diff --git a/libraries/libldbm/ldbm.c b/libraries/libldbm/ldbm.c
index 6e731f43fc..e5e92db0ec 100644
--- a/libraries/libldbm/ldbm.c
+++ b/libraries/libldbm/ldbm.c
@@ -522,6 +522,7 @@ ldbm_firstkey( LDBM ldbm, LDBMCursor **dbch )
 #  endif
 	{
 		key.dptr = NULL;
+		LDBM_UNLOCK;
 		return( key );
 	} else {
 		*dbch = dbci;