diff --git a/hw/core/qdev.c b/hw/core/qdev.c
index 09c4489e3c..48bc9a7b9c 100644
--- a/hw/core/qdev.c
+++ b/hw/core/qdev.c
@@ -817,7 +817,12 @@ Object *qdev_get_machine(void)
     static Object *dev;
 
     if (dev == NULL) {
-        dev = container_get(object_get_root(), "/machine");
+        dev = object_resolve_path_component(object_get_root(), "machine");
+        /*
+         * Any call to this function before machine is created is treated
+         * as a programming error as of now.
+         */
+        assert(dev);
     }
 
     return dev;