diff --git a/accel/kvm/kvm-all.c b/accel/kvm/kvm-all.c
index f84413b795..c32a84eb5a 100644
--- a/accel/kvm/kvm-all.c
+++ b/accel/kvm/kvm-all.c
@@ -71,6 +71,8 @@
 
 /* Default num of memslots to be allocated when VM starts */
 #define  KVM_MEMSLOTS_NR_ALLOC_DEFAULT                      16
+/* Default max allowed memslots if kernel reported nothing */
+#define  KVM_MEMSLOTS_NR_MAX_DEFAULT                        32
 
 struct KVMParkedVcpu {
     unsigned long vcpu_id;
@@ -2613,7 +2615,7 @@ static int kvm_init(MachineState *ms)
 
     /* If unspecified, use the default value */
     if (!s->nr_slots) {
-        s->nr_slots = 32;
+        s->nr_slots_max = KVM_MEMSLOTS_NR_MAX_DEFAULT;
     }
 
     s->nr_as = kvm_check_extension(s, KVM_CAP_MULTI_ADDRESS_SPACE);