diff --git a/src/rpc/virnetserver.c b/src/rpc/virnetserver.c
index ad581a36dd..d9430a2cfa 100644
--- a/src/rpc/virnetserver.c
+++ b/src/rpc/virnetserver.c
@@ -655,7 +655,7 @@ virNetServerAddServiceActivation(virNetServer *srv,
                                  size_t max_queued_clients,
                                  size_t nrequests_client_max)
 {
-    int *fds;
+    g_autofree int *fds = NULL;
     size_t nfds;
 
     if (act == NULL)