diff --git a/hw/arm/armv7m.c b/hw/arm/armv7m.c
index 4bf9131b81..f444652830 100644
--- a/hw/arm/armv7m.c
+++ b/hw/arm/armv7m.c
@@ -285,11 +285,6 @@ void armv7m_load_kernel(ARMCPU *cpu, const char *kernel_filename, int mem_size)
     big_endian = 0;
 #endif
 
-    if (!kernel_filename && !qtest_enabled()) {
-        error_report("Guest image must be specified (using -kernel)");
-        exit(1);
-    }
-
     if (arm_feature(&cpu->env, ARM_FEATURE_EL3)) {
         asidx = ARMASIdx_S;
     } else {