diff --git a/pkg/pillar/hypervisor/kvm.go b/pkg/pillar/hypervisor/kvm.go
index 0726e579f9a..1b4381340ce 100644
--- a/pkg/pillar/hypervisor/kvm.go
+++ b/pkg/pillar/hypervisor/kvm.go
@@ -110,6 +110,9 @@ const qemuConfTemplate = `# This file is automatically generated by domainmgr
   caching-mode = "on"
 {{ end }}
 
+[realtime]
+  mlock = "off"
+
 [chardev "charmonitor"]
   backend = "socket"
   path = "` + kvmStateDir + `{{.DomainConfig.DisplayName}}/qmp"