diff --git a/tests/framework/microvm.py b/tests/framework/microvm.py
index 493e3ea02b5c..d5b2cf500616 100644
--- a/tests/framework/microvm.py
+++ b/tests/framework/microvm.py
@@ -800,7 +800,7 @@ def restore_from_path(self, snap_dir: Path, **kwargs):
         return self.restore_from_snapshot(Snapshot.load_from(snap_dir), **kwargs)
 
     @lru_cache
-    def ssh_iface(self, iface_idx=0):
+    def ssh_iface(self, iface_idx=0, timeout=None):
         """Return a cached SSH connection on a given interface id."""
         guest_ip = list(self.iface.values())[iface_idx]["iface"].guest_ip
         self.ssh_key = Path(self.ssh_key)
@@ -812,9 +812,9 @@ def ssh_iface(self, iface_idx=0):
         )
 
     @property
-    def ssh(self):
+    def ssh(self, timeout=None):
         """Return a cached SSH connection on the 1st interface"""
-        return self.ssh_iface(0)
+        return self.ssh_iface(0, timeout)
 
 
 class MicroVMFactory:
diff --git a/tests/framework/utils.py b/tests/framework/utils.py
index a6d796135131..2908081ed70a 100644
--- a/tests/framework/utils.py
+++ b/tests/framework/utils.py
@@ -448,7 +448,7 @@ def get_free_mem_ssh(ssh_connection):
     raise Exception("Available memory not found in `/proc/meminfo")
 
 
-def run_cmd_sync(cmd, ignore_return_code=False, no_shell=False, cwd=None):
+def run_cmd_sync(cmd, ignore_return_code=False, no_shell=False, cwd=None, timeout=None):
     """
     Execute a given command.
 
@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@ def run_cmd_sync(cmd, ignore_return_code=False, no_shell=False, cwd=None):
         )
 
     # Capture stdout/stderr
-    stdout, stderr = proc.communicate()
+    stdout, stderr = proc.communicate(timeout=timeout)
 
     output_message = f"\n[{proc.pid}] Command:\n{cmd}"
     # Append stdout/stderr to the output message
@@ -493,7 +493,7 @@ def run_cmd_sync(cmd, ignore_return_code=False, no_shell=False, cwd=None):
     return CommandReturn(proc.returncode, stdout.decode(), stderr.decode())
 
 
-def run_cmd(cmd, ignore_return_code=False, no_shell=False, cwd=None):
+def run_cmd(cmd, ignore_return_code=False, no_shell=False, cwd=None, timeout=None):
     """
     Run a command using the sync function that logs the output.
 
@@ -503,7 +503,11 @@ def run_cmd(cmd, ignore_return_code=False, no_shell=False, cwd=None):
     :returns: tuple of (return code, stdout, stderr)
     """
     return run_cmd_sync(
-        cmd=cmd, ignore_return_code=ignore_return_code, no_shell=no_shell, cwd=cwd
+        cmd=cmd,
+        ignore_return_code=ignore_return_code,
+        no_shell=no_shell,
+        cwd=cwd,
+        timeout=timeout,
     )
 
 
diff --git a/tests/host_tools/network.py b/tests/host_tools/network.py
index 3ef2332e748c..b1a965af4c90 100644
--- a/tests/host_tools/network.py
+++ b/tests/host_tools/network.py
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ def _init_connection(self):
         if ecode != 0:
             raise ConnectionError
 
-    def run(self, cmd_string):
+    def run(self, cmd_string, timeout=None):
         """Execute the command passed as a string in the ssh context."""
         return self._exec(
             [
@@ -97,10 +97,11 @@ def run(self, cmd_string):
                 *self.options,
                 f"{self.user}@{self.host}",
                 cmd_string,
-            ]
+            ],
+            timeout
         )
 
-    def _exec(self, cmd):
+    def _exec(self, cmd, timeout=None):
         """Private function that handles the ssh client invocation."""
 
         # TODO: If a microvm runs in a particular network namespace, we have to
@@ -111,7 +112,7 @@ def _exec(self, cmd):
         if self.netns_file_path is not None:
             ctx = Namespace(self.netns_file_path, "net")
         with ctx:
-            return utils.run_cmd(cmd, ignore_return_code=True)
+            return utils.run_cmd(cmd, ignore_return_code=True, timeout=timeout)
 
 
 def mac_from_ip(ip_address):
diff --git a/tests/integration_tests/functional/test_balloon.py b/tests/integration_tests/functional/test_balloon.py
index 517cededaee5..2f65a7c92cba 100644
--- a/tests/integration_tests/functional/test_balloon.py
+++ b/tests/integration_tests/functional/test_balloon.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 """Tests for guest-side operations on /balloon resources."""
 
 import logging
+from subprocess import TimeoutExpired
 import time
 
 import pytest
@@ -69,14 +70,19 @@ def make_guest_dirty_memory(ssh_connection, amount_mib=32):
     # so that we avoid having the SSH connections hanging due to the OOM
     # killer kicking in.
     cmd = f"/usr/local/bin/fillmem {amount_mib} &"
-    exit_code, stdout, stderr = ssh_connection.run(cmd)
-    # add something to the logs for troubleshooting
-    if exit_code != 0:
-        logger.error("while running: %s", cmd)
-        logger.error("stdout: %s", stdout)
-        logger.error("stderr: %s", stderr)
+    try:
+        exit_code, stdout, stderr = ssh_connection.run(cmd, timeout=1.0)
+        # add something to the logs for troubleshooting
+        if exit_code != 0:
+            logger.error("while running: %s", cmd)
+            logger.error("stdout: %s", stdout)
+            logger.error("stderr: %s", stderr)
+
+        cmd = "cat /tmp/fillmem_output.txt"
+    except TimeoutExpired:
+        # It's ok if this expires
+        pass
 
-    cmd = "cat /tmp/fillmem_output.txt"
     time.sleep(5)