diff --git a/include/block/block_int.h b/include/block/block_int.h
index 12e5750fe8..437d746733 100644
--- a/include/block/block_int.h
+++ b/include/block/block_int.h
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #include "qemu/hbitmap.h"
 #include "block/snapshot.h"
 #include "qemu/throttle.h"
+#include "qemu/rcu.h"
 
 #define BLOCK_FLAG_LAZY_REFCOUNTS   8
 
@@ -839,6 +840,24 @@ struct BdrvChild {
     QLIST_ENTRY(BdrvChild) next_parent;
 };
 
+/*
+ * Allows bdrv_co_block_status() to cache one data region for a
+ * protocol node.
+ *
+ * @valid: Whether the cache is valid (should be accessed with atomic
+ *         functions so this can be reset by RCU readers)
+ * @data_start: Offset where we know (or strongly assume) is data
+ * @data_end: Offset where the data region ends (which is not necessarily
+ *            the start of a zeroed region)
+ */
+typedef struct BdrvBlockStatusCache {
+    struct rcu_head rcu;
+
+    bool valid;
+    int64_t data_start;
+    int64_t data_end;
+} BdrvBlockStatusCache;
+
 struct BlockDriverState {
     /* Protected by big QEMU lock or read-only after opening.  No special
      * locking needed during I/O...
@@ -1004,6 +1023,11 @@ struct BlockDriverState {
 
     /* BdrvChild links to this node may never be frozen */
     bool never_freeze;
+
+    /* Lock for block-status cache RCU writers */
+    CoMutex bsc_modify_lock;
+    /* Always non-NULL, but must only be dereferenced under an RCU read guard */
+    BdrvBlockStatusCache *block_status_cache;
 };
 
 struct BlockBackendRootState {
@@ -1429,4 +1453,30 @@ static inline BlockDriverState *bdrv_primary_bs(BlockDriverState *bs)
  */
 void bdrv_drain_all_end_quiesce(BlockDriverState *bs);
 
+/**
+ * Check whether the given offset is in the cached block-status data
+ * region.
+ *
+ * If it is, and @pnum is not NULL, *pnum is set to
+ * `bsc.data_end - offset`, i.e. how many bytes, starting from
+ * @offset, are data (according to the cache).
+ * Otherwise, *pnum is not touched.
+ */
+bool bdrv_bsc_is_data(BlockDriverState *bs, int64_t offset, int64_t *pnum);
+
+/**
+ * If [offset, offset + bytes) overlaps with the currently cached
+ * block-status region, invalidate the cache.
+ *
+ * (To be used by I/O paths that cause data regions to be zero or
+ * holes.)
+ */
+void bdrv_bsc_invalidate_range(BlockDriverState *bs,
+                               int64_t offset, int64_t bytes);
+
+/**
+ * Mark the range [offset, offset + bytes) as a data region.
+ */
+void bdrv_bsc_fill(BlockDriverState *bs, int64_t offset, int64_t bytes);
+
 #endif /* BLOCK_INT_H */
diff --git a/block.c b/block.c
index b2b66263f9..00982edf45 100644
--- a/block.c
+++ b/block.c
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@
 #include "qemu/timer.h"
 #include "qemu/cutils.h"
 #include "qemu/id.h"
+#include "qemu/range.h"
+#include "qemu/rcu.h"
 #include "block/coroutines.h"
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_BSD
@@ -401,6 +403,9 @@ BlockDriverState *bdrv_new(void)
 
     qemu_co_queue_init(&bs->flush_queue);
 
+    qemu_co_mutex_init(&bs->bsc_modify_lock);
+    bs->block_status_cache = g_new0(BdrvBlockStatusCache, 1);
+
     for (i = 0; i < bdrv_drain_all_count; i++) {
         bdrv_drained_begin(bs);
     }
@@ -4694,6 +4699,8 @@ static void bdrv_close(BlockDriverState *bs)
     bs->explicit_options = NULL;
     qobject_unref(bs->full_open_options);
     bs->full_open_options = NULL;
+    g_free(bs->block_status_cache);
+    bs->block_status_cache = NULL;
 
     bdrv_release_named_dirty_bitmaps(bs);
     assert(QLIST_EMPTY(&bs->dirty_bitmaps));
@@ -7684,3 +7691,76 @@ BlockDriverState *bdrv_backing_chain_next(BlockDriverState *bs)
 {
     return bdrv_skip_filters(bdrv_cow_bs(bdrv_skip_filters(bs)));
 }
+
+/**
+ * Check whether [offset, offset + bytes) overlaps with the cached
+ * block-status data region.
+ *
+ * If so, and @pnum is not NULL, set *pnum to `bsc.data_end - offset`,
+ * which is what bdrv_bsc_is_data()'s interface needs.
+ * Otherwise, *pnum is not touched.
+ */
+static bool bdrv_bsc_range_overlaps_locked(BlockDriverState *bs,
+                                           int64_t offset, int64_t bytes,
+                                           int64_t *pnum)
+{
+    BdrvBlockStatusCache *bsc = qatomic_rcu_read(&bs->block_status_cache);
+    bool overlaps;
+
+    overlaps =
+        qatomic_read(&bsc->valid) &&
+        ranges_overlap(offset, bytes, bsc->data_start,
+                       bsc->data_end - bsc->data_start);
+
+    if (overlaps && pnum) {
+        *pnum = bsc->data_end - offset;
+    }
+
+    return overlaps;
+}
+
+/**
+ * See block_int.h for this function's documentation.
+ */
+bool bdrv_bsc_is_data(BlockDriverState *bs, int64_t offset, int64_t *pnum)
+{
+    RCU_READ_LOCK_GUARD();
+
+    return bdrv_bsc_range_overlaps_locked(bs, offset, 1, pnum);
+}
+
+/**
+ * See block_int.h for this function's documentation.
+ */
+void bdrv_bsc_invalidate_range(BlockDriverState *bs,
+                               int64_t offset, int64_t bytes)
+{
+    RCU_READ_LOCK_GUARD();
+
+    if (bdrv_bsc_range_overlaps_locked(bs, offset, bytes, NULL)) {
+        qatomic_set(&bs->block_status_cache->valid, false);
+    }
+}
+
+/**
+ * See block_int.h for this function's documentation.
+ */
+void bdrv_bsc_fill(BlockDriverState *bs, int64_t offset, int64_t bytes)
+{
+    BdrvBlockStatusCache *new_bsc = g_new(BdrvBlockStatusCache, 1);
+    BdrvBlockStatusCache *old_bsc;
+
+    *new_bsc = (BdrvBlockStatusCache) {
+        .valid = true,
+        .data_start = offset,
+        .data_end = offset + bytes,
+    };
+
+    QEMU_LOCK_GUARD(&bs->bsc_modify_lock);
+
+    old_bsc = qatomic_rcu_read(&bs->block_status_cache);
+    qatomic_rcu_set(&bs->block_status_cache, new_bsc);
+    if (old_bsc) {
+        g_free_rcu(old_bsc, rcu);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/block/io.c b/block/io.c
index a19942718b..99ee182ca4 100644
--- a/block/io.c
+++ b/block/io.c
@@ -1883,6 +1883,9 @@ static int coroutine_fn bdrv_co_do_pwrite_zeroes(BlockDriverState *bs,
         return -ENOTSUP;
     }
 
+    /* Invalidate the cached block-status data range if this write overlaps */
+    bdrv_bsc_invalidate_range(bs, offset, bytes);
+
     assert(alignment % bs->bl.request_alignment == 0);
     head = offset % alignment;
     tail = (offset + bytes) % alignment;
@@ -2447,9 +2450,65 @@ static int coroutine_fn bdrv_co_block_status(BlockDriverState *bs,
     aligned_bytes = ROUND_UP(offset + bytes, align) - aligned_offset;
 
     if (bs->drv->bdrv_co_block_status) {
-        ret = bs->drv->bdrv_co_block_status(bs, want_zero, aligned_offset,
-                                            aligned_bytes, pnum, &local_map,
-                                            &local_file);
+        /*
+         * Use the block-status cache only for protocol nodes: Format
+         * drivers are generally quick to inquire the status, but protocol
+         * drivers often need to get information from outside of qemu, so
+         * we do not have control over the actual implementation.  There
+         * have been cases where inquiring the status took an unreasonably
+         * long time, and we can do nothing in qemu to fix it.
+         * This is especially problematic for images with large data areas,
+         * because finding the few holes in them and giving them special
+         * treatment does not gain much performance.  Therefore, we try to
+         * cache the last-identified data region.
+         *
+         * Second, limiting ourselves to protocol nodes allows us to assume
+         * the block status for data regions to be DATA | OFFSET_VALID, and
+         * that the host offset is the same as the guest offset.
+         *
+         * Note that it is possible that external writers zero parts of
+         * the cached regions without the cache being invalidated, and so
+         * we may report zeroes as data.  This is not catastrophic,
+         * however, because reporting zeroes as data is fine.
+         */
+        if (QLIST_EMPTY(&bs->children) &&
+            bdrv_bsc_is_data(bs, aligned_offset, pnum))
+        {
+            ret = BDRV_BLOCK_DATA | BDRV_BLOCK_OFFSET_VALID;
+            local_file = bs;
+            local_map = aligned_offset;
+        } else {
+            ret = bs->drv->bdrv_co_block_status(bs, want_zero, aligned_offset,
+                                                aligned_bytes, pnum, &local_map,
+                                                &local_file);
+
+            /*
+             * Note that checking QLIST_EMPTY(&bs->children) is also done when
+             * the cache is queried above.  Technically, we do not need to check
+             * it here; the worst that can happen is that we fill the cache for
+             * non-protocol nodes, and then it is never used.  However, filling
+             * the cache requires an RCU update, so double check here to avoid
+             * such an update if possible.
+             */
+            if (ret == (BDRV_BLOCK_DATA | BDRV_BLOCK_OFFSET_VALID) &&
+                QLIST_EMPTY(&bs->children))
+            {
+                /*
+                 * When a protocol driver reports BLOCK_OFFSET_VALID, the
+                 * returned local_map value must be the same as the offset we
+                 * have passed (aligned_offset), and local_bs must be the node
+                 * itself.
+                 * Assert this, because we follow this rule when reading from
+                 * the cache (see the `local_file = bs` and
+                 * `local_map = aligned_offset` assignments above), and the
+                 * result the cache delivers must be the same as the driver
+                 * would deliver.
+                 */
+                assert(local_file == bs);
+                assert(local_map == aligned_offset);
+                bdrv_bsc_fill(bs, aligned_offset, *pnum);
+            }
+        }
     } else {
         /* Default code for filters */
 
@@ -3002,6 +3061,9 @@ int coroutine_fn bdrv_co_pdiscard(BdrvChild *child, int64_t offset,
         return 0;
     }
 
+    /* Invalidate the cached block-status data range if this discard overlaps */
+    bdrv_bsc_invalidate_range(bs, offset, bytes);
+
     /* Discard is advisory, but some devices track and coalesce
      * unaligned requests, so we must pass everything down rather than
      * round here.  Still, most devices will just silently ignore
