diff --git a/sound/soc/soc-topology.c b/sound/soc/soc-topology.c
index d00203ef8305..35a7141fed7a 100644
--- a/sound/soc/soc-topology.c
+++ b/sound/soc/soc-topology.c
@@ -2320,8 +2320,11 @@ static int soc_tplg_link_elems_load(struct soc_tplg *tplg,
 		}
 
 		ret = soc_tplg_link_config(tplg, _link);
-		if (ret < 0)
+		if (ret < 0) {
+			if (!abi_match)
+				kfree(_link);
 			return ret;
+		}
 
 		/* offset by version-specific struct size and
 		 * real priv data size