diff --git a/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos/src/main/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/http/Http2ResponseHeaderCleanerHandler.java b/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos/src/main/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/http/Http2ResponseHeaderCleanerHandler.java
index ce3204954783..709a77059c11 100644
--- a/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos/src/main/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/http/Http2ResponseHeaderCleanerHandler.java
+++ b/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos/src/main/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/http/Http2ResponseHeaderCleanerHandler.java
@@ -51,7 +51,8 @@ public void channelRead(ChannelHandlerContext ctx, Object msg) throws Exception
             super.channelRead(ctx, msg);
         } else {
             // Pass the message to the next handler in the pipeline
-            ctx.fireChannelRead(msg);
+            // Use super.channelRead to ensure proper reference counting
+            super.channelRead(ctx, msg);
         }
     }
 }