diff --git a/src/lxc/storage/rsync.c b/src/lxc/storage/rsync.c
index c3080a568..83871ae80 100644
--- a/src/lxc/storage/rsync.c
+++ b/src/lxc/storage/rsync.c
@@ -73,8 +73,10 @@ int lxc_rsync_exec(const char *src, const char *dest)
 		return -1;
 
 	ret = snprintf(s, l, "%s", src);
-	if (ret < 0 || (size_t)ret >= l)
+	if (ret < 0 || (size_t)ret >= l) {
+		free(s);
 		return -1;
+	}
 
 	s[l - 2] = '/';
 	s[l - 1] = '\0';