diff --git a/src/openvpn/crypto_openssl.c b/src/openvpn/crypto_openssl.c
index 6b18551e..9d823add 100644
--- a/src/openvpn/crypto_openssl.c
+++ b/src/openvpn/crypto_openssl.c
@@ -1063,6 +1063,9 @@ hmac_ctx_new(void)
     EVP_MAC *hmac = EVP_MAC_fetch(NULL, "HMAC", NULL);
     ctx->ctx = EVP_MAC_CTX_new(hmac);
     check_malloc_return(ctx->ctx);
+
+    EVP_MAC_free(hmac);
+
     return ctx;
 }