diff --git a/cpukit/libmisc/shell/main_blksync.c b/cpukit/libmisc/shell/main_blksync.c
index 7c32b79fef..9b1cd24fbc 100644
--- a/cpukit/libmisc/shell/main_blksync.c
+++ b/cpukit/libmisc/shell/main_blksync.c
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ static int rtems_shell_main_blksync(
 
   if (rtems_disk_fd_sync (fd) < 0) {
     fprintf( stderr, "%s: driver sync failed: %s\n", argv[0], strerror (errno));
+    close (fd);
     return 1;
   }