diff --git a/Modules/_testcapimodule.c b/Modules/_testcapimodule.c
index fd16d5fa40f..9a5d8854345 100644
--- a/Modules/_testcapimodule.c
+++ b/Modules/_testcapimodule.c
@@ -544,6 +544,7 @@ raise_exception(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 		PyTuple_SET_ITEM(exc_args, i, v);
 	}
 	PyErr_SetObject(exc, exc_args);
+	Py_DECREF(exc_args);
 	return NULL;
 }