diff --git a/packages/core/src/connection/http.ts b/packages/core/src/connection/http.ts
index 2e4e5fa1..31d83b16 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/connection/http.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/connection/http.ts
@@ -235,15 +235,29 @@ export interface HttpClient {
   externalGet: (externalUrl: string) => Promise<any>;
 }
 
-const fetchWithTimeout = (
+function fetchWithTimeout(
   input: string | URL | Request,
   timeout: number,
   init?: RequestInit | undefined
-): Promise<Response> => {
+): Promise<Response>;
+function fetchWithTimeout<T>(
+  input: string | URL | Request,
+  timeout: number,
+  init: RequestInit | undefined,
+  consumeResponse: (response: Response) => Promise<T>
+): Promise<T>;
+function fetchWithTimeout(
+  input: string | URL | Request,
+  timeout: number,
+  init?: RequestInit | undefined,
+  consumeResponse?: (response: Response) => Promise<unknown>
+): Promise<unknown> {
   const controller = new AbortController();
   // Set a timeout to abort the request
   const timeoutId = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), timeout * 1000);
+  // Auth consumers include response bodies; other callers retain the header deadline.
   return fetch(input, { ...init, signal: controller.signal })
+    .then((response) => (consumeResponse ? consumeResponse(response) : response))
     .catch((error) => {
       if (isAbortError(error)) {
         throw new WeaviateRequestTimeoutError(`Request timed out after ${timeout}ms`);
@@ -251,12 +265,13 @@ const fetchWithTimeout = (
       throw error; // For other errors, rethrow them
     })
     .finally(() => clearTimeout(timeoutId));
-};
+}
 
 export const httpClient = (config: InternalConnectionParams): HttpClient => {
   const version = '/v1';
   const baseUri = `${config.host}${version}`;
   const url = makeUrl(baseUri);
+  const authTimeout = 5;
 
   return {
     close: () => config.agent?.destroy(),
@@ -376,12 +391,17 @@ export const httpClient = (config: InternalConnectionParams): HttpClient => {
       return fetchWithTimeout(url(path), config.timeout?.query || 30, request);
     },
     externalGet: (externalUrl: string) => {
-      return fetch(externalUrl, {
-        method: 'GET',
-        headers: {
-          ...config.headers,
+      return fetchWithTimeout(
+        externalUrl,
+        authTimeout,
+        {
+          method: 'GET',
+          headers: {
+            ...config.headers,
+          },
         },
-      }).then(checkStatus<any>(true));
+        checkStatus<any>(true)
+      );
     },
     externalPost: (externalUrl: string, body: any, contentType: any) => {
       if (contentType == undefined || contentType == '') {
@@ -398,7 +418,7 @@ export const httpClient = (config: InternalConnectionParams): HttpClient => {
       if (body != null) {
         request.body = body;
       }
-      return fetch(externalUrl, request).then(checkStatus<any>(true));
+      return fetchWithTimeout(externalUrl, authTimeout, request, checkStatus<any>(true));
     },
   };
 };
diff --git a/packages/test/node/connection/auth-timeout-body.test.ts b/packages/test/node/connection/auth-timeout-body.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..989594b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/test/node/connection/auth-timeout-body.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+import { createServer } from 'node:http';
+import { performance } from 'node:perf_hooks';
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+
+import { httpClient } from '@weaviate/core/connection/http';
+import {
+  WeaviateInsufficientPermissionsError,
+  WeaviateRequestTimeoutError,
+  WeaviateUnauthenticatedError,
+  WeaviateUnexpectedStatusCodeError,
+} from '@weaviate/core/errors';
+
+const request = (kind: 'discovery' | 'token', url: string) => {
+  const client = httpClient({ host: 'http://weaviate.test' });
+  return kind === 'discovery'
+    ? client.externalGet(url)
+    : client.externalPost(
+        url,
+        new URLSearchParams({ grant_type: 'client_credentials' }),
+        'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'
+      );
+};
+
+describe('OIDC response body deadlines', () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+    vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+  });
+
+  it.each(['discovery', 'token'] as const)(
+    'keeps the %s deadline active until its body is consumed',
+    async (kind) => {
+      vi.useFakeTimers();
+      let signal: AbortSignal | null | undefined;
+      vi.stubGlobal(
+        'fetch',
+        vi.fn((_input: unknown, init?: RequestInit) => {
+          signal = init?.signal;
+          return Promise.resolve(
+            new Response(
+              new ReadableStream({
+                start(controller) {
+                  signal?.addEventListener('abort', () => controller.error(signal?.reason), { once: true });
+                },
+              }),
+              { headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' } }
+            )
+          );
+        })
+      );
+      const result = request(kind, 'https://issuer.test/body').catch((error: unknown) => error);
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(4_999);
+      expect(signal?.aborted).toBe(false);
+      expect(vi.getTimerCount()).toBe(1);
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1);
+      expect(signal?.aborted).toBe(true);
+      expect(await result).toBeInstanceOf(WeaviateRequestTimeoutError);
+      expect(vi.getTimerCount()).toBe(0);
+    }
+  );
+
+  it.each([
+    [401, WeaviateUnauthenticatedError],
+    [403, WeaviateInsufficientPermissionsError],
+    [502, WeaviateUnexpectedStatusCodeError],
+  ] as const)('preserves HTTP %s errors and clears their deadline', async (status, errorType) => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    vi.stubGlobal(
+      'fetch',
+      vi.fn().mockImplementation(() => Promise.resolve(new Response('issuer refused', { status })))
+    );
+    await Promise.all(
+      (['discovery', 'token'] as const).map((kind) =>
+        expect(request(kind, 'https://issuer.test/error')).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(errorType)
+      )
+    );
+    expect(vi.getTimerCount()).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('real OIDC response body cancellation', () => {
+  it('aborts native discovery and token fetches after headers when JSON bodies stall', async () => {
+    const seen = new Set<string>();
+    const closed = new Set<string>();
+    let notifyClosed: () => void;
+    const allClosed = new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+      notifyClosed = resolve;
+    });
+    const server = createServer((incoming, response) => {
+      const method = incoming.method!;
+      seen.add(method);
+      response.on('close', () => {
+        closed.add(method);
+        if (closed.size === 2) notifyClosed();
+      });
+      incoming.resume();
+      response.writeHead(200, { 'content-type': 'application/json' });
+      response.write('{"access_token":');
+    });
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve) => server.listen(0, '127.0.0.1', resolve));
+    const address = server.address();
+    if (!address || typeof address === 'string') throw new Error('Missing loopback listener');
+    const origin = `http://127.0.0.1:${address.port}`;
+    let guard: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
+    let closeGuard: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
+    try {
+      const started = performance.now();
+      const results = await Promise.race([
+        Promise.all(
+          (['discovery', 'token'] as const).map((kind) =>
+            request(kind, origin).catch((error: unknown) => error)
+          )
+        ),
+        new Promise<never>((_resolve, reject) => {
+          guard = setTimeout(
+            () => reject(new Error('Auth response bodies remained pending past the bounded deadline')),
+            8_000
+          );
+        }),
+      ]);
+      expect(seen).toEqual(new Set(['GET', 'POST']));
+      for (const result of results) expect(result).toBeInstanceOf(WeaviateRequestTimeoutError);
+      expect(performance.now() - started).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(4_500);
+      await Promise.race([
+        allClosed,
+        new Promise<never>((_resolve, reject) => {
+          closeGuard = setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('Timed-out auth bodies left sockets open')), 500);
+        }),
+      ]);
+      expect(closed).toEqual(new Set(['GET', 'POST']));
+    } finally {
+      clearTimeout(guard);
+      clearTimeout(closeGuard);
+      server.closeAllConnections();
+      await new Promise<void>((resolve) => server.close(() => resolve()));
+    }
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/test/node/connection/auth-timeout.test.ts b/packages/test/node/connection/auth-timeout.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bb679760
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/test/node/connection/auth-timeout.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+
+import { WeaviateRequestTimeoutError } from '@weaviate/core/errors';
+import { httpClient } from '@weaviate/core/connection/http';
+
+describe('OIDC HTTP request deadlines', () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+    vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+  });
+
+  const requests = {
+    discovery: () => httpClient({ host: 'http://weaviate.test' }).externalGet('https://issuer.test/openid'),
+    token: () =>
+      httpClient({ host: 'http://weaviate.test' }).externalPost(
+        'https://issuer.test/token',
+        new URLSearchParams({ grant_type: 'client_credentials' }),
+        'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'
+      ),
+  };
+
+  it.each(Object.keys(requests) as (keyof typeof requests)[])(
+    'aborts a stalled %s request after five seconds',
+    async (kind) => {
+      vi.useFakeTimers();
+      let requestSignal: AbortSignal | null | undefined;
+      vi.stubGlobal(
+        'fetch',
+        vi.fn((_input: unknown, init?: RequestInit) => {
+          requestSignal = init?.signal;
+          return new Promise<Response>((_resolve, reject) => {
+            requestSignal?.addEventListener('abort', () => reject(requestSignal?.reason), { once: true });
+          });
+        })
+      );
+
+      const result = requests[kind]().catch((error: unknown) => error);
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(4_999);
+      expect(requestSignal?.aborted).not.toBe(true);
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1);
+      expect(requestSignal?.aborted).toBe(true);
+      expect(await result).toBeInstanceOf(WeaviateRequestTimeoutError);
+    }
+  );
+
+  it.each(Object.keys(requests) as (keyof typeof requests)[])(
+    'clears the deadline after a successful %s request',
+    async (kind) => {
+      vi.useFakeTimers();
+      const payload = { access_token: 'example-token' };
+      vi.stubGlobal('fetch', vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(new Response(JSON.stringify(payload))));
+
+      expect(await requests[kind]()).toEqual(payload);
+      expect(vi.getTimerCount()).toBe(0);
+    }
+  );
+});