diff --git a/hw/scsi/vhost-scsi.c b/hw/scsi/vhost-scsi.c
index 308b393f96..dcb2bc5a6e 100644
--- a/hw/scsi/vhost-scsi.c
+++ b/hw/scsi/vhost-scsi.c
@@ -233,6 +233,7 @@ static void vhost_scsi_realize(DeviceState *dev, Error **errp)
                                vhost_dummy_handle_output);
     if (err != NULL) {
         error_propagate(errp, err);
+        close(vhostfd);
         return;
     }
 
diff --git a/hw/virtio/vhost.c b/hw/virtio/vhost.c
index 5d7c40ac04..5a128613bb 100644
--- a/hw/virtio/vhost.c
+++ b/hw/virtio/vhost.c
@@ -817,10 +817,12 @@ int vhost_dev_init(struct vhost_dev *hdev, void *opaque,
     int i, r;
 
     if (vhost_set_backend_type(hdev, backend_type) < 0) {
+        close((uintptr_t)opaque);
         return -1;
     }
 
     if (hdev->vhost_ops->vhost_backend_init(hdev, opaque) < 0) {
+        close((uintptr_t)opaque);
         return -errno;
     }