diff --git a/t/helper/test-dump-untracked-cache.c b/t/helper/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
index 4f010d5324..b2e70837a9 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
@@ -68,5 +68,7 @@ int cmd__dump_untracked_cache(int ac UNUSED, const char **av UNUSED)
 	printf("flags %08x\n", uc->dir_flags);
 	if (uc->root)
 		dump(uc->root, &base);
+
+	strbuf_release(&base);
 	return 0;
 }