diff --git a/include/qemu/plugin.h b/include/qemu/plugin.h
index 145f8a221acb42f076d853911fdb6d8845154354..a772e141939c8069dd03f9f3a94a6cd13d4dd834 100644
--- a/include/qemu/plugin.h
+++ b/include/qemu/plugin.h
@@ -224,6 +224,23 @@ void qemu_plugin_disable_mem_helpers(CPUState *cpu);
  */
 void qemu_plugin_user_exit(void);
 
+/**
+ * qemu_plugin_user_prefork_lock(): take plugin lock before forking
+ *
+ * This is a user-mode only helper to take the internal plugin lock
+ * before a fork event. This is ensure a consistent lock state
+ */
+void qemu_plugin_user_prefork_lock(void);
+
+/**
+ * qemu_plugin_user_postfork(): reset the plugin lock
+ * @is_child: is this thread the child
+ *
+ * This user-mode only helper resets the lock state after a fork so we
+ * can continue using the plugin interface.
+ */
+void qemu_plugin_user_postfork(bool is_child);
+
 #else /* !CONFIG_PLUGIN */
 
 static inline void qemu_plugin_add_opts(void)
@@ -287,6 +304,13 @@ static inline void qemu_plugin_disable_mem_helpers(CPUState *cpu)
 
 static inline void qemu_plugin_user_exit(void)
 { }
+
+static inline void qemu_plugin_user_prefork_lock(void)
+{ }
+
+static inline void qemu_plugin_user_postfork(bool is_child)
+{ }
+
 #endif /* !CONFIG_PLUGIN */
 
 #endif /* QEMU_PLUGIN_H */
diff --git a/linux-user/main.c b/linux-user/main.c
index 88fccfe261499991f8f52a8d79ea4fa639e92300..a17fed045bfbc8bd0b87371ac25d88edee319702 100644
--- a/linux-user/main.c
+++ b/linux-user/main.c
@@ -142,10 +142,12 @@ void fork_start(void)
     start_exclusive();
     mmap_fork_start();
     cpu_list_lock();
+    qemu_plugin_user_prefork_lock();
 }
 
 void fork_end(int child)
 {
+    qemu_plugin_user_postfork(child);
     mmap_fork_end(child);
     if (child) {
         CPUState *cpu, *next_cpu;
diff --git a/plugins/core.c b/plugins/core.c
index c3ae284994d94e3cbbb707127de0ecee07667b8a..ccb770a48501a1561dc44c5d93ce0d03a130a0d8 100644
--- a/plugins/core.c
+++ b/plugins/core.c
@@ -526,6 +526,26 @@ void qemu_plugin_user_exit(void)
     qemu_plugin_atexit_cb();
 }
 
+/*
+ * Helpers for *-user to ensure locks are sane across fork() events.
+ */
+
+void qemu_plugin_user_prefork_lock(void)
+{
+    qemu_rec_mutex_lock(&plugin.lock);
+}
+
+void qemu_plugin_user_postfork(bool is_child)
+{
+    if (is_child) {
+        /* should we just reset via plugin_init? */
+        qemu_rec_mutex_init(&plugin.lock);
+    } else {
+        qemu_rec_mutex_unlock(&plugin.lock);
+    }
+}
+
+
 /*
  * Call this function after longjmp'ing to the main loop. It's possible that the
  * last instruction of a TB might have used helpers, and therefore the