diff --git a/object.c b/object.c
index 78a44a6ef4..ccd7dd796e 100644
--- a/object.c
+++ b/object.c
@@ -185,6 +185,7 @@ struct object *parse_object(const unsigned char *sha1)
 	if (buffer) {
 		struct object *obj;
 		if (check_sha1_signature(sha1, buffer, size, typename(type)) < 0) {
+			free(buffer);
 			error("sha1 mismatch %s\n", sha1_to_hex(sha1));
 			return NULL;
 		}