diff --git a/src/cmd/go/internal/vcweb/auth.go b/src/cmd/go/internal/vcweb/auth.go
index 383bf759ffcdc1..e7c7c6ca265758 100644
--- a/src/cmd/go/internal/vcweb/auth.go
+++ b/src/cmd/go/internal/vcweb/auth.go
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ func (h *authHandler) Handler(dir string, env []string, logger *log.Logger) (htt
 			var err error
 			accessFile, err = fs.Open(path.Join(accessDir, ".access"))
 			if err == nil {
+				defer accessFile.Close()
 				break
 			}