diff --git a/block.c b/block.c
index 0a062c9..5f4859e 100644
--- a/block.c
+++ b/block.c
@@ -708,7 +708,7 @@ static int bdrv_open_common(BlockDriverState *bs, BlockDriverState *file,
             bdrv_swap(file, bs);
             ret = 0;
         } else {
-            ret = drv->bdrv_file_open(bs, filename, open_flags);
+            ret = drv->bdrv_file_open(bs, filename, options, open_flags);
         }
     } else {
         assert(file != NULL);
@@ -742,13 +742,21 @@ free_and_fail:
 
 /*
  * Opens a file using a protocol (file, host_device, nbd, ...)
+ *
+ * options is a QDict of options to pass to the block drivers, or NULL for an
+ * empty set of options. The reference to the QDict belongs to the block layer
+ * after the call (even on failure), so if the caller intends to reuse the
+ * dictionary, it needs to use QINCREF() before calling bdrv_file_open.
  */
-int bdrv_file_open(BlockDriverState **pbs, const char *filename, int flags)
+int bdrv_file_open(BlockDriverState **pbs, const char *filename,
+                   QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     BlockDriverState *bs;
     BlockDriver *drv;
     int ret;
 
+    QDECREF(options);
+
     drv = bdrv_find_protocol(filename);
     if (!drv) {
         return -ENOENT;
@@ -888,7 +896,7 @@ int bdrv_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, QDict *options,
         flags |= BDRV_O_ALLOW_RDWR;
     }
 
-    ret = bdrv_file_open(&file, filename, bdrv_open_flags(bs, flags));
+    ret = bdrv_file_open(&file, filename, NULL, bdrv_open_flags(bs, flags));
     if (ret < 0) {
         goto fail;
     }
diff --git a/block/blkdebug.c b/block/blkdebug.c
index 6f74637..37cfbc7 100644
--- a/block/blkdebug.c
+++ b/block/blkdebug.c
@@ -304,7 +304,8 @@ fail:
 }
 
 /* Valid blkdebug filenames look like blkdebug:path/to/config:path/to/image */
-static int blkdebug_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
+static int blkdebug_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
+                         QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     BDRVBlkdebugState *s = bs->opaque;
     int ret;
@@ -335,7 +336,7 @@ static int blkdebug_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
     s->state = 1;
 
     /* Open the backing file */
-    ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs->file, filename, flags);
+    ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs->file, filename, NULL, flags);
     if (ret < 0) {
         return ret;
     }
diff --git a/block/blkverify.c b/block/blkverify.c
index 2086d97..59e3b05 100644
--- a/block/blkverify.c
+++ b/block/blkverify.c
@@ -69,7 +69,8 @@ static void GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 3) blkverify_err(BlkverifyAIOCB *acb,
 }
 
 /* Valid blkverify filenames look like blkverify:path/to/raw_image:path/to/image */
-static int blkverify_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
+static int blkverify_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
+                          QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     BDRVBlkverifyState *s = bs->opaque;
     int ret;
@@ -89,7 +90,7 @@ static int blkverify_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
 
     raw = g_strdup(filename);
     raw[c - filename] = '\0';
-    ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs->file, raw, flags);
+    ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs->file, raw, NULL, flags);
     g_free(raw);
     if (ret < 0) {
         return ret;
diff --git a/block/cow.c b/block/cow.c
index d73e08c..9f94599 100644
--- a/block/cow.c
+++ b/block/cow.c
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ static int cow_create(const char *filename, QEMUOptionParameter *options)
         return ret;
     }
 
-    ret = bdrv_file_open(&cow_bs, filename, BDRV_O_RDWR);
+    ret = bdrv_file_open(&cow_bs, filename, NULL, BDRV_O_RDWR);
     if (ret < 0) {
         return ret;
     }
diff --git a/block/curl.c b/block/curl.c
index 98947da..186e3b0 100644
--- a/block/curl.c
+++ b/block/curl.c
@@ -335,7 +335,8 @@ static void curl_clean_state(CURLState *s)
     s->in_use = 0;
 }
 
-static int curl_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
+static int curl_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
+                     QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     BDRVCURLState *s = bs->opaque;
     CURLState *state = NULL;
diff --git a/block/gluster.c b/block/gluster.c
index ccd684d..9ccd4d4 100644
--- a/block/gluster.c
+++ b/block/gluster.c
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ static int qemu_gluster_aio_flush_cb(void *opaque)
 }
 
 static int qemu_gluster_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
-    int bdrv_flags)
+    QDict *options, int bdrv_flags)
 {
     BDRVGlusterState *s = bs->opaque;
     int open_flags = O_BINARY;
diff --git a/block/iscsi.c b/block/iscsi.c
index 3d52921..51a2889 100644
--- a/block/iscsi.c
+++ b/block/iscsi.c
@@ -1007,7 +1007,8 @@ out:
  * We support iscsi url's on the form
  * iscsi://[<username>%<password>@]<host>[:<port>]/<targetname>/<lun>
  */
-static int iscsi_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
+static int iscsi_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
+                      QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     IscsiLun *iscsilun = bs->opaque;
     struct iscsi_context *iscsi = NULL;
@@ -1203,7 +1204,7 @@ static int iscsi_create(const char *filename, QEMUOptionParameter *options)
     bs.opaque = g_malloc0(sizeof(struct IscsiLun));
     iscsilun = bs.opaque;
 
-    ret = iscsi_open(&bs, filename, 0);
+    ret = iscsi_open(&bs, filename, NULL, 0);
     if (ret != 0) {
         goto out;
     }
diff --git a/block/nbd.c b/block/nbd.c
index a581294..0473908 100644
--- a/block/nbd.c
+++ b/block/nbd.c
@@ -376,7 +376,8 @@ static void nbd_teardown_connection(BlockDriverState *bs)
     closesocket(s->sock);
 }
 
-static int nbd_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char* filename, int flags)
+static int nbd_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char* filename,
+                    QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     BDRVNBDState *s = bs->opaque;
     int result;
diff --git a/block/qcow.c b/block/qcow.c
index f6750a5..13d396b 100644
--- a/block/qcow.c
+++ b/block/qcow.c
@@ -679,7 +679,7 @@ static int qcow_create(const char *filename, QEMUOptionParameter *options)
         return ret;
     }
 
-    ret = bdrv_file_open(&qcow_bs, filename, BDRV_O_RDWR);
+    ret = bdrv_file_open(&qcow_bs, filename, NULL, BDRV_O_RDWR);
     if (ret < 0) {
         return ret;
     }
diff --git a/block/qcow2.c b/block/qcow2.c
index 98bb7f3..8ea696a 100644
--- a/block/qcow2.c
+++ b/block/qcow2.c
@@ -1254,7 +1254,7 @@ static int qcow2_create2(const char *filename, int64_t total_size,
         return ret;
     }
 
-    ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs, filename, BDRV_O_RDWR);
+    ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs, filename, NULL, BDRV_O_RDWR);
     if (ret < 0) {
         return ret;
     }
diff --git a/block/qed.c b/block/qed.c
index 46e12b3..4651403 100644
--- a/block/qed.c
+++ b/block/qed.c
@@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ static int qed_create(const char *filename, uint32_t cluster_size,
         return ret;
     }
 
-    ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs, filename, BDRV_O_RDWR | BDRV_O_CACHE_WB);
+    ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs, filename, NULL, BDRV_O_RDWR | BDRV_O_CACHE_WB);
     if (ret < 0) {
         return ret;
     }
diff --git a/block/raw-posix.c b/block/raw-posix.c
index 8a3cdbc..99ac869 100644
--- a/block/raw-posix.c
+++ b/block/raw-posix.c
@@ -303,7 +303,8 @@ static int raw_open_common(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
     return 0;
 }
 
-static int raw_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
+static int raw_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
+                    QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     BDRVRawState *s = bs->opaque;
 
@@ -1292,7 +1293,8 @@ static int check_hdev_writable(BDRVRawState *s)
     return 0;
 }
 
-static int hdev_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
+static int hdev_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
+                     QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     BDRVRawState *s = bs->opaque;
     int ret;
@@ -1530,7 +1532,8 @@ static BlockDriver bdrv_host_device = {
 };
 
 #ifdef __linux__
-static int floppy_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
+static int floppy_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
+                       QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     BDRVRawState *s = bs->opaque;
     int ret;
@@ -1652,7 +1655,8 @@ static BlockDriver bdrv_host_floppy = {
     .bdrv_eject         = floppy_eject,
 };
 
-static int cdrom_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
+static int cdrom_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
+                      QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     BDRVRawState *s = bs->opaque;
 
@@ -1760,7 +1764,8 @@ static BlockDriver bdrv_host_cdrom = {
 #endif /* __linux__ */
 
 #if defined (__FreeBSD__) || defined(__FreeBSD_kernel__)
-static int cdrom_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
+static int cdrom_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
+                      QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     BDRVRawState *s = bs->opaque;
     int ret;
diff --git a/block/sheepdog.c b/block/sheepdog.c
index 54d3e53..bb67c4c 100644
--- a/block/sheepdog.c
+++ b/block/sheepdog.c
@@ -1126,7 +1126,8 @@ static int write_object(int fd, char *buf, uint64_t oid, int copies,
                              create, cache_flags);
 }
 
-static int sd_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags)
+static int sd_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
+                   QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     int ret, fd;
     uint32_t vid = 0;
@@ -1269,7 +1270,7 @@ static int sd_prealloc(const char *filename)
     void *buf = g_malloc0(SD_DATA_OBJ_SIZE);
     int ret;
 
-    ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs, filename, BDRV_O_RDWR);
+    ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs, filename, NULL, BDRV_O_RDWR);
     if (ret < 0) {
         goto out;
     }
@@ -1367,7 +1368,7 @@ static int sd_create(const char *filename, QEMUOptionParameter *options)
             goto out;
         }
 
-        ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs, backing_file, 0);
+        ret = bdrv_file_open(&bs, backing_file, NULL, 0);
         if (ret < 0) {
             goto out;
         }
diff --git a/block/vmdk.c b/block/vmdk.c
index e92104a..7bad757 100644
--- a/block/vmdk.c
+++ b/block/vmdk.c
@@ -661,7 +661,7 @@ static int vmdk_parse_extents(const char *desc, BlockDriverState *bs,
 
         path_combine(extent_path, sizeof(extent_path),
                 desc_file_path, fname);
-        ret = bdrv_file_open(&extent_file, extent_path, bs->open_flags);
+        ret = bdrv_file_open(&extent_file, extent_path, NULL, bs->open_flags);
         if (ret) {
             return ret;
         }
diff --git a/block/vvfat.c b/block/vvfat.c
index b8eb38a..ef74c30 100644
--- a/block/vvfat.c
+++ b/block/vvfat.c
@@ -988,7 +988,8 @@ static void vvfat_rebind(BlockDriverState *bs)
     s->bs = bs;
 }
 
-static int vvfat_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char* dirname, int flags)
+static int vvfat_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char* dirname,
+                      QDict *options, int flags)
 {
     BDRVVVFATState *s = bs->opaque;
     int i, cyls, heads, secs;
diff --git a/include/block/block.h b/include/block/block.h
index d4f34d6..9dc6aad 100644
--- a/include/block/block.h
+++ b/include/block/block.h
@@ -135,7 +135,8 @@ void bdrv_append(BlockDriverState *bs_new, BlockDriverState *bs_top);
 void bdrv_delete(BlockDriverState *bs);
 int bdrv_parse_cache_flags(const char *mode, int *flags);
 int bdrv_parse_discard_flags(const char *mode, int *flags);
-int bdrv_file_open(BlockDriverState **pbs, const char *filename, int flags);
+int bdrv_file_open(BlockDriverState **pbs, const char *filename,
+                   QDict *options, int flags);
 int bdrv_open_backing_file(BlockDriverState *bs);
 int bdrv_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, QDict *options,
               int flags, BlockDriver *drv);
diff --git a/include/block/block_int.h b/include/block/block_int.h
index ce0aa26..fb2a136 100644
--- a/include/block/block_int.h
+++ b/include/block/block_int.h
@@ -83,7 +83,8 @@ struct BlockDriver {
     void (*bdrv_reopen_abort)(BDRVReopenState *reopen_state);
 
     int (*bdrv_open)(BlockDriverState *bs, QDict *options, int flags);
-    int (*bdrv_file_open)(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, int flags);
+    int (*bdrv_file_open)(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename,
+                          QDict *options, int flags);
     int (*bdrv_read)(BlockDriverState *bs, int64_t sector_num,
                      uint8_t *buf, int nb_sectors);
     int (*bdrv_write)(BlockDriverState *bs, int64_t sector_num,
diff --git a/qemu-io.c b/qemu-io.c
index 79be516..475a8bd 100644
--- a/qemu-io.c
+++ b/qemu-io.c
@@ -1766,7 +1766,7 @@ static int openfile(char *name, int flags, int growable)
     }
 
     if (growable) {
-        if (bdrv_file_open(&bs, name, flags)) {
+        if (bdrv_file_open(&bs, name, NULL, flags)) {
             fprintf(stderr, "%s: can't open device %s\n", progname, name);
             return 1;
         }
