diff --git a/ui/ui-qmp-cmds.c b/ui/ui-qmp-cmds.c
index 1173c82cf7..753cc2bf52 100644
--- a/ui/ui-qmp-cmds.c
+++ b/ui/ui-qmp-cmds.c
@@ -348,6 +348,7 @@ qmp_screendump(const char *filename, const char *device,
         }
     }
 
+    object_ref(con);
     qemu_console_co_wait_update(con);
 
     /*
@@ -358,9 +359,11 @@ qmp_screendump(const char *filename, const char *device,
     surface = qemu_console_surface(con);
     if (!surface) {
         error_setg(errp, "no surface");
+        object_unref(con);
         return;
     }
     image = pixman_image_ref(surface->image);
+    object_unref(con);
 
     fd = qemu_create(filename, O_WRONLY | O_TRUNC | O_BINARY, 0666, errp);
     if (fd == -1) {