diff --git a/sshzlib.c b/sshzlib.c
index c69edfb8..ee1bc42d 100644
--- a/sshzlib.c
+++ b/sshzlib.c
@@ -1366,6 +1366,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
             sfree(outbuf);
         } else {
             fprintf(stderr, "decoding error\n");
+            fclose(fp);
             return 1;
         }
     }