diff --git a/security/integrity/ima/ima_template.c b/security/integrity/ima/ima_template.c
index e053c741997b..e5d941f485b1 100644
--- a/security/integrity/ima/ima_template.c
+++ b/security/integrity/ima/ima_template.c
@@ -290,8 +290,11 @@ static struct ima_template_desc *restore_template_fmt(char *template_name)
 
 	template_desc->name = "";
 	template_desc->fmt = kstrdup(template_name, GFP_KERNEL);
-	if (!template_desc->fmt)
+	if (!template_desc->fmt) {
+		kfree(template_desc);
+		template_desc = NULL;
 		goto out;
+	}
 
 	spin_lock(&template_list);
 	list_add_tail_rcu(&template_desc->list, &defined_templates);