diff --git a/src/mem/cache/cache_impl.hh b/src/mem/cache/cache_impl.hh
index 92ff4d12e2..61846e2331 100644
--- a/src/mem/cache/cache_impl.hh
+++ b/src/mem/cache/cache_impl.hh
@@ -881,9 +881,10 @@ Cache<TagStore>::handleFill(PacketPtr pkt, BlkType *blk,
         assert(pkt->isRead() || blk->isValid());
     }
 
-    if (pkt->needsExclusive() || !pkt->sharedAsserted()) {
+    if (!pkt->sharedAsserted()) {
         blk->status = BlkValid | BlkWritable;
     } else {
+        assert(!pkt->needsExclusive());
         blk->status = BlkValid;
     }