diff --git a/libretro-common/vfs/vfs_implementation.c b/libretro-common/vfs/vfs_implementation.c
index 3354f51bdd..2d958fe05f 100644
--- a/libretro-common/vfs/vfs_implementation.c
+++ b/libretro-common/vfs/vfs_implementation.c
@@ -924,7 +924,10 @@ int retro_vfs_stat_impl(const char *path, int32_t *size)
             path_buf[len - 1] = '\0';
 
       if (stat(path_buf, &stat_buf) < 0)
+      {
+         free(path_buf);
          return 0;
+      }
 
       free(path_buf);