diff --git a/ngx_http_js_challenge.c b/ngx_http_js_challenge.c
index 88d4780..bb1faf7 100644
--- a/ngx_http_js_challenge.c
+++ b/ngx_http_js_challenge.c
@@ -169,11 +169,13 @@ static char *ngx_http_js_challenge_merge_loc_conf(ngx_conf_t *cf, void *parent,
         if (fd < 0) {
             ngx_conf_log_error(NGX_LOG_EMERG, cf, 0, "js_challenge_html: Could not open file '%s': %s", path,
                                strerror(errno));
+            close(fd);
             return NGX_CONF_ERROR;
         }
 
         conf->html = ngx_palloc(cf->pool, info.st_size);
         int ret = read(fd, conf->html, info.st_size);
+        close(fd);
         if (ret < 0) {
             ngx_conf_log_error(NGX_LOG_EMERG, cf, 0, "js_challenge_html: Could not read file '%s': %s", path,
                                strerror(errno));