diff --git a/qga/commands-posix.c b/qga/commands-posix.c
index 1877976..7915aab 100644
--- a/qga/commands-posix.c
+++ b/qga/commands-posix.c
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ static void ga_wait_child(pid_t pid, int *status, Error **errp)
 void qmp_guest_shutdown(bool has_mode, const char *mode, Error **errp)
 {
     const char *shutdown_flag;
+    const char *fallback_cmd = NULL;
     Error *local_err = NULL;
     pid_t pid;
     int status;
@@ -89,10 +90,13 @@ void qmp_guest_shutdown(bool has_mode, const char *mode, Error **errp)
     slog("guest-shutdown called, mode: %s", mode);
     if (!has_mode || strcmp(mode, "powerdown") == 0) {
         shutdown_flag = "-P";
+        fallback_cmd = "/sbin/poweroff";
     } else if (strcmp(mode, "halt") == 0) {
         shutdown_flag = "-H";
+        fallback_cmd = "/sbin/halt";
     } else if (strcmp(mode, "reboot") == 0) {
         shutdown_flag = "-r";
+        fallback_cmd = "/sbin/reboot";
     } else {
         error_setg(errp,
                    "mode is invalid (valid values are: halt|powerdown|reboot");
@@ -109,6 +113,7 @@ void qmp_guest_shutdown(bool has_mode, const char *mode, Error **errp)
 
         execle("/sbin/shutdown", "shutdown", "-h", shutdown_flag, "+0",
                "hypervisor initiated shutdown", (char*)NULL, environ);
+        execle(fallback_cmd, fallback_cmd, (char*)NULL, environ);
         _exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
     } else if (pid < 0) {
         error_setg_errno(errp, errno, "failed to create child process");