diff --git a/src/infra/ssh-tunnel.test.ts b/src/infra/ssh-tunnel.test.ts
index 608be32858b6..9a16d09941f3 100644
--- a/src/infra/ssh-tunnel.test.ts
+++ b/src/infra/ssh-tunnel.test.ts
@@ -205,4 +205,29 @@ describe("startSshPortForward", () => {
     await rejection;
     expect(kill).toHaveBeenCalledWith("SIGTERM");
   });
+
+  it.each(["active", "teardown"] as const)(
+    "does not crash when stderr errors while the tunnel is %s",
+    async (phase) => {
+      vi.useFakeTimers();
+      spawnFakeSshListening();
+
+      const tunnel = await startSshPortForward({
+        target: "me@example.com:2222",
+        localPortPreferred: 43210,
+        remotePort: 18789,
+        timeoutMs: 1000,
+      });
+
+      const child = mocks.spawn.mock.results[0]?.value as EventEmitter & {
+        killed: boolean;
+        stderr: EventEmitter;
+      };
+      const stopping = phase === "teardown" ? tunnel.stop() : undefined;
+      expect(child.killed).toBe(phase === "teardown");
+      expect(() => child.stderr.emit("error", new Error("stderr EPIPE"))).not.toThrow();
+
+      await expect(stopping ?? tunnel.stop()).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+    },
+  );
 });
diff --git a/src/infra/ssh-tunnel.ts b/src/infra/ssh-tunnel.ts
index 94d973e642e0..d9ed2908cee0 100644
--- a/src/infra/ssh-tunnel.ts
+++ b/src/infra/ssh-tunnel.ts
@@ -165,8 +165,12 @@ export async function startSshPortForward(opts: {
   const child = spawn("/usr/bin/ssh", args, {
     stdio: ["ignore", "ignore", "pipe"],
   });
-  child.stderr?.setEncoding("utf8");
-  child.stderr?.on("data", (chunk) => {
+  const stderrStream = child.stderr;
+  // Child events own tunnel failure. Keep the diagnostic pipe observed so a
+  // stream error cannot become an uncaught exception during active use or teardown.
+  stderrStream?.on("error", () => {});
+  stderrStream?.setEncoding("utf8");
+  stderrStream?.on("data", (chunk) => {
     const lines = normalizeStringEntries(String(chunk).split("\n"));
     stderr.push(...lines);
   });