diff --git a/blockdev.c b/blockdev.c
index f308adc9aa..7f2561081e 100644
--- a/blockdev.c
+++ b/blockdev.c
@@ -2602,6 +2602,7 @@ void qmp_block_commit(bool has_job_id, const char *job_id, const char *device,
     AioContext *aio_context;
     Error *local_err = NULL;
     int job_flags = JOB_DEFAULT;
+    uint64_t top_perm, top_shared;
 
     if (!has_speed) {
         speed = 0;
@@ -2717,14 +2718,38 @@ void qmp_block_commit(bool has_job_id, const char *job_id, const char *device,
         goto out;
     }
 
-    if (top_bs == bs) {
+    /*
+     * Active commit is required if and only if someone has taken a
+     * WRITE permission on the top node.  Historically, we have always
+     * used active commit for top nodes, so continue that practice
+     * lest we possibly break clients that rely on this behavior, e.g.
+     * to later attach this node to a writing parent.
+     * (Active commit is never really wrong.)
+     */
+    bdrv_get_cumulative_perm(top_bs, &top_perm, &top_shared);
+    if (top_perm & BLK_PERM_WRITE ||
+        bdrv_skip_filters(top_bs) == bdrv_skip_filters(bs))
+    {
         if (has_backing_file) {
-            error_setg(errp, "'backing-file' specified,"
-                             " but 'top' is the active layer");
+            if (bdrv_skip_filters(top_bs) == bdrv_skip_filters(bs)) {
+                error_setg(errp, "'backing-file' specified,"
+                                 " but 'top' is the active layer");
+            } else {
+                error_setg(errp, "'backing-file' specified, but 'top' has a "
+                                 "writer on it");
+            }
             goto out;
         }
-        commit_active_start(has_job_id ? job_id : NULL, bs, base_bs,
-                            job_flags, speed, on_error,
+        if (!has_job_id) {
+            /*
+             * Emulate here what block_job_create() does, because it
+             * is possible that @bs != @top_bs (the block job should
+             * be named after @bs, even if @top_bs is the actual
+             * source)
+             */
+            job_id = bdrv_get_device_name(bs);
+        }
+        commit_active_start(job_id, top_bs, base_bs, job_flags, speed, on_error,
                             filter_node_name, NULL, NULL, false, &local_err);
     } else {
         BlockDriverState *overlay_bs = bdrv_find_overlay(bs, top_bs);
diff --git a/qapi/block-core.json b/qapi/block-core.json
index e34796d98f..0345f6f2d2 100644
--- a/qapi/block-core.json
+++ b/qapi/block-core.json
@@ -1569,6 +1569,18 @@
 # Live commit of data from overlay image nodes into backing nodes - i.e.,
 # writes data between 'top' and 'base' into 'base'.
 #
+# If top == base, that is an error.
+# If top has no overlays on top of it, or if it is in use by a writer,
+# the job will not be completed by itself.  The user needs to complete
+# the job with the block-job-complete command after getting the ready
+# event. (Since 2.0)
+#
+# If the base image is smaller than top, then the base image will be
+# resized to be the same size as top.  If top is smaller than the base
+# image, the base will not be truncated.  If you want the base image
+# size to match the size of the smaller top, you can safely truncate
+# it yourself once the commit operation successfully completes.
+#
 # @job-id: identifier for the newly-created block job. If
 #          omitted, the device name will be used. (Since 2.7)
 #
@@ -1593,14 +1605,15 @@
 #       accepted
 #
 # @backing-file: The backing file string to write into the overlay
-#                image of 'top'.  If 'top' is the active layer,
-#                specifying a backing file string is an error. This
-#                filename is not validated.
+#                image of 'top'.  If 'top' does not have an overlay
+#                image, or if 'top' is in use by a writer, specifying
+#                a backing file string is an error.
 #
-#                If a pathname string is such that it cannot be
-#                resolved by QEMU, that means that subsequent QMP or
-#                HMP commands must use node-names for the image in
-#                question, as filename lookup methods will fail.
+#                This filename is not validated.  If a pathname string
+#                is such that it cannot be resolved by QEMU, that
+#                means that subsequent QMP or HMP commands must use
+#                node-names for the image in question, as filename
+#                lookup methods will fail.
 #
 #                If not specified, QEMU will automatically determine
 #                the backing file string to use, or error out if
@@ -1609,18 +1622,6 @@
 #                filename or protocol.
 #                (Since 2.1)
 #
-#                If top == base, that is an error.
-#                If top == active, the job will not be completed by itself,
-#                user needs to complete the job with the block-job-complete
-#                command after getting the ready event. (Since 2.0)
-#
-#                If the base image is smaller than top, then the base image
-#                will be resized to be the same size as top.  If top is
-#                smaller than the base image, the base will not be
-#                truncated.  If you want the base image size to match the
-#                size of the smaller top, you can safely truncate it
-#                yourself once the commit operation successfully completes.
-#
 # @speed: the maximum speed, in bytes per second
 #
 # @on-error: the action to take on an error. 'ignore' means that the request