diff --git a/src/rm/RequestManagerImagePublish.cc b/src/rm/RequestManagerImagePublish.cc
index 8c48677097..1e5850ec5e 100644
--- a/src/rm/RequestManagerImagePublish.cc
+++ b/src/rm/RequestManagerImagePublish.cc
@@ -105,6 +105,8 @@ void RequestManager::ImagePublish::execute(
 
     if (!response)
     {
+        image->unlock();
+
         goto error_publish;
     }