diff --git a/libavformat/ape.c b/libavformat/ape.c
index 613a59d5f8..05013045fb 100644
--- a/libavformat/ape.c
+++ b/libavformat/ape.c
@@ -411,8 +411,10 @@ static int ape_read_packet(AVFormatContext * s, AVPacket * pkt)
     AV_WL32(pkt->data    , nblocks);
     AV_WL32(pkt->data + 4, ape->frames[ape->currentframe].skip);
     ret = avio_read(s->pb, pkt->data + extra_size, ape->frames[ape->currentframe].size);
-    if (ret < 0)
+    if (ret < 0) {
+        av_free_packet(pkt);
         return ret;
+    }
 
     pkt->pts = ape->frames[ape->currentframe].pts;
     pkt->stream_index = 0;