diff --git a/init/initramfs.c b/init/initramfs.c
index f8ce812ba43e..52059169f64d 100644
--- a/init/initramfs.c
+++ b/init/initramfs.c
@@ -621,8 +621,11 @@ static int __init populate_rootfs(void)
 {
 	char *err;
 
-	if (do_skip_initramfs)
+	if (do_skip_initramfs) {
+		if (initrd_start)
+			free_initrd();
 		return default_rootfs();
+	}
 
 	err = unpack_to_rootfs(__initramfs_start, __initramfs_size);
 	if (err)