diff --git a/src/settings/nm-settings-connection.c b/src/settings/nm-settings-connection.c
index 8dec0bde32..3a3f9ba151 100644
--- a/src/settings/nm-settings-connection.c
+++ b/src/settings/nm-settings-connection.c
@@ -1884,8 +1884,11 @@ delete_auth_cb (NMSettingsConnection *self,
                 GError *error,
                 gpointer data)
 {
+	gs_unref_object NMSettingsConnection *self_keep_alive = NULL;
 	gs_free_error GError *local = NULL;
 
+	self_keep_alive = g_object_ref (self);
+
 	if (error) {
 		nm_audit_log_connection_op (NM_AUDIT_OP_CONN_DELETE, self, FALSE, NULL, subject,
 		                            error->message);