diff --git a/security/commoncap.c b/security/commoncap.c
index 1c70d1149186..d1890a6e6475 100644
--- a/security/commoncap.c
+++ b/security/commoncap.c
@@ -391,8 +391,10 @@ int cap_inode_getsecurity(struct inode *inode, const char *name, void **buffer,
 				 &tmpbuf, size, GFP_NOFS);
 	dput(dentry);
 
-	if (ret < 0 || !tmpbuf)
-		return ret;
+	if (ret < 0 || !tmpbuf) {
+		size = ret;
+		goto out_free;
+	}
 
 	fs_ns = inode->i_sb->s_user_ns;
 	cap = (struct vfs_cap_data *) tmpbuf;