diff --git a/libfdproto/dictionary.c b/libfdproto/dictionary.c
index 94765554..c284c7bc 100644
--- a/libfdproto/dictionary.c
+++ b/libfdproto/dictionary.c
@@ -1860,6 +1860,8 @@ int fd_dict_new ( struct dictionary * dict, enum dict_object_type type, void * d
 		free(buf);
 	}
 error_free:
+	/* we can use destroy_object because this object is not part of the dictionary */
+	destroy_object_data(new);
 	free(new);
 	return ret;
 }