diff --git a/wt-status.c b/wt-status.c
index 0375484962..0a6e16dbe0 100644
--- a/wt-status.c
+++ b/wt-status.c
@@ -1168,6 +1168,7 @@ static int read_rebase_todolist(const char *fname, struct string_list *lines)
 		abbrev_sha1_in_line(&line);
 		string_list_append(lines, line.buf);
 	}
+	fclose(f);
 	return 0;
 }