diff --git a/cpus.c b/cpus.c
index 0309189bfd..4c9928e2ce 100644
--- a/cpus.c
+++ b/cpus.c
@@ -735,9 +735,7 @@ static sigset_t block_io_signals(void)
 void qemu_mutex_lock_iothread(void)
 {
     if (kvm_enabled()) {
-        qemu_mutex_lock(&qemu_fair_mutex);
         qemu_mutex_lock(&qemu_global_mutex);
-        qemu_mutex_unlock(&qemu_fair_mutex);
     } else {
         qemu_mutex_lock(&qemu_fair_mutex);
         if (qemu_mutex_trylock(&qemu_global_mutex)) {