diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-lock.c b/tools/perf/builtin-lock.c
index a3ff2f4edbaa..230461280e45 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-lock.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-lock.c
@@ -2285,8 +2285,10 @@ static int __cmd_record(int argc, const char **argv)
 		else
 			ev_name = strdup(contention_tracepoints[j].name);
 
-		if (!ev_name)
+		if (!ev_name) {
+			free(rec_argv);
 			return -ENOMEM;
+		}
 
 		rec_argv[i++] = "-e";
 		rec_argv[i++] = ev_name;