diff --git a/cobc/codegen.c b/cobc/codegen.c
index f4f7d232d..f75ff8db5 100644
--- a/cobc/codegen.c
+++ b/cobc/codegen.c
@@ -1847,7 +1847,7 @@ output_gnucobol_defines (const char *formatted_date)
 				output_line ("#include \"%s\"", ld->text);
 			}
 			next = ld->next;
-			if (ld->next != NULL)
+			if (next != NULL)
 				free (ld);
 			ld = next;
 		}