diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
index 093f824392..d96040a819 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
@@ -683,6 +683,7 @@ qemudStartup(int privileged) {
                 goto error;
             }
         }
+        VIR_FREE(membase);
 
         qemu_driver->hugepage_path = mempath;
     }