diff --git a/chardev/char-socket.c b/chardev/char-socket.c
index c2265436ac..8c58532171 100644
--- a/chardev/char-socket.c
+++ b/chardev/char-socket.c
@@ -1065,6 +1065,7 @@ static void char_socket_finalize(Object *obj)
         qio_net_listener_set_client_func_full(s->listener, NULL, NULL,
                                               NULL, chr->gcontext);
         object_unref(OBJECT(s->listener));
+        s->listener = NULL;
     }
     if (s->tls_creds) {
         object_unref(OBJECT(s->tls_creds));