diff --git a/tools/perf/util/dso.c b/tools/perf/util/dso.c
index b86969dc6e81..41bbc8f994e4 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/dso.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/dso.c
@@ -395,7 +395,9 @@ int dso__decompress_kmodule_path(struct dso *dso, const char *name,
 {
 	int fd = decompress_kmodule(dso, name, pathname, len);
 
-	close(fd);
+	/* decompress_kmodule() returns -1 on failure, don't close(-1) */
+	if (fd >= 0)
+		close(fd);
 	return fd >= 0 ? 0 : -1;
 }