diff --git a/builtin/submodule--helper.c b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
index 85fb23dee8..642a0edabf 100644
--- a/builtin/submodule--helper.c
+++ b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
@@ -2958,7 +2958,9 @@ static int push_check(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix UNUSED)
 				    rs->src);
 			}
 		}
+
 		refspec_clear(&refspec);
+		free_refs(local_refs);
 	}
 	free(head);
 
diff --git a/t/t5531-deep-submodule-push.sh b/t/t5531-deep-submodule-push.sh
index f3fff55744..135823630a 100755
--- a/t/t5531-deep-submodule-push.sh
+++ b/t/t5531-deep-submodule-push.sh
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 GIT_TEST_FATAL_REGISTER_SUBMODULE_ODB=1
 export GIT_TEST_FATAL_REGISTER_SUBMODULE_ODB
 
+TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 test_expect_success setup '