diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/texteditor.cpp b/src/plugins/texteditor/texteditor.cpp
index 731c5ba779e..fd814163a72 100644
--- a/src/plugins/texteditor/texteditor.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/texteditor.cpp
@@ -5889,7 +5889,7 @@ void TextEditorWidgetPrivate::handleBackspaceKey()
     QTC_ASSERT(!q->multiTextCursor().hasSelection(), return);
     MultiTextCursor cursor = m_cursors;
     cursor.beginEditBlock();
-    for (QTextCursor c : cursor) {
+    for (QTextCursor &c : cursor) {
         const int pos = c.position();
         if (!pos)
             continue;