diff --git a/pkg/unikontainers/ipc.go b/pkg/unikontainers/ipc.go
index 86d54e4d..b48957a3 100644
--- a/pkg/unikontainers/ipc.go
+++ b/pkg/unikontainers/ipc.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ package unikontainers
 import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+         "io"
 	"io/fs"
 	"net"
 	"os"
@@ -81,9 +82,21 @@ func SockAddrExists(sockAddr string) bool {
 
 // SendIPCMessage creates a new connection to socketAddress, sends the message and closes the connection
 func SendIPCMessage(socketAddress string, message IPCMessage) error {
-	conn, err := net.Dial("unix", socketAddress)
+	var conn net.Conn
+	var err error
+
+	// FIX #405: Backoff retry loop to handle IPC socket race conditions during reexec
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(5 * time.Second)
+	for time.Now().Before(deadline) {
+		conn, err = net.DialTimeout("unix", socketAddress, 100*time.Millisecond)
+		if err == nil {
+			break
+		}
+		time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
+	}
+
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return fmt.Errorf("timeout waiting for ipc socket %s: %w", socketAddress, err)
 	}
 	defer conn.Close()
 
@@ -145,27 +158,51 @@ func createListener(socketAddress string, mustBeValid bool) (*net.UnixListener,
 	return listener, nil
 }
 
-// awaitMessage opens a new connection to socketAddress
-// and waits for a given message
+// AwaitMessage accepts a connection from the listener and waits for the 
+// expected IPC message. It implements a 10-second timeout to prevent 
+// the process from blocking indefinitely (Fixes #405)
 func AwaitMessage(listener *net.UnixListener, expectedMessage IPCMessage) error {
+	timeout := 10 * time.Second
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(timeout)
+
+	// Set deadline for the initial connection (Accept)
+	if err := listener.SetDeadline(deadline); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to set listener deadline: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	conn, err := listener.AcceptUnix()
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		if netErr, ok := err.(net.Error); ok && netErr.Timeout() {
+			return fmt.Errorf("IPC handshake timeout: no connection received within %v", timeout)
+		}
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to accept IPC connection: %w", err)
 	}
 	defer func() {
-		err = conn.Close()
-		if err != nil {
-			logrus.WithError(err).Error("failed to close connection")
+		if cerr := conn.Close(); cerr != nil {
+			logrus.WithError(cerr).Error("failed to close IPC connection")
 		}
 	}()
+
+	// Set deadline for the actual data transfer (Read)
+	if err := conn.SetDeadline(deadline); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to set connection deadline: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// io.ReadFull ensures we don't return early with a partial message
 	buf := make([]byte, len(expectedMessage))
-	n, err := conn.Read(buf)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to read from socket: %w", err)
+	if _, err := io.ReadFull(conn, buf); err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("connection closed before full message was received")
+		}
+		if netErr, ok := err.(net.Error); ok && netErr.Timeout() {
+			return fmt.Errorf("IPC handshake timeout: message not received within %v", timeout)
+		}
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to read from IPC socket: %w", err)
 	}
-	msg := string(buf[0:n])
-	if msg != string(expectedMessage) {
-		return fmt.Errorf("received unexpected message: %s (expected %s)", msg, expectedMessage)
+
+	if string(buf) != string(expectedMessage) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("received unexpected message: %q (expected %q)", string(buf), expectedMessage)
 	}
+
 	return nil
 }