diff --git a/storage-daemon/qemu-storage-daemon.c b/storage-daemon/qemu-storage-daemon.c
index 448c318e23..7718f6dcda 100644
--- a/storage-daemon/qemu-storage-daemon.c
+++ b/storage-daemon/qemu-storage-daemon.c
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@
 #include "trace/control.h"
 
 static const char *pid_file;
+static char *pid_file_realpath;
 static volatile bool exit_requested = false;
 
 void qemu_system_killed(int signal, pid_t pid)
@@ -363,7 +364,7 @@ static void process_options(int argc, char *argv[], bool pre_init_pass)
 
 static void pid_file_cleanup(void)
 {
-    unlink(pid_file);
+    unlink(pid_file_realpath);
 }
 
 static void pid_file_init(void)
@@ -379,6 +380,14 @@ static void pid_file_init(void)
         exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
     }
 
+    pid_file_realpath = g_malloc(PATH_MAX);
+    if (!realpath(pid_file, pid_file_realpath)) {
+        error_report("cannot resolve PID file path: %s: %s",
+                     pid_file, strerror(errno));
+        unlink(pid_file);
+        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+    }
+
     atexit(pid_file_cleanup);
 }