diff --git a/util/cbfstool/cbfs-mkstage.c b/util/cbfstool/cbfs-mkstage.c
index 4008367d9d..dfc93c20e9 100644
--- a/util/cbfstool/cbfs-mkstage.c
+++ b/util/cbfstool/cbfs-mkstage.c
@@ -167,6 +167,7 @@ int parse_elf_to_stage(const struct buffer *input, struct buffer *output,
 	if (buffer_create(output, sizeof(*stage) + data_end - data_start,
 			  input->name) != 0) {
 		ERROR("Unable to allocate memory: %m\n");
+		free(buffer);
 		return -1;
 	}
 	memset(output->data, 0, output->size);