diff --git a/cpus.c b/cpus.c
index c1e74d9824..e831aa398f 100644
--- a/cpus.c
+++ b/cpus.c
@@ -1166,7 +1166,7 @@ void qemu_mutex_lock_iothread(void)
      * TCG code execution.
      */
     if (!tcg_enabled() || qemu_in_vcpu_thread() ||
-        !first_cpu || !first_cpu->thread) {
+        !first_cpu || !first_cpu->created) {
         qemu_mutex_lock(&qemu_global_mutex);
         atomic_dec(&iothread_requesting_mutex);
     } else {