diff --git a/src/util/virconf.c b/src/util/virconf.c
index dce84cabb7..db2bbb7e37 100644
--- a/src/util/virconf.c
+++ b/src/util/virconf.c
@@ -1506,12 +1506,11 @@ virConfLoadConfigPath(const char *name)
     if (geteuid() == 0) {
         path = g_strdup_printf("%s/libvirt/%s", SYSCONFDIR, name);
     } else {
-        char *userdir = virGetUserConfigDirectory();
+        g_autofree char *userdir = virGetUserConfigDirectory();
         if (!userdir)
             return NULL;
 
         path = g_strdup_printf("%s/%s", userdir, name);
-        VIR_FREE(userdir);
     }
 
     return path;