1 files changed, 5 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/hw/intc/armv7m_nvic.c b/hw/intc/armv7m_nvic.c
index c51151fa8a..661be8878a 100644
--- a/hw/intc/armv7m_nvic.c
+++ b/hw/intc/armv7m_nvic.c
@@ -2183,7 +2183,11 @@ static void armv7m_nvic_realize(DeviceState *dev, Error **errp)
     int regionlen;
 
     s->cpu = ARM_CPU(qemu_get_cpu(0));
-    assert(s->cpu);
+
+    if (!s->cpu || !arm_feature(&s->cpu->env, ARM_FEATURE_M)) {
+        error_setg(errp, "The NVIC can only be used with a Cortex-M CPU");
+        return;
+    }
 
     if (s->num_irq > NVIC_MAX_IRQ) {
         error_setg(errp, "num-irq %d exceeds NVIC maximum", s->num_irq);