diff --git a/hw/9pfs/9p-xattr.c b/hw/9pfs/9p-xattr.c
index eec160b3c2..d05c1a1c1d 100644
--- a/hw/9pfs/9p-xattr.c
+++ b/hw/9pfs/9p-xattr.c
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@ ssize_t v9fs_list_xattr(FsContext *ctx, const char *path,
     g_free(name);
     close_preserve_errno(dirfd);
     if (xattr_len < 0) {
+        g_free(orig_value);
         return -1;
     }