diff --git a/drivers/vhost/vsock.c b/drivers/vhost/vsock.c
index 0835f942684f..b106e11d31fa 100644
--- a/drivers/vhost/vsock.c
+++ b/drivers/vhost/vsock.c
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ struct vhost_vsock {
 
 	u32 guest_cid;
 	bool seqpacket_allow;
+	bool ever_started; /* set on first SET_RUNNING(1); never cleared */
 };
 
 static u32 vhost_transport_get_local_cid(void)
@@ -302,17 +303,12 @@ vhost_transport_send_pkt(struct sk_buff *skb, struct net *net)
 		return -ENODEV;
 	}
 
-	/* Fast-fail if the guest hasn't enabled the RX vq yet. Queuing the packet
-	 * and making the caller wait is pointless: even if the guest manages to init
-	 * within the timeout, it'll immediately reply with RST, because there's no
-	 * listener on the port yet.
-	 *
-	 * vhost_vq_get_backend() without vq->mutex is acceptable here: locking
-	 * the mutex would be too expensive in this hot path, and we already have
-	 * all the outcomes covered: if the backend becomes NULL right after the check,
-	 * vhost_transport_do_send_pkt() will check it under the mutex anyway.
+	/* Fast-fail until the guest first enables the device (SET_RUNNING(1)).
+	 * Before that there is no listener, so queuing is pointless.
+	 * 'ever_started' is never cleared, so once we're up we keep queuing
+	 * across later stop / CPR-pause windows.
 	 */
-	if (unlikely(!data_race(vhost_vq_get_backend(&vsock->vqs[VSOCK_VQ_RX])))) {
+	if (unlikely(!READ_ONCE(vsock->ever_started))) {
 		rcu_read_unlock();
 		kfree_skb(skb);
 		return -EHOSTUNREACH;
@@ -640,6 +636,11 @@ static int vhost_vsock_start(struct vhost_vsock *vsock)
 		mutex_unlock(&vq->mutex);
 	}
 
+	/* Set 'ever_started' flag on the first start; never cleared, so send_pkt
+	 * keeps queuing (instead of fast-failing) on later stop / CPR pauses.
+	 */
+	WRITE_ONCE(vsock->ever_started, true);
+
 	/* Some packets may have been queued before the device was started,
 	 * let's kick the send worker to send them.
 	 */
@@ -728,6 +729,7 @@ static int vhost_vsock_dev_open(struct inode *inode, struct file *file)
 
 	vsock->guest_cid = 0; /* no CID assigned yet */
 	vsock->seqpacket_allow = false;
+	vsock->ever_started = false;
 
 	atomic_set(&vsock->queued_replies, 0);