diff --git a/lib/route/link.c b/lib/route/link.c
index 8b5227e..e395529 100644
--- a/lib/route/link.c
+++ b/lib/route/link.c
@@ -72,8 +72,10 @@ static struct rtnl_link_af_ops *af_lookup_and_alloc(struct rtnl_link *link,
 	if (!af_ops)
 		return NULL;
 
-	if (!(data = rtnl_link_af_alloc(link, af_ops)))
+	if (!(data = rtnl_link_af_alloc(link, af_ops))) {
+		rtnl_link_af_ops_put(af_ops);
 		return NULL;
+	}
 
 	return af_ops;
 }