diff --git a/libavcodec/eatqi.c b/libavcodec/eatqi.c
index 864291a95c..b8e4d7c5d4 100644
--- a/libavcodec/eatqi.c
+++ b/libavcodec/eatqi.c
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ static int tqi_decode_frame(AVCodecContext *avctx,
 static av_cold int tqi_decode_end(AVCodecContext *avctx)
 {
     TqiContext *t = avctx->priv_data;
-    av_free(t->bitstream_buf);
+    av_freep(&t->bitstream_buf);
     return 0;
 }