diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_hotplug.c b/src/qemu/qemu_hotplug.c
index e897c059dd..7c308d02aa 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_hotplug.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_hotplug.c
@@ -1115,6 +1115,7 @@ qemuDomainAttachDeviceDiskLive(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
             return -1;
 
         disk->src = NULL;
+        virDomainDiskDefFree(disk);
         return 0;
     }