diff --git a/ffserver.c b/ffserver.c
index 85c9f1fd13..1d4c8dc5b9 100644
--- a/ffserver.c
+++ b/ffserver.c
@@ -471,6 +471,7 @@ static void start_children(FFServerStream *feed)
         av_free (pathname);
         _exit(1);
     }
+    av_free (pathname);
 }
 
 /* open a listening socket */