diff --git a/nostrdb/src/nostrdb.c b/nostrdb/src/nostrdb.c
index 429e7745..deeae806 100644
--- a/nostrdb/src/nostrdb.c
+++ b/nostrdb/src/nostrdb.c
@@ -2835,6 +2835,7 @@ static int ndb_write_reaction_stats(struct ndb_txn *txn, struct ndb_note *note)
 
 	if ((rc = mdb_put(txn->mdb_txn, txn->lmdb->dbs[NDB_DB_META], &key, &val, 0))) {
 		ndb_debug("write reaction stats to db failed: %s\n", mdb_strerror(rc));
+		free(root);
 		return 0;
 	}