diff --git a/libfwupd/fwupd-client.c b/libfwupd/fwupd-client.c
index 603bbde55..6cbbd3961 100644
--- a/libfwupd/fwupd-client.c
+++ b/libfwupd/fwupd-client.c
@@ -941,6 +941,7 @@ fwupd_client_update_metadata (FwupdClient *client,
 	}
 	fd_sig = open (signature_fn, O_RDONLY);
 	if (fd_sig < 0) {
+		close (fd);
 		g_set_error (error,
 			     FWUPD_ERROR,
 			     FWUPD_ERROR_INVALID_FILE,