diff --git a/src/libopensc/pkcs15.c b/src/libopensc/pkcs15.c
index bb03ac7ec6..3f3198d3bc 100644
--- a/src/libopensc/pkcs15.c
+++ b/src/libopensc/pkcs15.c
@@ -2549,6 +2549,7 @@ sc_pkcs15_read_file(struct sc_pkcs15_card *p15card, const struct sc_path *in_pat
 			}
 		}
 
+		free(data);
 		data = malloc(len);
 		if (data == NULL) {
 			r = SC_ERROR_OUT_OF_MEMORY;