diff --git a/hw/core/loader.c b/hw/core/loader.c
index 19edb928e999c73fe1f8170db63201b884817163..8389860679b3b9988a1fd78dccfdcee172503b33 100644
--- a/hw/core/loader.c
+++ b/hw/core/loader.c
@@ -605,6 +605,7 @@ ssize_t gunzip(void *dst, size_t dstlen, uint8_t *src, size_t srclen)
     r = inflate(&s, Z_FINISH);
     if (r != Z_OK && r != Z_STREAM_END) {
         printf ("Error: inflate() returned %d\n", r);
+        inflateEnd(&s);
         return -1;
     }
     dstbytes = s.next_out - (unsigned char *) dst;