diff --git a/libc/misc/lib_stream.c b/libc/misc/lib_stream.c
index f152157236..2ad3cd740e 100644
--- a/libc/misc/lib_stream.c
+++ b/libc/misc/lib_stream.c
@@ -162,14 +162,14 @@ void lib_stream_release(FAR struct task_group_s *group)
 
       if (list->sl_streams[i].fs_bufstart)
         {
-#ifndef CONFIG_ARCH_ADDRENV
+#ifndef CONFIG_BUILD_KERNEL
           /* Release memory from the user heap */
 
           sched_ufree(list->sl_streams[i].fs_bufstart);
 #else
           /* If the exiting group is unprivileged, then it has an address
            * environment.  Don't bother to release the memory in this case...
-           * There is no point sense the memory lies in the user heap which
+           * There is no point since the memory lies in the user heap which
            * will be destroyed anyway.  But if this is a privileged group,
            * when we still have to release the memory using the kernel
            * allocator.
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ void lib_stream_release(FAR struct task_group_s *group)
 
           if ((group->tg_flags & GROUP_FLAG_PRIVILEGED) != 0)
             {
-              sched_ufree(list->sl_streams[i].fs_bufstart);
+              sched_kfree(list->sl_streams[i].fs_bufstart);
             }
 #endif
         }
diff --git a/sched/group/group_leave.c b/sched/group/group_leave.c
index bcf9e1daeb..6b44ba68a0 100644
--- a/sched/group/group_leave.c
+++ b/sched/group/group_leave.c
@@ -230,15 +230,39 @@ static inline void group_release(FAR struct task_group_s *group)
     }
 #endif
 
-#if CONFIG_NFILE_STREAMS > 0 && (defined(CONFIG_BUILD_PROTECTED) || \
-    defined(CONFIG_BUILD_KERNEL)) && defined(CONFIG_MM_KERNEL_HEAP)
-
+#if CONFIG_NFILE_STREAMS > 0 && defined(CONFIG_MM_KERNEL_HEAP)
   /* In a flat, single-heap build.  The stream list is part of the
-   * group structure.  But in a kernel build with a kernel allocator, it
-   * must be separately de-allocated user the user-space deallocator.
+   * group structure and, hence will be freed when the group structure
+   * is freed.  Otherwise, it is separately allocated an must be
+   * freed here.
+   */
+
+#  if defined(CONFIG_BUILD_PROTECTED)
+  /* In the protected build, the task's stream list is always allocated
+   * and freed from the single, global user allocator.
    */
 
   sched_ufree(group->tg_streamlist);
+
+#  elif defined(CONFIG_BUILD_KERNEL)
+  /* In the kernel build, the unprivileged process' stream list will be
+   * allocated from with its per-process, private user heap. But in that
+   * case, there is no reason to do anything here:  That allocation resides
+   * in the user heap which which be completely freed when we destroy the
+   * process' address environment.
+   */
+
+  if ((group->tg_flags & GROUP_FLAG_PRIVILEGED) != 0)
+    {
+      /* But kernel threads are different in this build configuration: Their
+       * stream lists were allocated from the common, global kernel heap and
+       * must explicitly freed here.
+       */
+
+      sched_kfree(group->tg_streamlist);
+    }
+
+#  endif
 #endif
 
   /* Release the group container itself */