diff --git a/libnm-core/nm-keyfile-reader.c b/libnm-core/nm-keyfile-reader.c
index 1e75cbf922..b6cd8d8cd0 100644
--- a/libnm-core/nm-keyfile-reader.c
+++ b/libnm-core/nm-keyfile-reader.c
@@ -1940,6 +1940,6 @@ nm_keyfile_read (GKeyFile *keyfile,
 	return connection;
 out_error:
 	g_propagate_error (error, info.error);
-	g_free (connection);
+	g_object_unref (connection);
 	return NULL;
 }