diff --git a/src/exec.cc b/src/exec.cc
index 80a93c9b..323f2df4 100644
--- a/src/exec.cc
+++ b/src/exec.cc
@@ -245,8 +245,8 @@ void fill_p(const char *buffer, struct text_object *obj, char *p,
 void scan_exec_arg(struct text_object *obj, const char *arg,
                    unsigned int execflag) {
   const char *cmd = arg;
+  char *orig_cmd = nullptr;
   struct execi_data *ed;
-  unsigned int free_cmd = 0;
 
   /* in case we have an execi object, we need to parse out the interval */
   if ((execflag & EF_EXECI) != 0u) {
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ void scan_exec_arg(struct text_object *obj, const char *arg,
 
     /* set cmd to everything after the interval */
     cmd = strndup(arg + n, text_buffer_size.get(*state));
-    free_cmd = 1;
+    orig_cmd = (char *)cmd;
   }
 
   /* parse any special options for the graphical exec types */
@@ -289,9 +289,7 @@ void scan_exec_arg(struct text_object *obj, const char *arg,
     ed->cmd = strndup(cmd != nullptr ? cmd : "", text_buffer_size.get(*state));
     obj->data.opaque = ed;
   }
-  if (cmd != nullptr && 1 == free_cmd) {
-    free((char *)cmd);
-  }
+  free_and_zero(orig_cmd);
 }
 
 /**