diff --git a/winsup/cygwin/posix_timer.cc b/winsup/cygwin/posix_timer.cc
index d9d4a9a18..a140b00e9 100644
--- a/winsup/cygwin/posix_timer.cc
+++ b/winsup/cygwin/posix_timer.cc
@@ -287,9 +287,9 @@ timer_tracker::settime (int flags, const itimerspec *new_value,
       if (old_value)
 	gettime (old_value, false);
 
+      cancel ();
       if (!new_value->it_value.tv_sec && !new_value->it_value.tv_nsec)
 	{
-	  cancel ();
 	  memset (&time_spec, 0, sizeof time_spec);
 	  interval = 0;
 	  exp_ts = 0;
diff --git a/winsup/cygwin/release/3.0.3 b/winsup/cygwin/release/3.0.3
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..66ae63943
--- /dev/null
+++ b/winsup/cygwin/release/3.0.3
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+What's new:
+-----------
+
+
+What changed:
+-------------
+
+
+Bug Fixes
+---------
+
+- Fix a resource leak in posix timers.
+  Addresses: https://cygwin.com/ml/cygwin/2019-03/msg00120.html