diff --git a/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/AbstractObjectTest.java b/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/AbstractObjectTest.java
index f79fb962f..7e144136b 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/AbstractObjectTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/AbstractObjectTest.java
@@ -297,7 +297,11 @@ public abstract class AbstractObjectTest extends BulkTest {
      */
     protected Object readExternalFormFromDisk(final String path) throws IOException, ClassNotFoundException {
         final FileInputStream stream = new FileInputStream(path);
-        return readExternalFormFromStream(stream);
+        try {
+            return readExternalFormFromStream(stream);
+        } finally {
+            stream.close();
+        }
     }
 
     /**