diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_command.c b/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
index ddb90895e0..96fc360f4a 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
@@ -2225,6 +2225,7 @@ qemuBuildFloppyCommandLineControllerOptions(virCommandPtr cmd,
     VIR_FREE(backendAlias);
     VIR_FREE(backendStr);
     VIR_FREE(bootindexStr);
+    virBufferFreeAndReset(&fdc_opts);
     return ret;
 }