c
index dece1b3a3a..b9a848db74 100644
--- a/qemu-img.c
+++ b/qemu-img.c
@@ -2322,6 +2322,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     const img_cmd_t *cmd;
     const char *cmdname;
 
+#ifdef CONFIG_POSIX
+    signal(SIGPIPE, SIG_IGN);
+#endif
+
     error_set_progname(argv[0]);
 
     qemu_init_main_loop();
diff --git a/qemu-io.c b/qemu-io.c
index cb9def50e6..d54dc86921 100644
--- a/qemu-io.c
+++ b/qemu-io.c
@@ -335,6 +335,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     int opt_index = 0;
     int flags = BDRV_O_UNMAP;
 
+#ifdef CONFIG_POSIX
+    signal(SIGPIPE, SIG_IGN);
+#endif
+
     progname = basename(argv[0]);
 
     while ((c = getopt_long(argc, argv, sopt, lopt, &opt_index)) != -1) {