diff --git a/arch/s390/kvm/kvm-s390.c b/arch/s390/kvm/kvm-s390.c
index c6257f625929..14a18ba5ff2c 100644
--- a/arch/s390/kvm/kvm-s390.c
+++ b/arch/s390/kvm/kvm-s390.c
@@ -585,6 +585,8 @@ int kvm_vm_ioctl_check_extension(struct kvm *kvm, long ext)
 			r = KVM_MAX_VCPUS;
 		else if (sclp.has_esca && sclp.has_64bscao)
 			r = KVM_S390_ESCA_CPU_SLOTS;
+		if (ext == KVM_CAP_NR_VCPUS)
+			r = min_t(unsigned int, num_online_cpus(), r);
 		break;
 	case KVM_CAP_S390_COW:
 		r = MACHINE_HAS_ESOP;