diff --git a/libavdevice/v4l.c b/libavdevice/v4l.c
index 2f7fc6a1b8..8fed08c11d 100644
--- a/libavdevice/v4l.c
+++ b/libavdevice/v4l.c
@@ -258,7 +258,6 @@ static int grab_read_header(AVFormatContext *s1, AVFormatParameters *ap)
  fail:
     if (video_fd >= 0)
         close(video_fd);
-    av_free(st);
     return AVERROR(EIO);
 }