diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio_net.c b/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
index bfb566fecb92..f4adcfee7a80 100644
--- a/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
+++ b/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
@@ -3759,6 +3759,12 @@ static int virtnet_set_queues(struct virtnet_info *vi, u16 queue_pairs)
 			 queue_pairs);
 		return -EINVAL;
 	}
+
+	/* Keep max_tx_vq in sync so that a later RSS command does not
+	 * revert queue_pairs to a stale value.
+	 */
+	if (vi->has_rss)
+		vi->rss_trailer.max_tx_vq = cpu_to_le16(queue_pairs);
 succ:
 	vi->curr_queue_pairs = queue_pairs;
 	if (dev->flags & IFF_UP) {