diff --git a/qemu-thread-posix.c b/qemu-thread-posix.c
index e3077733fc..8b54cc0262 100644
--- a/qemu-thread-posix.c
+++ b/qemu-thread-posix.c
@@ -28,8 +28,12 @@ static void error_exit(int err, const char *msg)
 void qemu_mutex_init(QemuMutex *mutex)
 {
     int err;
+    pthread_mutexattr_t mutexattr;
 
-    err = pthread_mutex_init(&mutex->lock, NULL);
+    pthread_mutexattr_init(&mutexattr);
+    pthread_mutexattr_settype(&mutexattr, PTHREAD_MUTEX_ERRORCHECK);
+    err = pthread_mutex_init(&mutex->lock, &mutexattr);
+    pthread_mutexattr_destroy(&mutexattr);
     if (err)
         error_exit(err, __func__);
 }