diff --git a/src/media/fetch.ts b/src/media/fetch.ts
index 3f2372c0abf..b05318446d7 100644
--- a/src/media/fetch.ts
+++ b/src/media/fetch.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,9 @@ type FetchMediaOptions = {
   filePathHint?: string;
   maxBytes?: number;
   maxRedirects?: number;
+  /** Abort the download if it takes longer than this (ms). Covers both the
+   *  initial connection and streaming the response body. */
+  timeoutMs?: number;
   ssrfPolicy?: SsrFPolicy;
   lookupFn?: LookupFn;
 };
@@ -87,6 +90,7 @@ export async function fetchRemoteMedia(options: FetchMediaOptions): Promise<Fetc
     filePathHint,
     maxBytes,
     maxRedirects,
+    timeoutMs,
     ssrfPolicy,
     lookupFn,
   } = options;
@@ -101,6 +105,7 @@ export async function fetchRemoteMedia(options: FetchMediaOptions): Promise<Fetc
         fetchImpl,
         init: requestInit,
         maxRedirects,
+        timeoutMs,
         policy: ssrfPolicy,
         lookupFn,
       }),
diff --git a/src/media/read-response-with-limit.test.ts b/src/media/read-response-with-limit.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f7283fd3edb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/media/read-response-with-limit.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { readResponseWithLimit } from "./read-response-with-limit.js";
+
+function makeStream(chunks: Uint8Array[], delayMs?: number) {
+  return new ReadableStream<Uint8Array>({
+    async start(controller) {
+      for (const chunk of chunks) {
+        if (delayMs) {
+          await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, delayMs));
+        }
+        controller.enqueue(chunk);
+      }
+      controller.close();
+    },
+  });
+}
+
+function makeStallingStream(initialChunks: Uint8Array[]) {
+  return new ReadableStream<Uint8Array>({
+    start(controller) {
+      for (const chunk of initialChunks) {
+        controller.enqueue(chunk);
+      }
+      // Never close — simulates a stalled download
+    },
+  });
+}
+
+describe("readResponseWithLimit", () => {
+  it("reads all chunks within the limit", async () => {
+    const body = makeStream([new Uint8Array([1, 2]), new Uint8Array([3, 4])]);
+    const res = new Response(body);
+    const buf = await readResponseWithLimit(res, 100);
+    expect(buf).toEqual(Buffer.from([1, 2, 3, 4]));
+  });
+
+  it("throws when total exceeds maxBytes", async () => {
+    const body = makeStream([new Uint8Array([1, 2, 3]), new Uint8Array([4, 5, 6])]);
+    const res = new Response(body);
+    await expect(readResponseWithLimit(res, 4)).rejects.toThrow(/too large/i);
+  });
+
+  it("calls custom onOverflow", async () => {
+    const body = makeStream([new Uint8Array(10)]);
+    const res = new Response(body);
+    await expect(
+      readResponseWithLimit(res, 5, {
+        onOverflow: ({ size, maxBytes }) =>
+          new Error(`custom: ${size} > ${maxBytes}`),
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow("custom: 10 > 5");
+  });
+
+  it("times out when the stream stalls", async () => {
+    const body = makeStallingStream([new Uint8Array([1, 2])]);
+    const res = new Response(body);
+    await expect(
+      readResponseWithLimit(res, 1024, { chunkTimeoutMs: 50 }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(/stalled/i);
+  }, 5_000);
+
+  it("succeeds when chunks arrive within the timeout", async () => {
+    const body = makeStream([new Uint8Array([1]), new Uint8Array([2])], 10);
+    const res = new Response(body);
+    const buf = await readResponseWithLimit(res, 100, { chunkTimeoutMs: 500 });
+    expect(buf).toEqual(Buffer.from([1, 2]));
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/media/read-response-with-limit.ts b/src/media/read-response-with-limit.ts
index a9ad353f5ea..afc8499d61a 100644
--- a/src/media/read-response-with-limit.ts
+++ b/src/media/read-response-with-limit.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,21 @@
+/** Default per-chunk read timeout: 30 seconds. */
+const DEFAULT_CHUNK_TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000;
+
 export async function readResponseWithLimit(
   res: Response,
   maxBytes: number,
   opts?: {
     onOverflow?: (params: { size: number; maxBytes: number; res: Response }) => Error;
+    /** Maximum time (ms) to wait for a single chunk before aborting.
+     *  Prevents the read loop from hanging indefinitely when a download stalls. */
+    chunkTimeoutMs?: number;
   },
 ): Promise<Buffer> {
   const onOverflow =
     opts?.onOverflow ??
     ((params: { size: number; maxBytes: number }) =>
       new Error(`Content too large: ${params.size} bytes (limit: ${params.maxBytes} bytes)`));
+  const chunkTimeout = opts?.chunkTimeoutMs ?? DEFAULT_CHUNK_TIMEOUT_MS;
 
   const body = res.body;
   if (!body || typeof body.getReader !== "function") {
@@ -24,7 +31,16 @@ export async function readResponseWithLimit(
   let total = 0;
   try {
     while (true) {
-      const { done, value } = await reader.read();
+      const chunkResult = await Promise.race([
+        reader.read(),
+        new Promise<never>((_, reject) =>
+          setTimeout(
+            () => reject(new Error(`Media download stalled: no data received for ${chunkTimeout}ms`)),
+            chunkTimeout,
+          ),
+        ),
+      ]);
+      const { done, value } = chunkResult;
       if (done) {
         break;
       }
diff --git a/src/telegram/bot/delivery.resolve-media.ts b/src/telegram/bot/delivery.resolve-media.ts
index e0f8d46abbd..f5f1a8f8777 100644
--- a/src/telegram/bot/delivery.resolve-media.ts
+++ b/src/telegram/bot/delivery.resolve-media.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,10 @@ function resolveRequiredFetchImpl(proxyFetch?: typeof fetch): typeof fetch {
   return fetchImpl;
 }
 
+/** Default timeout for downloading Telegram media files (30 seconds).
+ *  Prevents the polling loop from hanging indefinitely when a download stalls. */
+const TELEGRAM_DOWNLOAD_TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000;
+
 async function downloadAndSaveTelegramFile(params: {
   filePath: string;
   token: string;
@@ -113,6 +117,7 @@ async function downloadAndSaveTelegramFile(params: {
     fetchImpl: params.fetchImpl,
     filePathHint: params.filePath,
     maxBytes: params.maxBytes,
+    timeoutMs: TELEGRAM_DOWNLOAD_TIMEOUT_MS,
     ssrfPolicy: TELEGRAM_MEDIA_SSRF_POLICY,
   });
   const originalName = params.telegramFileName ?? fetched.fileName ?? params.filePath;