diff --git a/src/net.c b/src/net.c
index 106dbd6aa4..b8aefa7737 100644
--- a/src/net.c
+++ b/src/net.c
@@ -2080,6 +2080,10 @@ handle_request(coap_context_t *context, coap_session_t *session, coap_pdu_t *pdu
       }
       response = NULL;
     } else {
+      if (response) {
+        coap_delete_pdu(response);
+        response = NULL;
+      }
       coap_log(LOG_WARNING, "cannot generate response\r\n");
     }
   } else {