diff --git a/lib/bitmap/bitmap.c b/lib/bitmap/bitmap.c
index 991cf9dfac0..bb64d9b13ec 100644
--- a/lib/bitmap/bitmap.c
+++ b/lib/bitmap/bitmap.c
@@ -315,8 +315,11 @@ struct BM *BM_file_read(FILE *fp)
     if (NULL == (map = (struct BM *)malloc(sizeof(struct BM))))
         return (NULL);
 
-    if (fread(&c, sizeof(char), sizeof(char), fp) != sizeof(char))
+    if (fread(&c, sizeof(char), sizeof(char), fp) != sizeof(char)) {
+        free(map);
         return NULL;
+    }
+
     if (c != BM_MAGIC) {
         free(map);
         return NULL;