diff --git a/block/block-backend.c b/block/block-backend.c
index 4a419f75fb..86315d62c6 100644
--- a/block/block-backend.c
+++ b/block/block-backend.c
@@ -677,13 +677,10 @@ void bdrv_next_cleanup(BdrvNextIterator *it)
     /* Must be called from the main loop */
     assert(qemu_get_current_aio_context() == qemu_get_aio_context());
 
-    if (it->phase == BDRV_NEXT_BACKEND_ROOTS) {
-        if (it->blk) {
-            bdrv_unref(blk_bs(it->blk));
-            blk_unref(it->blk);
-        }
-    } else {
-        bdrv_unref(it->bs);
+    bdrv_unref(it->bs);
+
+    if (it->phase == BDRV_NEXT_BACKEND_ROOTS && it->blk) {
+        blk_unref(it->blk);
     }
 
     bdrv_next_reset(it);