diff --git a/src/fuse/FuseOps.cc b/src/fuse/FuseOps.cc
index 6ff77883..1f55db77 100644
--- a/src/fuse/FuseOps.cc
+++ b/src/fuse/FuseOps.cc
@@ -1234,7 +1234,13 @@ void hf3fs_symlink(fuse_req_t req, const char *link, fuse_ino_t fparent, const c
                                        ior->ioDepth,
                                        *ior->iora);
           if (!res2) {
-            handle_error(req, res);
+            handle_error(req, res2);
+            // rollback the successful addIov before returning
+            auto rmRes = d.iovs.rmIov(name, userInfo);
+            if (rmRes.hasError()) {
+              XLOGF(ERR, "failed to rollback iov after addIoRing failure: {}", rmRes.error());
+            }
+            return;
           }
           // record the ior index for later removal
           res->second->iorIndex = *res2;