diff --git a/lib/bdev/nvme/bdev_nvme.c b/lib/bdev/nvme/bdev_nvme.c
index ee2961879..f64d25d72 100644
--- a/lib/bdev/nvme/bdev_nvme.c
+++ b/lib/bdev/nvme/bdev_nvme.c
@@ -955,6 +955,8 @@ create_ctrlr(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr,
 
 	if (nvme_ctrlr_create_bdevs(nvme_ctrlr) != 0) {
 		spdk_io_device_unregister(ctrlr, NULL);
+		free(nvme_ctrlr->bdevs);
+		free(nvme_ctrlr->name);
 		free(nvme_ctrlr);
 		return -1;
 	}