diff --git a/libavformat/utils.c b/libavformat/utils.c
index a7f2582e0e..4657ba2642 100644
--- a/libavformat/utils.c
+++ b/libavformat/utils.c
@@ -854,6 +854,8 @@ int ff_read_packet(AVFormatContext *s, AVPacket *pkt)
         av_init_packet(pkt);
         ret = s->iformat->read_packet(s, pkt);
         if (ret < 0) {
+            av_packet_unref(pkt);
+
             /* Some demuxers return FFERROR_REDO when they consume
                data and discard it (ignored streams, junk, extradata).
                We must re-call the demuxer to get the real packet. */