diff --git a/nova/tests/unit/virt/libvirt/test_vif.py b/nova/tests/unit/virt/libvirt/test_vif.py
index 41e9853e0ff9..4d4168bcc714 100644
--- a/nova/tests/unit/virt/libvirt/test_vif.py
+++ b/nova/tests/unit/virt/libvirt/test_vif.py
@@ -835,12 +835,14 @@ class LibvirtVifTestCase(test.NoDBTestCase):
                              network_model.VIF_MODEL_PCNET,
                              network_model.VIF_MODEL_RTL8139,
                              network_model.VIF_MODEL_E1000,
+                             network_model.VIF_MODEL_E1000E,
                              network_model.VIF_MODEL_SPAPR_VLAN)
             else:
                 supported = (network_model.VIF_MODEL_NE2K_PCI,
                              network_model.VIF_MODEL_PCNET,
                              network_model.VIF_MODEL_RTL8139,
                              network_model.VIF_MODEL_E1000,
+                             network_model.VIF_MODEL_E1000E,
                              network_model.VIF_MODEL_SPAPR_VLAN)
             for model in supported:
                 image_meta = objects.ImageMeta.from_dict(
diff --git a/nova/virt/libvirt/vif.py b/nova/virt/libvirt/vif.py
index 209647b062ed..57ea1a73825e 100644
--- a/nova/virt/libvirt/vif.py
+++ b/nova/virt/libvirt/vif.py
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ def is_vif_model_valid_for_virt(virt_type, vif_model):
                  network_model.VIF_MODEL_PCNET,
                  network_model.VIF_MODEL_RTL8139,
                  network_model.VIF_MODEL_E1000,
+                 network_model.VIF_MODEL_E1000E,
                  network_model.VIF_MODEL_LAN9118,
                  network_model.VIF_MODEL_SPAPR_VLAN],
         'kvm': [network_model.VIF_MODEL_VIRTIO,
@@ -78,6 +79,7 @@ def is_vif_model_valid_for_virt(virt_type, vif_model):
                 network_model.VIF_MODEL_PCNET,
                 network_model.VIF_MODEL_RTL8139,
                 network_model.VIF_MODEL_E1000,
+                network_model.VIF_MODEL_E1000E,
                 network_model.VIF_MODEL_SPAPR_VLAN],
         'xen': [network_model.VIF_MODEL_NETFRONT,
                 network_model.VIF_MODEL_NE2K_PCI,
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/bug-1882919-support-e1000e-vif-5437a45c13dff978.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/bug-1882919-support-e1000e-vif-5437a45c13dff978.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..1e316c1f2337
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/bug-1882919-support-e1000e-vif-5437a45c13dff978.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    Previously, attempting to configure an instance with the ``e1000e`` or
+    legacy ``VirtualE1000e`` VIF types on a host using the QEMU/KVM driver
+    would result in an incorrect ``UnsupportedHardware`` exception. These
+    interfaces are now correctly marked as supported.