diff --git a/server/display-channel.c b/server/display-channel.c
index dae3eb75..6dc10ee7 100644
--- a/server/display-channel.c
+++ b/server/display-channel.c
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ display_channel_set_property(GObject *object,
     switch (property_id)
     {
         case PROP_N_SURFACES:
-            self->priv->n_surfaces = g_value_get_uint(value);
+            self->priv->n_surfaces = MIN(g_value_get_uint(value), NUM_SURFACES);
             break;
         case PROP_VIDEO_CODECS:
             display_channel_set_video_codecs(self, g_value_get_boxed(value));
diff --git a/server/display-limits.h b/server/display-limits.h
index 4cf91137..e875149b 100644
--- a/server/display-limits.h
+++ b/server/display-limits.h
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 #define DISPLAY_LIMITS_H_
 
 /** Maximum number of surfaces a guest can create */
-#define NUM_SURFACES 10000
+#define NUM_SURFACES 1024
 
 /** Maximum number of streams created by spice-server */
 #define NUM_STREAMS 50