diff --git a/hw/riscv/boot.c b/hw/riscv/boot.c
index 10f7991490..2e92fb0680 100644
--- a/hw/riscv/boot.c
+++ b/hw/riscv/boot.c
@@ -72,14 +72,14 @@ void riscv_find_and_load_firmware(MachineState *machine,
         firmware_filename = riscv_find_firmware(default_machine_firmware);
     } else {
         firmware_filename = machine->firmware;
+        if (strcmp(firmware_filename, "none")) {
+            firmware_filename = riscv_find_firmware(firmware_filename);
+        }
     }
 
     if (strcmp(firmware_filename, "none")) {
         /* If not "none" load the firmware */
         riscv_load_firmware(firmware_filename, firmware_load_addr);
-    }
-
-    if (!strcmp(machine->firmware, "default")) {
         g_free(firmware_filename);
     }
 }