diff --git a/pkgs/applications/virtualization/qemu/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/virtualization/qemu/default.nix
index 93a215f1003b..7e89871786d6 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/virtualization/qemu/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/virtualization/qemu/default.nix
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     if [ -x $out/bin/qemu-system-${stdenv.hostPlatform.qemuArch} ]; then
       makeWrapper $out/bin/qemu-system-${stdenv.hostPlatform.qemuArch} \
                   $out/bin/qemu-kvm \
-                  --add-flags "\$([ -e /dev/kvm ] && echo -enable-kvm)"
+                  --add-flags "\$([ -r /dev/kvm -a -w /dev/kvm ] && echo -enable-kvm)"
     fi
   '';