diff --git a/ui/vnc.c b/ui/vnc.c
index 0d499b208b..e6bcf0e1cf 100644
--- a/ui/vnc.c
+++ b/ui/vnc.c
@@ -556,9 +556,12 @@ VncInfo2List *qmp_query_vnc_servers(Error **errp)
         qmp_query_auth(vd->auth, vd->subauth, &info->auth,
                        &info->vencrypt, &info->has_vencrypt);
         if (vd->dcl.con) {
-            dev = DEVICE(object_property_get_link(OBJECT(vd->dcl.con),
-                                                  "device", &error_abort));
-            info->display = g_strdup(dev->id);
+            Object *obj = object_property_get_link(OBJECT(vd->dcl.con),
+                                                   "device", NULL);
+            if (obj) {
+                dev = DEVICE(obj);
+                info->display = g_strdup(dev->id);
+            }
         }
         if (vd->listener != NULL) {
             nsioc = qio_net_listener_nsioc(vd->listener);