diff --git a/common/state.c b/common/state.c
index 7076f5764..5097768b8 100644
--- a/common/state.c
+++ b/common/state.c
@@ -1201,6 +1201,8 @@ static int backend_raw_save_one(struct state_backend_raw *backend_raw,
 	if (ret < 0)
 		return ret;
 
+	protect(fd, backend_raw->stride, offset, false);
+
 	if (backend_raw->need_erase) {
 		ret = erase(fd, backend_raw->stride, offset);
 		if (ret)
@@ -1211,6 +1213,8 @@ static int backend_raw_save_one(struct state_backend_raw *backend_raw,
 	if (ret < 0)
 		return ret;
 
+	protect(fd, backend_raw->stride, offset, true);
+
 	return 0;
 }