diff --git a/libavcodec/mpeg12dec.c b/libavcodec/mpeg12dec.c
index 4bc2fabff3..9999926f55 100644
--- a/libavcodec/mpeg12dec.c
+++ b/libavcodec/mpeg12dec.c
@@ -2862,6 +2862,7 @@ static void flush(AVCodecContext *avctx)
     s->sync       = 0;
     s->closed_gop = 0;
 
+    av_buffer_unref(&s->a53_buf_ref);
     ff_mpeg_flush(avctx);
 }