diff --git a/hw/core/machine.c b/hw/core/machine.c
index 6d1a0d8eebc4..7203dd260bf2 100644
--- a/hw/core/machine.c
+++ b/hw/core/machine.c
@@ -312,6 +312,21 @@ static bool machine_get_suppress_vmdesc(Object *obj, Error **errp)
     return ms->suppress_vmdesc;
 }
 
+static void machine_set_require_config_section(Object *obj, bool value,
+                                               Error **errp)
+{
+    MachineState *ms = MACHINE(obj);
+
+    ms->require_config_section = value;
+}
+
+static bool machine_get_require_config_section(Object *obj, Error **errp)
+{
+    MachineState *ms = MACHINE(obj);
+
+    return ms->require_config_section;
+}
+
 static int error_on_sysbus_device(SysBusDevice *sbdev, void *opaque)
 {
     error_report("Option '-device %s' cannot be handled by this machine",
@@ -365,6 +380,7 @@ static void machine_initfn(Object *obj)
     ms->kvm_shadow_mem = -1;
     ms->dump_guest_core = true;
     ms->mem_merge = true;
+    ms->require_config_section = true;
 
     object_property_add_str(obj, "accel",
                             machine_get_accel, machine_set_accel, NULL);
@@ -467,6 +483,12 @@ static void machine_initfn(Object *obj)
     object_property_set_description(obj, "suppress-vmdesc",
                                     "Set on to disable self-describing migration",
                                     NULL);
+    object_property_add_bool(obj, "require-config-section",
+                             machine_get_require_config_section,
+                             machine_set_require_config_section, NULL);
+    object_property_set_description(obj, "require-config-section",
+                                    "Set on/off to reject/accept migration without configuration section",
+                                    NULL);
 
     /* Register notifier when init is done for sysbus sanity checks */
     ms->sysbus_notifier.notify = machine_init_notify;
diff --git a/include/hw/boards.h b/include/hw/boards.h
index 0f30959e2e3b..d6ff1ba4c260 100644
--- a/include/hw/boards.h
+++ b/include/hw/boards.h
@@ -128,6 +128,7 @@ struct MachineState {
     char *firmware;
     bool iommu;
     bool suppress_vmdesc;
+    bool require_config_section;
 
     ram_addr_t ram_size;
     ram_addr_t maxram_size;
diff --git a/migration/savevm.c b/migration/savevm.c
index 94f2894243ce..f8dee03a3350 100644
--- a/migration/savevm.c
+++ b/migration/savevm.c
@@ -1847,6 +1847,12 @@ static int qemu_loadvm_state_main(QEMUFile *f, MigrationIncomingState *mis)
     return 0;
 }
 
+static bool must_receive_configuration(void)
+{
+    MachineState *machine = MACHINE(qdev_get_machine());
+    return machine->require_config_section;
+}
+
 int qemu_loadvm_state(QEMUFile *f)
 {
     MigrationIncomingState *mis = migration_incoming_get_current();
@@ -1876,15 +1882,18 @@ int qemu_loadvm_state(QEMUFile *f)
     }
 
     if (!savevm_state.skip_configuration) {
-        if (qemu_get_byte(f) != QEMU_VM_CONFIGURATION) {
+        if (qemu_peek_byte(f, 0) == QEMU_VM_CONFIGURATION) {
+            qemu_file_skip(f, 1);
+            ret = vmstate_load_state(f, &vmstate_configuration, &savevm_state,
+                                     0);
+
+            if (ret) {
+                return ret;
+            }
+        } else if (must_receive_configuration()) {
             error_report("Configuration section missing");
             return -EINVAL;
         }
-        ret = vmstate_load_state(f, &vmstate_configuration, &savevm_state, 0);
-
-        if (ret) {
-            return ret;
-        }
     }
 
     ret = qemu_loadvm_state_main(f, mis);
diff --git a/qemu-options.hx b/qemu-options.hx
index 2f0465eeb1d1..172471c75b1c 100644
--- a/qemu-options.hx
+++ b/qemu-options.hx
@@ -43,7 +43,8 @@ DEF("machine", HAS_ARG, QEMU_OPTION_machine, \
     "                aes-key-wrap=on|off controls support for AES key wrapping (default=on)\n"
     "                dea-key-wrap=on|off controls support for DEA key wrapping (default=on)\n"
     "                suppress-vmdesc=on|off disables self-describing migration (default=off)\n"
-    "                nvdimm=on|off controls NVDIMM support (default=off)\n",
+    "                nvdimm=on|off controls NVDIMM support (default=off)\n"
+    "                require-config-section=on|off incoming migration requires configuration section (default=on)\n",
     QEMU_ARCH_ALL)
 STEXI
 @item -machine [type=]@var{name}[,prop=@var{value}[,...]]
