diff --git a/migration/savevm.c b/migration/savevm.c
index d35e87b88c..2d10e45582 100644
--- a/migration/savevm.c
+++ b/migration/savevm.c
@@ -2333,11 +2333,13 @@ int qemu_loadvm_state(QEMUFile *f)
     if (migrate_get_current()->send_configuration) {
         if (qemu_get_byte(f) != QEMU_VM_CONFIGURATION) {
             error_report("Configuration section missing");
+            qemu_loadvm_state_cleanup();
             return -EINVAL;
         }
         ret = vmstate_load_state(f, &vmstate_configuration, &savevm_state, 0);
 
         if (ret) {
+            qemu_loadvm_state_cleanup();
             return ret;
         }
     }