diff --git a/block.c b/block.c
index 4acfebf..35a372d 100644
--- a/block.c
+++ b/block.c
@@ -6139,6 +6139,26 @@
             error_append_hint(&local_err, "Could not open backing image.\n");
             goto out;
         } else {
+            if (!backing_fmt) {
+                warn_report("Deprecated use of backing file without explicit "
+                            "backing format (detected format of %s)",
+                            bs->drv->format_name);
+                if (bs->drv != &bdrv_raw) {
+                    /*
+                     * A probe of raw deserves the most attention:
+                     * leaving the backing format out of the image
+                     * will ensure bs->probed is set (ensuring we
+                     * don't accidentally commit into the backing
+                     * file), and allow more spots to warn the users
+                     * to fix their toolchain when opening this image
+                     * later.  For other images, we can safely record
+                     * the format that we probed.
+                     */
+                    backing_fmt = bs->drv->format_name;
+                    qemu_opt_set(opts, BLOCK_OPT_BACKING_FMT, backing_fmt,
+                                 NULL);
+                }
+            }
             if (size == -1) {
                 /* Opened BS, have no size */
                 size = bdrv_getlength(bs);
@@ -6152,7 +6172,12 @@
             }
             bdrv_unref(bs);
         }
-    } /* (backing_file && !(flags & BDRV_O_NO_BACKING)) */
+        /* (backing_file && !(flags & BDRV_O_NO_BACKING)) */
+    } else if (backing_file && !backing_fmt) {
+        warn_report("Deprecated use of unopened backing file without "
+                    "explicit backing format, use of this image requires "
+                    "potentially unsafe format probing");
+    }
 
     if (size == -1) {
         error_setg(errp, "Image creation needs a size parameter");