diff --git a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/qemu_arch_base.go b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/qemu_arch_base.go
index 98fdfb7661..6638abea76 100644
--- a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/qemu_arch_base.go
+++ b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/qemu_arch_base.go
@@ -184,11 +184,12 @@ type qemuArchBase struct {
 	Bridges              []types.Bridge
 	memoryOffset         uint64
 	networkIndex         int
-	protection           guestProtection
-	nestedRun            bool
-	vhost                bool
-	disableNvdimm        bool
-	dax                  bool
+	// Exclude from lint checking for it is ultimately only used in architecture-specific code
+	protection    guestProtection //nolint:structcheck
+	nestedRun     bool
+	vhost         bool
+	disableNvdimm bool
+	dax           bool
 }
 
 const (