diff --git a/winsup/cygwin/posix_timer.cc b/winsup/cygwin/posix_timer.cc
index c0d548fe9..75cd4fa60 100644
--- a/winsup/cygwin/posix_timer.cc
+++ b/winsup/cygwin/posix_timer.cc
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ timer_tracker::arm_overrun_event (LONG64 exp_cnt)
 LONG
 timer_tracker::disarm_overrun_event ()
 {
-  LONG ret;
+  LONG ret = 0;
 
   AcquireSRWLockExclusive (&srwlock);
   if (overrun_count != OVR_DISARMED)