diff --git a/util/compatfd.c b/util/compatfd.c
index 55b6e0b7fb..147e39e2c6 100644
--- a/util/compatfd.c
+++ b/util/compatfd.c
@@ -60,14 +60,11 @@ static int qemu_signalfd_compat(const sigset_t *mask)
 
     info = g_malloc(sizeof(*info));
 
-    if (pipe(fds) == -1) {
+    if (!g_unix_open_pipe(fds, FD_CLOEXEC, NULL)) {
         g_free(info);
         return -1;
     }
 
-    qemu_set_cloexec(fds[0]);
-    qemu_set_cloexec(fds[1]);
-
     memcpy(&info->mask, mask, sizeof(*mask));
     info->fd = fds[1];