diff --git a/exec.c b/exec.c
index 86ab7de87b..5e94a8feea 100644
--- a/exec.c
+++ b/exec.c
@@ -3448,7 +3448,7 @@ void stq_phys(target_phys_addr_t addr, uint64_t val)
 
 #endif
 
-/* virtual memory access for debug */
+/* virtual memory access for debug (includes writing to ROM) */
 int cpu_memory_rw_debug(CPUState *env, target_ulong addr,
                         uint8_t *buf, int len, int is_write)
 {
@@ -3465,8 +3465,13 @@ int cpu_memory_rw_debug(CPUState *env, target_ulong addr,
         l = (page + TARGET_PAGE_SIZE) - addr;
         if (l > len)
             l = len;
-        cpu_physical_memory_rw(phys_addr + (addr & ~TARGET_PAGE_MASK),
-                               buf, l, is_write);
+        phys_addr += (addr & ~TARGET_PAGE_MASK);
+#if !defined(CONFIG_USER_ONLY)
+        if (is_write)
+            cpu_physical_memory_write_rom(phys_addr, buf, l);
+        else
+#endif
+            cpu_physical_memory_rw(phys_addr, buf, l, is_write);
         len -= l;
         buf += l;
         addr += l;