diff --git a/src/stratifier.c b/src/stratifier.c
index 33e783c4..ed52bffc 100644
--- a/src/stratifier.c
+++ b/src/stratifier.c
@@ -1899,7 +1899,7 @@ static void add_node_base(ckpool_t *ckp, json_t *val, bool trusted, int64_t clie
 			wb->incomplete = true;
 	} else {
 		if (!rebuild_txns(ckp, sdata, wb)) {
-			free(wb);
+			clear_workbase(wb);
 			return;
 		}
 	}