diff --git a/util/acl.c b/util/acl.c
index 81ac25599b..21b2205fa1 100644
--- a/util/acl.c
+++ b/util/acl.c
@@ -168,6 +168,9 @@ int qemu_acl_remove(qemu_acl *acl,
         i++;
         if (strcmp(entry->match, match) == 0) {
             QTAILQ_REMOVE(&acl->entries, entry, next);
+            acl->nentries--;
+            g_free(entry->match);
+            g_free(entry);
             return i;
         }
     }