diff --git a/internal/controller/api_vms.go b/internal/controller/api_vms.go
index 5c7a387..58c07ab 100644
--- a/internal/controller/api_vms.go
+++ b/internal/controller/api_vms.go
@@ -349,13 +349,14 @@ func (controller *Controller) listVMs(ctx *gin.Context) responder.Responder {
 	vms := []v1.VM{}
 
 Outer:
-	for _, vm := range allVMs {
+	// Use index-based loop to avoid per-iteration copies of v1.VM
+	for i := range allVMs {
 		for _, filter := range filters {
-			if !vm.Match(filter) {
+			if !allVMs[i].Match(filter) {
 				continue Outer
 			}
 		}
-		vms = append(vms, vm)
+		vms = append(vms, allVMs[i])
 	}
 
 	return responder.JSON(http.StatusOK, vms)