diff --git a/libfwupdplugin/fu-udev-device.c b/libfwupdplugin/fu-udev-device.c
index a0c891e8e..526a9a290 100644
--- a/libfwupdplugin/fu-udev-device.c
+++ b/libfwupdplugin/fu-udev-device.c
@@ -1248,6 +1248,10 @@ fu_udev_device_open(FuDevice *device, GError **error)
 #ifdef O_NONBLOCK
 		if (priv->flags & FU_UDEV_DEVICE_FLAG_OPEN_NONBLOCK)
 			flags |= O_NONBLOCK;
+#endif
+#ifdef O_SYNC
+		if (priv->flags & FU_UDEV_DEVICE_FLAG_OPEN_SYNC)
+			flags |= O_SYNC;
 #endif
 		priv->fd = g_open(priv->device_file, flags, 0);
 		if (priv->fd < 0) {
diff --git a/libfwupdplugin/fu-udev-device.h b/libfwupdplugin/fu-udev-device.h
index d930674b9..6c7112baf 100644
--- a/libfwupdplugin/fu-udev-device.h
+++ b/libfwupdplugin/fu-udev-device.h
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ struct _FuUdevDeviceClass {
  * @FU_UDEV_DEVICE_FLAG_VENDOR_FROM_PARENT:	Get the vendor ID fallback from the parent
  * @FU_UDEV_DEVICE_FLAG_USE_CONFIG:		Read and write from the device config
  * @FU_UDEV_DEVICE_FLAG_OPEN_NONBLOCK:		Open nonblocking, e.g. O_NONBLOCK
+ * @FU_UDEV_DEVICE_FLAG_OPEN_SYNC:		Open sync, e.g. O_SYNC
  *
  * Flags used when opening the device using fu_device_open().
  **/
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ typedef enum {
 	FU_UDEV_DEVICE_FLAG_VENDOR_FROM_PARENT = 1 << 2,
 	FU_UDEV_DEVICE_FLAG_USE_CONFIG = 1 << 3,
 	FU_UDEV_DEVICE_FLAG_OPEN_NONBLOCK = 1 << 4,
+	FU_UDEV_DEVICE_FLAG_OPEN_SYNC = 1 << 5,
 	/*< private >*/
 	FU_UDEV_DEVICE_FLAG_LAST
 } FuUdevDeviceFlags;