diff --git a/src/lxc/lxc_start.c b/src/lxc/lxc_start.c
index 5e4565cda..d006ba159 100644
--- a/src/lxc/lxc_start.c
+++ b/src/lxc/lxc_start.c
@@ -346,6 +346,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
 out:
 	lxc_container_put(c);
+	if (pid_fp)
+		fclose(pid_fp);
 	return err;
 }