diff --git a/drivers/staging/vt6656/hostap.c b/drivers/staging/vt6656/hostap.c
index f4f1bf7a30fd..c699a3058b39 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/vt6656/hostap.c
+++ b/drivers/staging/vt6656/hostap.c
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ static int hostap_disable_hostapd(struct vnt_private *pDevice, int rtnl_locked)
             DBG_PRT(MSG_LEVEL_DEBUG, KERN_INFO "%s: Netdevice %s unregistered\n",
 		       pDevice->dev->name, pDevice->apdev->name);
 	}
-	kfree(pDevice->apdev);
+	free_netdev(pDevice->apdev);
 	pDevice->apdev = NULL;
     pDevice->bEnable8021x = false;
     pDevice->bEnableHostWEP = false;