diff --git a/src/util/virsystemd.c b/src/util/virsystemd.c
index 83737a2c6f..5d9746f995 100644
--- a/src/util/virsystemd.c
+++ b/src/util/virsystemd.c
@@ -247,6 +247,9 @@ virSystemdGetMachineNameByPID(pid_t pid)
     if (virDBusMessageRead(reply, "o", &object) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
+    virDBusMessageUnref(reply);
+    reply = NULL;
+
     VIR_DEBUG("Domain with pid %lld has object path '%s'",
               (long long) pid, object);