diff --git a/src/hb-common.cc b/src/hb-common.cc
index 8837cefbf7d..05a1f9ce19d 100644
--- a/src/hb-common.cc
+++ b/src/hb-common.cc
@@ -265,6 +265,7 @@ lang_find_or_insert (const char *key)
   *lang = key;
 
   if (!hb_atomic_ptr_cmpexch (&langs, first_lang, lang)) {
+    lang->finish ();
     free (lang);
     goto retry;
   }