diff --git a/net/9p/client.c b/net/9p/client.c
index c4c1e44cd7ca..9fdcaa956c00 100644
--- a/net/9p/client.c
+++ b/net/9p/client.c
@@ -520,12 +520,14 @@ static int p9_check_errors(struct p9_client *c, struct p9_req_t *req)
 		return 0;
 
 	if (!p9_is_proto_dotl(c)) {
-		char *ename;
+		char *ename = NULL;
 
 		err = p9pdu_readf(&req->rc, c->proto_version, "s?d",
 				  &ename, &ecode);
-		if (err)
+		if (err) {
+			kfree(ename);
 			goto out_err;
+		}
 
 		if (p9_is_proto_dotu(c) && ecode < 512)
 			err = -ecode;