diff --git a/weed/command/filer_remote_sync_dir.go b/weed/command/filer_remote_sync_dir.go
index 4a9c950d56..8841b4fee3 100644
--- a/weed/command/filer_remote_sync_dir.go
+++ b/weed/command/filer_remote_sync_dir.go
@@ -614,8 +614,19 @@ func releaseRenamedSource(filerSource filer_pb.FilerClient, client remote_storag
 
 // currentEntry returns what the filer holds at dir/name now, nil when the
 // entry is gone.
+// remoteSyncLookupTimeout bounds a filer lookup on the sync path. A lookup
+// that never answers keeps its job alive, the job keeps its path in the
+// processor's conflict index, and the stream stops behind it.
+var remoteSyncLookupTimeout = 30 * time.Second
+
+func lookupContext() (context.Context, context.CancelFunc) {
+	return context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), remoteSyncLookupTimeout)
+}
+
 func currentEntry(filerSource filer_pb.FilerClient, dir, name string) (*filer_pb.Entry, error) {
-	current, _, _, err := filer_pb.GetEntry(context.Background(), filerSource, util.NewFullPath(dir, name))
+	ctx, cancel := lookupContext()
+	defer cancel()
+	current, _, _, err := filer_pb.GetEntry(ctx, filerSource, util.NewFullPath(dir, name))
 	if errors.Is(err, filer_pb.ErrNotFound) {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
@@ -743,7 +754,9 @@ func openRemoteObject(client remote_storage.RemoteStorageClient, loc *remote_pb.
 // finishes a rename: its stamp can already describe the destination (a sync
 // plus remote.uncache in the meantime), and only then is it complete.
 func uploadCurrentEntry(filerClient filer_pb.FilerClient, filerSource filer_pb.FilerClient, client remote_storage.RemoteStorageClient, dir, name string, oldSource renameSource, dest *remote_pb.RemoteStorageLocation, storageClass string, sourceOf func(*filer_pb.Entry, renameSource) renameSource) error {
-	current, _, _, err := filer_pb.GetEntry(context.Background(), filerSource, util.NewFullPath(dir, name))
+	ctx, cancel := lookupContext()
+	defer cancel()
+	current, _, _, err := filer_pb.GetEntry(ctx, filerSource, util.NewFullPath(dir, name))
 	if errors.Is(err, filer_pb.ErrNotFound) {
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -960,7 +973,9 @@ func readRemoteStorageConf(filerClient filer_pb.FilerClient, storageName string)
 // object or the later write uploads the current content. A lookup that fails
 // for any other reason keeps the write failure, so the event is retried.
 func isSuperseded(filerClient filer_pb.FilerClient, dir string, entry *filer_pb.Entry) bool {
-	current, _, _, err := filer_pb.GetEntry(context.Background(), filerClient, util.NewFullPath(dir, entry.Name))
+	ctx, cancel := lookupContext()
+	defer cancel()
+	current, _, _, err := filer_pb.GetEntry(ctx, filerClient, util.NewFullPath(dir, entry.Name))
 	if errors.Is(err, filer_pb.ErrNotFound) {
 		return true
 	}
@@ -988,6 +1003,10 @@ func isSuperseded(filerClient filer_pb.FilerClient, dir string, entry *filer_pb.
 // the backend a short body on every retry — a hole that never fills wedges
 // the event, and a backend that does not verify the length publishes a
 // truncated object.
+// remoteUploadChunkCache is one per process: a chunk cache runs a worker
+// goroutine that nothing stops, so a cache per upload leaks one per file.
+var remoteUploadChunkCache = chunk_cache.NewChunkCacheInMemory(8)
+
 func remoteUploadReader(filerClient filer_pb.FilerClient, entry *filer_pb.Entry) (reader io.Reader, closeFn func() error, err error) {
 	if len(entry.Content) > 0 {
 		return bytes.NewReader(entry.Content), nil, nil
@@ -999,7 +1018,7 @@ func remoteUploadReader(filerClient filer_pb.FilerClient, entry *filer_pb.Entry)
 		return nil, nil, err
 	}
 	readerAt := filer.NewChunkReaderAtFromClient(context.Background(),
-		filer.NewReaderCache(8, chunk_cache.NewChunkCacheInMemory(8), lookupFileIdFn, nil),
+		filer.NewReaderCache(8, remoteUploadChunkCache, lookupFileIdFn, nil),
 		chunkViews, size, filer.DefaultPrefetchCount)
 	return io.NewSectionReader(readerAt, 0, size), readerAt.Close, nil
 }
@@ -1055,7 +1074,9 @@ func collectLastSyncOffset(filerClient filer_pb.FilerClient, grpcDialOption grpc
 	// 3. directory creation time
 	var lastOffsetTs time.Time
 	if timeAgo == 0 {
-		mountedDirEntry, _, _, err := filer_pb.GetEntry(context.Background(), filerClient, util.FullPath(mountedDir))
+		ctx, cancel := lookupContext()
+		mountedDirEntry, _, _, err := filer_pb.GetEntry(ctx, filerClient, util.FullPath(mountedDir))
+		cancel()
 		if err != nil {
 			glog.V(0).Infof("get mounted directory %s: %v", mountedDir, err)
 			return time.Now()
@@ -1126,7 +1147,9 @@ func liveRemoteEntry(filerClient filer_pb.FilerClient, dir string, entry *filer_
 	if entry.RemoteEntry != nil {
 		return entry.RemoteEntry, nil
 	}
-	current, _, _, err := filer_pb.GetEntry(context.Background(), filerClient, util.NewFullPath(dir, entry.Name))
+	ctx, cancel := lookupContext()
+	defer cancel()
+	current, _, _, err := filer_pb.GetEntry(ctx, filerClient, util.NewFullPath(dir, entry.Name))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/weed/command/filer_remote_sync_dir_test.go b/weed/command/filer_remote_sync_dir_test.go
index 69371c25b4..dcab97f07e 100644
--- a/weed/command/filer_remote_sync_dir_test.go
+++ b/weed/command/filer_remote_sync_dir_test.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httptest"
+	"runtime"
 	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
@@ -553,6 +554,67 @@ func entryWith(name string, remote *filer_pb.RemoteEntry, chunks ...*filer_pb.Fi
 // of a write in progress: a mount flushes metadata while chunk uploads are
 // still running, so the snapshot can have holes, and the stream reader stops
 // at the first one on every retry.
+// blockingFilerClient answers a lookup only when its context ends.
+type blockingFilerClient struct {
+	stubFilerClient
+}
+
+func (c *blockingFilerClient) LookupDirectoryEntry(ctx context.Context, _ *filer_pb.LookupDirectoryEntryRequest, _ ...grpc.CallOption) (*filer_pb.LookupDirectoryEntryResponse, error) {
+	c.lookups++
+	<-ctx.Done()
+	return nil, ctx.Err()
+}
+
+func (c *blockingFilerClient) WithFilerClient(_ bool, fn func(filer_pb.SeaweedFilerClient) error) error {
+	return fn(c)
+}
+
+func TestFilerLookupsOnTheSyncPathCarryADeadline(t *testing.T) {
+	remoteSyncLookupTimeout = 50 * time.Millisecond
+	t.Cleanup(func() { remoteSyncLookupTimeout = 30 * time.Second })
+	const dir = "/buckets/ingest"
+	event := entryWith("lease.json", nil, chunk("3,01", "e1"))
+
+	started := time.Now()
+	current, err := currentEntry(&blockingFilerClient{}, dir, event.Name)
+	if current != nil || !errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) {
+		t.Fatalf("currentEntry = %v, %v; want nil, deadline exceeded", current, err)
+	}
+	if isSuperseded(&blockingFilerClient{}, dir, event) {
+		t.Error("isSuperseded = true on a lookup that timed out; want false (the write failure is kept and retried)")
+	}
+	if elapsed := time.Since(started); elapsed > 5*time.Second {
+		t.Fatalf("two timed-out lookups took %v; the deadline did not bound them", elapsed)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRemoteUploadReaderSharesOneChunkCache(t *testing.T) {
+	entry := entryWith("blob.bin", nil, chunk("3,01", "e1"))
+	for i := 0; i < 3; i++ {
+		if _, closeFn, err := remoteUploadReader(&stubFilerClient{}, entry); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		} else if closeFn != nil {
+			_ = closeFn()
+		}
+	}
+	runtime.GC()
+	before := runtime.NumGoroutine()
+	for i := 0; i < 200; i++ {
+		_, closeFn, err := remoteUploadReader(&stubFilerClient{}, entry)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if closeFn != nil {
+			_ = closeFn()
+		}
+	}
+	runtime.GC()
+	time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
+	if after := runtime.NumGoroutine(); after-before > 20 {
+		t.Fatalf("200 upload readers left %d goroutines behind (%d -> %d); one chunk cache per reader leaks its worker", after-before, before, after)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestIsSuperseded(t *testing.T) {
 	const dir = "/buckets/ingest"
 	event := entryWith("tmpjt9req69__Alan_Doe_Resume-1.pdf", nil, chunk("3,01", "e1"), chunk("3,02", "e2"))