diff --git a/src/nvim/spellfile.c b/src/nvim/spellfile.c
index 6229943dc5..bd63b3b3e2 100644
--- a/src/nvim/spellfile.c
+++ b/src/nvim/spellfile.c
@@ -681,6 +681,7 @@ slang_T *spell_load_file(char *fname, char *lang, slang_T *old_lp, bool silent)
     res = 0;
     switch (n) {
     case SN_INFO:
+      XFREE_CLEAR(lp->sl_info);
       lp->sl_info = read_string(fd, (size_t)len);  // <infotext>
       if (lp->sl_info == NULL) {
         goto endFAIL;