diff --git a/backends/tpm/tpm_util.c b/backends/tpm/tpm_util.c
index a64e156f45..264bff22a9 100644
--- a/backends/tpm/tpm_util.c
+++ b/backends/tpm/tpm_util.c
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ static void release_tpm(Object *obj, const char *name, void *opaque)
 
     if (*be) {
         tpm_backend_reset(*be);
+        *be = NULL;
     }
 }