diff --git a/builtin/history.c b/builtin/history.c
index 097631f5ba..ab77295d98 100644
--- a/builtin/history.c
+++ b/builtin/history.c
@@ -161,6 +161,7 @@ out:
 	free_commit_extra_headers(original_extra_headers);
 	strbuf_release(&commit_message);
 	free(original_author);
+	repo_unuse_commit_buffer(repo, commit_with_message, original_message);
 	return ret;
 }