diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
index ba6c93f26724163974e0da2810d7b007ef15e407..54d32cc3430392e0265947c666f8fed39d60a621 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
@@ -5608,6 +5608,7 @@ qemuProcessLaunch(virConnectPtr conn,
     ret = 0;
 
  cleanup:
+    qemuDomainSecretDestroy(vm);
     virCommandFree(cmd);
     qemuDomainLogContextFree(logCtxt);
     virObjectUnref(cfg);
@@ -5720,8 +5721,6 @@ qemuProcessStart(virConnectPtr conn,
     }
     relabel = true;
 
-    qemuDomainSecretDestroy(vm);
-
     if (incoming &&
         incoming->deferredURI &&
         qemuMigrationRunIncoming(driver, vm, incoming->deferredURI, asyncJob) < 0)