diff --git a/sapi/fpm/fpm/fpm_conf.c b/sapi/fpm/fpm/fpm_conf.c
index 29c7527d267d..197c5b1c2b26 100644
--- a/sapi/fpm/fpm/fpm_conf.c
+++ b/sapi/fpm/fpm/fpm_conf.c
@@ -769,8 +769,8 @@ static int fpm_evaluate_full_path(char **path, struct fpm_worker_pool_s *wp, cha
 			}
 
 			if (strlen(*path) > strlen("$prefix")) {
-				free(*path);
 				tmp = strdup((*path) + strlen("$prefix"));
+				free(*path);
 				*path = tmp;
 			} else {
 				free(*path);