diff --git a/libretro-common/vfs/vfs_implementation.c b/libretro-common/vfs/vfs_implementation.c
index 24699ec1acb6..3354f51bddd6 100644
--- a/libretro-common/vfs/vfs_implementation.c
+++ b/libretro-common/vfs/vfs_implementation.c
@@ -923,11 +923,11 @@ int retro_vfs_stat_impl(const char *path, int32_t *size)
          if (path_buf[len - 1] == '/')
             path_buf[len - 1] = '\0';
 
-      free(path_buf);
-
       if (stat(path_buf, &stat_buf) < 0)
          return 0;
 
+      free(path_buf);
+      
       if (size)
          *size = (int32_t)stat_buf.st_size;