diff --git a/block/qcow2-refcount.c b/block/qcow2-refcount.c
index d62dc1c..ac95b88 100644
--- a/block/qcow2-refcount.c
+++ b/block/qcow2-refcount.c
@@ -1086,7 +1086,7 @@
     ret = check_refcounts_l1(bs, res, refcount_table, nb_clusters,
                        s->l1_table_offset, s->l1_size, 1);
     if (ret < 0) {
-        return ret;
+        goto fail;
     }
 
     /* snapshots */
@@ -1095,7 +1095,7 @@
         ret = check_refcounts_l1(bs, res, refcount_table, nb_clusters,
             sn->l1_table_offset, sn->l1_size, 0);
         if (ret < 0) {
-            return ret;
+            goto fail;
         }
     }
     inc_refcounts(bs, res, refcount_table, nb_clusters,
@@ -1159,8 +1159,11 @@
         }
     }
 
+    ret = 0;
+
+fail:
     qemu_free(refcount_table);
 
-    return 0;
+    return ret;
 }