diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index a79b85d59..75f8418aa 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ Bugfix
      introduced in Mbed TLS 2.12.0. Fixes #1954.
    * Fix undefined shifts with negative values in certificates parsing
      (found by Catena cyber using oss-fuzz)
+   * Fix memory leak and free without initialization in pk_encrypt
+     and pk_decrypt example programs. Reported by Brace Stout. Fixes #1128.
 
 Changes
    * Improve compatibility with some alternative CCM implementations by using
diff --git a/programs/pkey/pk_decrypt.c b/programs/pkey/pk_decrypt.c
index 00bd71ed3..1d8c959a0 100644
--- a/programs/pkey/pk_decrypt.c
+++ b/programs/pkey/pk_decrypt.c
@@ -73,7 +73,10 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
     const char *pers = "mbedtls_pk_decrypt";
     ((void) argv);
 
+    mbedtls_pk_init( &pk );
+    mbedtls_entropy_init( &entropy );
     mbedtls_ctr_drbg_init( &ctr_drbg );
+
     memset(result, 0, sizeof( result ) );
 
     if( argc != 2 )
@@ -90,20 +93,18 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
     mbedtls_printf( "\n  . Seeding the random number generator..." );
     fflush( stdout );
 
-    mbedtls_entropy_init( &entropy );
-    if( ( ret = mbedtls_ctr_drbg_seed( &ctr_drbg, mbedtls_entropy_func, &entropy,
-                               (const unsigned char *) pers,
-                               strlen( pers ) ) ) != 0 )
+    if( ( ret = mbedtls_ctr_drbg_seed( &ctr_drbg, mbedtls_entropy_func,
+                                       &entropy, (const unsigned char *) pers,
+                                       strlen( pers ) ) ) != 0 )
     {
-        mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! mbedtls_ctr_drbg_seed returned %d\n", ret );
+        mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! mbedtls_ctr_drbg_seed returned -0x%04x\n",
+                        -ret );
         goto exit;
     }
 
     mbedtls_printf( "\n  . Reading private key from '%s'", argv[1] );
     fflush( stdout );
 
-    mbedtls_pk_init( &pk );
-
     if( ( ret = mbedtls_pk_parse_keyfile( &pk, argv[1], "" ) ) != 0 )
     {
         mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! mbedtls_pk_parse_keyfile returned -0x%04x\n", -ret );
@@ -116,14 +117,16 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
     if( ( f = fopen( "result-enc.txt", "rb" ) ) == NULL )
     {
         mbedtls_printf( "\n  ! Could not open %s\n\n", "result-enc.txt" );
+        ret = 1;
         goto exit;
     }
 
     i = 0;
-
     while( fscanf( f, "%02X", &c ) > 0 &&
            i < (int) sizeof( buf ) )
+    {
         buf[i++] = (unsigned char) c;
+    }
 
     fclose( f );
 
@@ -136,7 +139,8 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
     if( ( ret = mbedtls_pk_decrypt( &pk, buf, i, result, &olen, sizeof(result),
                             mbedtls_ctr_drbg_random, &ctr_drbg ) ) != 0 )
     {
-        mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! mbedtls_pk_decrypt returned -0x%04x\n", -ret );
+        mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! mbedtls_pk_decrypt returned -0x%04x\n",
+                        -ret );
         goto exit;
     }
 
@@ -147,13 +151,15 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
     exit_code = MBEDTLS_EXIT_SUCCESS;
 
 exit:
-    mbedtls_ctr_drbg_free( &ctr_drbg );
+
+    mbedtls_pk_free( &pk );
     mbedtls_entropy_free( &entropy );
+    mbedtls_ctr_drbg_free( &ctr_drbg );
 
 #if defined(MBEDTLS_ERROR_C)
     if( exit_code != MBEDTLS_EXIT_SUCCESS )
     {
-        mbedtls_strerror( ret, (char *) buf, sizeof(buf) );
+        mbedtls_strerror( ret, (char *) buf, sizeof( buf ) );
         mbedtls_printf( "  !  Last error was: %s\n", buf );
     }
 #endif
diff --git a/programs/pkey/pk_encrypt.c b/programs/pkey/pk_encrypt.c
index 400619c5c..22dedba10 100644
--- a/programs/pkey/pk_encrypt.c
+++ b/programs/pkey/pk_encrypt.c
@@ -73,6 +73,8 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
     const char *pers = "mbedtls_pk_encrypt";
 
     mbedtls_ctr_drbg_init( &ctr_drbg );
+    mbedtls_entropy_init( &entropy );
+    mbedtls_pk_init( &pk );
 
     if( argc != 3 )
     {
@@ -88,20 +90,18 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
     mbedtls_printf( "\n  . Seeding the random number generator..." );
     fflush( stdout );
 
-    mbedtls_entropy_init( &entropy );
-    if( ( ret = mbedtls_ctr_drbg_seed( &ctr_drbg, mbedtls_entropy_func, &entropy,
-                               (const unsigned char *) pers,
-                               strlen( pers ) ) ) != 0 )
+    if( ( ret = mbedtls_ctr_drbg_seed( &ctr_drbg, mbedtls_entropy_func,
+                                       &entropy, (const unsigned char *) pers,
+                                       strlen( pers ) ) ) != 0 )
     {
-        mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! mbedtls_ctr_drbg_seed returned -0x%04x\n", -ret );
+        mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! mbedtls_ctr_drbg_seed returned -0x%04x\n",
+                        -ret );
         goto exit;
     }
 
     mbedtls_printf( "\n  . Reading public key from '%s'", argv[1] );
     fflush( stdout );
 
-    mbedtls_pk_init( &pk );
-
     if( ( ret = mbedtls_pk_parse_public_keyfile( &pk, argv[1] ) ) != 0 )
     {
         mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! mbedtls_pk_parse_public_keyfile returned -0x%04x\n", -ret );
@@ -126,7 +126,8 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
                             buf, &olen, sizeof(buf),
                             mbedtls_ctr_drbg_random, &ctr_drbg ) ) != 0 )
     {
-        mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! mbedtls_pk_encrypt returned -0x%04x\n", -ret );
+        mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! mbedtls_pk_encrypt returned -0x%04x\n",
+                        -ret );
         goto exit;
     }
 
@@ -135,13 +136,17 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
      */
     if( ( f = fopen( "result-enc.txt", "wb+" ) ) == NULL )
     {
-        mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! Could not create %s\n\n", "result-enc.txt" );
+        mbedtls_printf( " failed\n  ! Could not create %s\n\n",
+                        "result-enc.txt" );
+        ret = 1;
         goto exit;
     }
 
     for( i = 0; i < olen; i++ )
+    {
         mbedtls_fprintf( f, "%02X%s", buf[i],
                  ( i + 1 ) % 16 == 0 ? "\r\n" : " " );
+    }
 
     fclose( f );
 
@@ -150,13 +155,15 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
     exit_code = MBEDTLS_EXIT_SUCCESS;
 
 exit:
-    mbedtls_ctr_drbg_free( &ctr_drbg );
+
+    mbedtls_pk_free( &pk );
     mbedtls_entropy_free( &entropy );
+    mbedtls_ctr_drbg_free( &ctr_drbg );
 
 #if defined(MBEDTLS_ERROR_C)
     if( exit_code != MBEDTLS_EXIT_SUCCESS )
     {
-        mbedtls_strerror( ret, (char *) buf, sizeof(buf) );
+        mbedtls_strerror( ret, (char *) buf, sizeof( buf ) );
         mbedtls_printf( "  !  Last error was: %s\n", buf );
     }
 #endif