diff --git a/openbsc/src/ipaccess/ipaccess-config.c b/openbsc/src/ipaccess/ipaccess-config.c
index 75c37f0..e66771a 100644
--- a/openbsc/src/ipaccess/ipaccess-config.c
+++ b/openbsc/src/ipaccess/ipaccess-config.c
@@ -743,6 +743,7 @@
 	/* verify the file */
 	if (fstat(fd, &stat) == -1) {
 		perror("Can not stat the file");
+		close(fd);
 		return;
 	}