diff --git a/src/spawn_sys/spawn_process.rs b/src/spawn_sys/spawn_process.rs
index f488edd2c694..2ec26ae2edd2 100644
--- a/src/spawn_sys/spawn_process.rs
+++ b/src/spawn_sys/spawn_process.rs
@@ -549,22 +549,13 @@ impl PosixSpawnResult {
                     // Until we switch to CLONE_PIDFD, this needs to be handled separately.
                     bun_sys::E::ESRCH => {}
 
-                    // For all other cases, ensure we don't leak the child process on error
-                    // That would cause Zombie processes to accumulate.
+                    // The spawn fails below. Kill first: a child that waits on a pipe this process holds would block wait4 forever.
                     _ => {
-                        loop {
-                            let mut status: i32 = 0;
-                            // SAFETY: libc wait4
-                            let rc = unsafe {
-                                libc::wait4(self.pid, &raw mut status, 0, core::ptr::null_mut())
-                            };
-                            match bun_sys::get_errno(rc as isize) {
-                                bun_sys::E::SUCCESS => {}
-                                bun_sys::E::EINTR => continue,
-                                _ => {}
-                            }
-                            break;
+                        // SAFETY: `self.pid` is the un-reaped child posix_spawn just returned.
+                        unsafe {
+                            libc::kill(self.pid, libc::SIGKILL);
                         }
+                        let _ = posix_spawn::wait4(self.pid, 0, None);
                     }
                 }
                 Err(err)
diff --git a/test/js/bun/spawn/spawn-pidfd-emfile.test.ts b/test/js/bun/spawn/spawn-pidfd-emfile.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d0267c40d833
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/js/bun/spawn/spawn-pidfd-emfile.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+import { expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import { bunEnv, bunExe, isLinux } from "harness";
+
+// On Linux, Bun.spawn opens a pidfd after posix_spawn so the event loop can
+// observe the child's exit. When the process is at its RLIMIT_NOFILE, the
+// socketpairs for stdin/stdout can succeed and pidfd_open can still fail with
+// EMFILE. That arm used to block the JS thread in wait4() until the child
+// exited on its own. A child that reads its stdin (cat) never exits, because
+// the write end of that pipe belongs to the blocked parent: a deadlock with
+// no timers firing.
+//
+// The fixture walks the spare-fd count up from 1 so the exact boundary does not
+// matter: every attempt must finish, as a thrown EMFILE or a clean exit.
+test.skipIf(!isLinux)("Bun.spawn at the fd limit fails with EMFILE instead of blocking in wait4", async () => {
+  const fixture = `
+const fs = require("fs");
+const held = [];
+for (;;) {
+  try {
+    held.push(fs.openSync("/dev/null", "r"));
+  } catch {
+    break;
+  }
+}
+for (let spare = 1; spare <= 6; spare++) {
+  fs.closeSync(held.pop());
+  let result;
+  try {
+    const p = Bun.spawn(["/bin/cat"], { stdin: "pipe", stdout: "pipe", stderr: "inherit" });
+    p.stdin.end();
+    const [text, code] = await Promise.all([p.stdout.text(), p.exited]);
+    result = "ok " + code + " " + JSON.stringify(text);
+  } catch (e) {
+    result = "err " + e.code + " " + e.syscall;
+  }
+  console.log(spare + ": " + result);
+}
+`;
+
+  await using proc = Bun.spawn({
+    cmd: ["/bin/sh", "-c", 'ulimit -n 64 && exec "$@"', "sh", bunExe(), "-e", fixture],
+    env: bunEnv,
+    stdout: "pipe",
+    stderr: "pipe",
+  });
+  // Without the fix the fixture blocks forever inside Bun.spawn at the
+  // pidfd_open boundary and this test times out.
+  const [stdout, stderr, exitCode] = await Promise.all([proc.stdout.text(), proc.stderr.text(), proc.exited]);
+
+  const lines = stdout.trim().split("\n");
+  expect(lines).toHaveLength(6);
+  expect(lines.filter(l => l.includes("err EMFILE pidfd_open"))).toHaveLength(1);
+  expect(lines.at(-1)).toBe('6: ok 0 ""');
+  for (const line of lines) {
+    expect(line).toMatch(/^\d: (err EMFILE (socketpair|pidfd_open)|ok 0 "")$/);
+  }
+  expect(stderr).toBe("");
+  expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+});
+
+// With every stdio slot inherited, nothing allocates an fd before posix_spawn,
+// so at zero free fds pidfd_open is the first call that fails. The fixture's
+// stdin is a pipe whose write end this test keeps open, so a blocked wait4 on
+// `cat` would never return. node:child_process reaches the same arm and must
+// report the failure as an "error" event, as node does at its fd limit.
+test.skipIf(!isLinux)(
+  "Bun.spawn with inherited stdio at zero free fds fails with EMFILE instead of blocking in wait4",
+  async () => {
+    const fixture = `
+const fs = require("fs");
+const { spawn } = require("child_process");
+// Run the deferred "error" path once while fds are still free: a debug build
+// reads the builtins it lazily requires (process.nextTick's queue) from disk.
+await new Promise(resolve => spawn("/nonexistent", { stdio: "ignore" }).once("error", resolve));
+const held = [];
+for (;;) {
+  try {
+    held.push(fs.openSync("/dev/null", "r"));
+  } catch {
+    break;
+  }
+}
+try {
+  const p = Bun.spawn(["/bin/cat"], { stdin: "inherit", stdout: "inherit", stderr: "inherit" });
+  p.kill();
+  console.log("Bun.spawn: ok");
+} catch (e) {
+  console.log("Bun.spawn: err " + e.code + " " + e.syscall);
+}
+const child = spawn("/bin/cat", { stdio: "inherit" });
+const result = await new Promise(resolve => {
+  child.once("error", e => resolve("err " + e.code + " " + e.syscall));
+  child.once("spawn", () => {
+    child.kill();
+    resolve("ok");
+  });
+});
+console.log("child_process.spawn: " + result);
+// LeakSanitizer reads /proc/self/task at exit, which needs a free fd.
+for (const fd of held) fs.closeSync(fd);
+`;
+
+    await using proc = Bun.spawn({
+      cmd: ["/bin/sh", "-c", 'ulimit -n 64 && exec "$@"', "sh", bunExe(), "-e", fixture],
+      env: bunEnv,
+      stdin: "pipe",
+      stdout: "pipe",
+      stderr: "pipe",
+    });
+    const [stdout, stderr, exitCode] = await Promise.all([proc.stdout.text(), proc.stderr.text(), proc.exited]);
+
+    expect(stdout).toBe("Bun.spawn: err EMFILE pidfd_open\nchild_process.spawn: err EMFILE spawn /bin/cat\n");
+    expect(stderr).toBe("");
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+  },
+);