diff --git a/Modules/_ssl.c b/Modules/_ssl.c
index 3d44b61..e855c5e 100644
--- a/Modules/_ssl.c
+++ b/Modules/_ssl.c
@@ -550,8 +550,10 @@ _create_tuple_for_X509_NAME (X509_NAME *xname)
     /* convert list to tuple */
     rdnt = PyList_AsTuple(dn);
     Py_DECREF(dn);
-    if (rdnt == NULL)
+    if (rdnt == NULL) {
+        Py_XDECREF(rdn);
         return NULL;
+    }
     return rdnt;
 
   fail1: