diff --git a/scripts/e2e/kitchen-sink-rpc-walk.mjs b/scripts/e2e/kitchen-sink-rpc-walk.mjs
index 8e5dab87a95a..311def5c8a76 100644
--- a/scripts/e2e/kitchen-sink-rpc-walk.mjs
+++ b/scripts/e2e/kitchen-sink-rpc-walk.mjs
@@ -892,14 +892,10 @@ export async function fetchJson(url, options = {}) {
     let removeExternalAbort = () => {};
     const abortPromise = externalSignal
       ? new Promise((_, reject) => {
-          const abortError = () =>
-            externalSignal.reason instanceof Error
-              ? externalSignal.reason
-              : new Error("fetch aborted");
           const onAbort = () => {
-            const error = abortError();
+            const error = getExternalAbortReason(externalSignal);
             controller.abort(error);
-            reject(new Error(error.message, { cause: error }));
+            reject(createExternalAbortError(externalSignal));
           };
           if (externalSignal.aborted) {
             onAbort();
@@ -939,7 +935,7 @@ export async function fetchJson(url, options = {}) {
       if (attempt >= attempts || !isRetryableTransientNetworkError(error)) {
         throw error;
       }
-      await delay(options.retryDelayMs ?? 250);
+      await delayWithAbort(options.retryDelayMs ?? 250, externalSignal);
     } finally {
       removeExternalAbort();
       if (timeout) {
@@ -950,6 +946,33 @@ export async function fetchJson(url, options = {}) {
   throw toLintErrorObject(lastError ?? new Error(`fetch ${url} failed`), "Non-Error thrown");
 }
 
+function getExternalAbortReason(signal) {
+  return signal?.reason instanceof Error ? signal.reason : new Error("fetch aborted");
+}
+
+function createExternalAbortError(signal) {
+  const reason = getExternalAbortReason(signal);
+  return new Error(reason.message, { cause: reason });
+}
+
+async function delayWithAbort(delayMs, signal) {
+  if (!signal) {
+    await delay(delayMs);
+    return;
+  }
+  if (signal.aborted) {
+    throw createExternalAbortError(signal);
+  }
+  try {
+    await delay(delayMs, undefined, { signal });
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (signal.aborted) {
+      throw createExternalAbortError(signal);
+    }
+    throw error;
+  }
+}
+
 export async function readBoundedResponseText(response, byteLimit, timeoutPromise) {
   const resolvedByteLimit = byteLimit ?? resolveKitchenSinkRpcConfig().fetchBodyMaxBytes;
   const contentLength = response.headers?.get?.("content-length");
diff --git a/test/scripts/kitchen-sink-rpc-walk.test.ts b/test/scripts/kitchen-sink-rpc-walk.test.ts
index 2f7968273a56..3e6366dc08e7 100644
--- a/test/scripts/kitchen-sink-rpc-walk.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/kitchen-sink-rpc-walk.test.ts
@@ -1815,6 +1815,30 @@ describe("kitchen-sink RPC process sampling", () => {
     expect(fetchImpl).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
   });
 
+  it("aborts HTTP probe retry backoff when the external signal fires", async () => {
+    const controller = new AbortController();
+    const reset = new TypeError("fetch failed", {
+      cause: Object.assign(new Error("read ECONNRESET"), { code: "ECONNRESET" }),
+    });
+    const fetchImpl = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(reset);
+    const startedAt = Date.now();
+
+    setTimeout(() => {
+      controller.abort(new Error("gateway exited before ready"));
+    }, 25);
+
+    await expect(
+      fetchJson("http://127.0.0.1:19680/healthz", {
+        attempts: 2,
+        fetchImpl,
+        retryDelayMs: 5_000,
+        signal: controller.signal,
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow("gateway exited before ready");
+    expect(fetchImpl).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(Date.now() - startedAt).toBeLessThan(500);
+  });
+
   it("bounds HTTP probe response bodies", async () => {
     const fetchImpl = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(new Response("x".repeat(1025), { status: 200 }));