1 files changed, 5 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/block.c b/block.c
index 3e277855e7..a2a4a0dd80 100644
--- a/block.c
+++ b/block.c
@@ -6553,9 +6553,13 @@ void bdrv_img_create(const char *filename, const char *fmt,
         }
         assert(full_backing);
 
-        /* backing files always opened read-only */
+        /*
+         * No need to do I/O here, which allows us to open encrypted
+         * backing images without needing the secret
+         */
         back_flags = flags;
         back_flags &= ~(BDRV_O_RDWR | BDRV_O_SNAPSHOT | BDRV_O_NO_BACKING);
+        back_flags |= BDRV_O_NO_IO;
 
         backing_options = qdict_new();
         if (backing_fmt) {