diff --git a/usr.sbin/bhyveload/bhyveload.c b/usr.sbin/bhyveload/bhyveload.c
--- a/usr.sbin/bhyveload/bhyveload.c
+++ b/usr.sbin/bhyveload/bhyveload.c
@@ -690,7 +690,7 @@
 	if (ndisks >= NDISKS)
 		return (ERANGE);
 
-	fd = open(path, O_RDONLY);
+	fd = open(path, O_RDWR);
 	if (fd < 0)
 		return (errno);