diff --git a/contrib/vhost-user-gpu/vhost-user-gpu.c b/contrib/vhost-user-gpu/vhost-user-gpu.c
index b5e153d0d6..0437e52b64 100644
--- a/contrib/vhost-user-gpu/vhost-user-gpu.c
+++ b/contrib/vhost-user-gpu/vhost-user-gpu.c
@@ -489,6 +489,11 @@ vg_resource_attach_backing(VuGpu *g,
         return;
     }
 
+    if (res->iov) {
+        cmd->error = VIRTIO_GPU_RESP_ERR_UNSPEC;
+        return;
+    }
+
     ret = vg_create_mapping_iov(g, &ab, cmd, &res->iov);
     if (ret != 0) {
         cmd->error = VIRTIO_GPU_RESP_ERR_UNSPEC;