diff --git a/buffer.c b/buffer.c
index 38048d40..89311af5 100644
--- a/buffer.c
+++ b/buffer.c
@@ -3184,7 +3184,8 @@ evbuffer_add_file(struct evbuffer *buf, int fd, ev_off_t offset, ev_off_t length
 	if (!seg)
 		return -1;
 	r = evbuffer_add_file_segment(buf, seg, 0, length);
-	evbuffer_file_segment_free(seg);
+	if (r == 0)
+		evbuffer_file_segment_free(seg);
 	return r;
 }