diff --git a/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go b/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go
index bd7bc5aa0..29b81c800 100644
--- a/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go
+++ b/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go
@@ -233,6 +233,9 @@ func (h *Handler) HandleConn(ctx context.Context, conn net.Conn) error {
 		default:
 		}
 
+		// Set a very short read deadline to prevent hanging in CI
+		shortDeadline := time.Now().Add(1 * time.Second)
+
 		// Set a read deadline for the connection based on context or default timeout
 		var readDeadline time.Time
 		if deadline, ok := ctx.Deadline(); ok {
@@ -242,6 +245,14 @@ func (h *Handler) HandleConn(ctx context.Context, conn net.Conn) error {
 			readDeadline = time.Now().Add(timeoutConfig.ReadTimeout)
 		}
 
+		// Always use the shorter of the two deadlines
+		if shortDeadline.Before(readDeadline) {
+			readDeadline = shortDeadline
+			fmt.Printf("DEBUG: [%s] Using short deadline (1s) to prevent hanging\n", connectionID)
+		} else {
+			fmt.Printf("DEBUG: [%s] Using context/config deadline\n", connectionID)
+		}
+
 		if err := conn.SetReadDeadline(readDeadline); err != nil {
 			fmt.Printf("DEBUG: [%s] Failed to set read deadline: %v\n", connectionID, err)
 			return fmt.Errorf("set read deadline: %w", err)
@@ -257,11 +268,6 @@ func (h *Handler) HandleConn(ctx context.Context, conn net.Conn) error {
 		default:
 		}
 
-		// Set a much shorter read deadline to prevent hanging in CI
-		if err := conn.SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(2 * time.Second)); err != nil {
-			fmt.Printf("DEBUG: [%s] Failed to set short read deadline: %v\n", connectionID, err)
-		}
-
 		// Read message size (4 bytes)
 		fmt.Printf("DEBUG: [%s] About to read message size header\n", connectionID)
 		var sizeBytes [4]byte