diff --git a/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c b/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c
index 2e72402f45..6f4ca78475 100644
--- a/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c
+++ b/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c
@@ -478,7 +478,8 @@ char *filestream_getline(RFILE *stream)
 
          if (!newline_tmp)
          {
-            free(newline);
+            if (newline)
+               free(newline);
             return NULL;
          }