diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Core_and_Builtins/2026-04-02-13-25-09.gh-issue-147998.wnzkRT.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Core_and_Builtins/2026-04-02-13-25-09.gh-issue-147998.wnzkRT.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..e83d9929eae5e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Core_and_Builtins/2026-04-02-13-25-09.gh-issue-147998.wnzkRT.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Fixed a memory leak in interpreter helper calls so cleanup works when an
+operation falls across interpreter boundaries. Patch by Maurycy
+Pawłowski-Wieroński.
diff --git a/Python/crossinterp.c b/Python/crossinterp.c
index f92927da475321..783ce3a237088c 100644
--- a/Python/crossinterp.c
+++ b/Python/crossinterp.c
@@ -2965,7 +2965,7 @@ _pop_preserved(_PyXI_session *session,
         *p_xidata = NULL;
     }
     else {
-        _PyXI_namespace *xidata = _create_sharedns(session->_preserved);
+        xidata = _create_sharedns(session->_preserved);
         if (xidata == NULL) {
             failure.code = _PyXI_ERR_PRESERVE_FAILURE;
             goto error;