diff --git a/changelog.d/fixes/8396-cooldown-429-cap.md b/changelog.d/fixes/8396-cooldown-429-cap.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..684e2e1f6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/fixes/8396-cooldown-429-cap.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- fix(resilience): cap the connection cooldown after a 429 burst so combo fallback is not blacked out past the real rate-limit window (#8396)
diff --git a/open-sse/services/accountFallback.ts b/open-sse/services/accountFallback.ts
index 28f871719f..c10ade929f 100644
--- a/open-sse/services/accountFallback.ts
+++ b/open-sse/services/accountFallback.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ import {
 import { parseDayGranularityResetMs, shouldPreserveQuotaSignals } from "./quotaResetParsing.ts";
 import { evictLockoutOverflow } from "./accountFallback/lockoutEviction.ts";
 export { MODEL_LOCKOUT_EVICTION_CAP } from "./accountFallback/lockoutEviction.ts";
+import { capScaledCooldownMs } from "./accountFallback/cooldownCap.ts";
 
 export type ProviderProfile = {
   baseCooldownMs: number;
@@ -1451,9 +1452,14 @@ export function checkFallbackError(
       typeof profile?.baseCooldownMs === "number" && profile.baseCooldownMs >= 0
         ? profile.baseCooldownMs
         : COOLDOWN_MS.transientInitial;
+    // #8396: cap against profile.maxCooldownMs, mirroring the model-lockout path.
     return {
       baseCooldownMs,
-      cooldownMs: getScaledCooldown(baseCooldownMs, level + 1, maxBackoffSteps),
+      cooldownMs: capScaledCooldownMs(
+        getScaledCooldown(baseCooldownMs, level + 1, maxBackoffSteps),
+        profile?.maxCooldownMs,
+        BACKOFF_CONFIG.max
+      ),
       newBackoffLevel: Math.min(level + 1, maxBackoffSteps),
     };
   }
diff --git a/open-sse/services/accountFallback/cooldownCap.ts b/open-sse/services/accountFallback/cooldownCap.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..66a50da03b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/open-sse/services/accountFallback/cooldownCap.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+/**
+ * accountFallback/cooldownCap.ts — absolute ceiling for exponentially-scaled cooldowns.
+ *
+ * Extracted from services/accountFallback.ts (file-size gate): a pure, one-purpose clamp
+ * so the connection-level 429/retryable-error cooldown path (getScaledBaseCooldown, inside
+ * checkFallbackError) applies the same absolute ceiling the model-lockout path
+ * (recordModelLockoutFailure) already enforces. Fixes #8396 — after a sustained 429 burst
+ * pushed backoffLevel high, `baseCooldownMs * 2^level` had no upper bound on this path and
+ * could black a connection out for hours, long past any real rate-limit reset window.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Clamp an exponentially-scaled cooldown to `maxCooldownMs` (operator-configured, per
+ * ProviderProfile) falling back to `fallbackMaxMs` (e.g. BACKOFF_CONFIG.max) when the
+ * profile did not configure one. Never widens the cooldown, only bounds it — the
+ * exponential backoff itself is untouched.
+ */
+export function capScaledCooldownMs(
+  cooldownMs: number,
+  maxCooldownMs: number | undefined | null,
+  fallbackMaxMs: number
+): number {
+  const cap =
+    typeof maxCooldownMs === "number" && maxCooldownMs > 0 ? maxCooldownMs : fallbackMaxMs;
+  return Math.min(cooldownMs, cap);
+}
diff --git a/tests/unit/8396-cooldown-429-cap.test.ts b/tests/unit/8396-cooldown-429-cap.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bbdc9a0157
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/8396-cooldown-429-cap.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+// Regression guard for #8396: after a burst of retryable failures (e.g. 429s), the
+// connection-level cooldown computed by checkFallbackError() must never exceed
+// profile.maxCooldownMs. Before the fix, getScaledBaseCooldown() scaled
+// baseCooldownMs * 2^backoffLevel with NO absolute ceiling on the connection-level
+// path (unlike the model-lockout path, which already clamps to maxCooldownMs). A
+// legacy-migrated OAuth profile with baseCooldownMs=60000 and maxBackoffSteps=8
+// produced cooldownMs = 60000 * 2^8 = 15,360,000ms (~4.27h), blowing straight past
+// an operator-configured maxCooldownMs of 10 minutes.
+import test from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { checkFallbackError, type ProviderProfile } from "../../open-sse/services/accountFallback.ts";
+
+const legacyMigratedOAuthProfile: ProviderProfile = {
+  baseCooldownMs: 60000,
+  useUpstreamRetryHints: false,
+  maxCooldownMs: 600000, // operator-configured 10-minute ceiling
+  maxBackoffSteps: 8,
+  failureThreshold: 3,
+  resetTimeoutMs: 30 * 60 * 1000,
+  transientCooldown: 5000,
+  rateLimitCooldown: 60000,
+  maxBackoffLevel: 8,
+  circuitBreakerThreshold: 3,
+  circuitBreakerReset: 60000,
+  providerFailureThreshold: 3,
+  providerFailureWindowMs: 60000,
+  providerCooldownMs: 60000,
+};
+
+test("#8396: connection-level 429 cooldown after a high-failureIndex burst is capped at profile.maxCooldownMs", () => {
+  const result = checkFallbackError(
+    429,
+    "",
+    8, // backoffLevel — a large failureIndex from a sustained 429 burst
+    "some-model",
+    "test-oauth-provider",
+    null,
+    legacyMigratedOAuthProfile
+  );
+
+  assert.equal(result.shouldFallback, true);
+  assert.ok(
+    result.cooldownMs <= legacyMigratedOAuthProfile.maxCooldownMs,
+    `expected cooldownMs to be capped at ${legacyMigratedOAuthProfile.maxCooldownMs}ms ` +
+      `(profile.maxCooldownMs), but got ${result.cooldownMs}ms — no absolute ceiling was ` +
+      "applied on the connection-level 429 cooldown path"
+  );
+});
+
+test("#8396: an upstream Retry-After hint is honored (bypasses the exponential scale entirely)", () => {
+  const apikeyProfile: ProviderProfile = {
+    ...legacyMigratedOAuthProfile,
+    useUpstreamRetryHints: true,
+  };
+  const headers = new Headers({ "retry-after": "30" });
+
+  const result = checkFallbackError(429, "", 8, "some-model", "test-apikey-provider", headers, apikeyProfile);
+
+  assert.equal(result.usedUpstreamRetryHint, true);
+  assert.ok(
+    result.cooldownMs <= 31000 && result.cooldownMs >= 29000,
+    `expected the ~30s upstream Retry-After hint to be honored, got ${result.cooldownMs}ms`
+  );
+});
+
+test("#8396: a single 429 (low backoffLevel) still cools down normally, well under the cap", () => {
+  const result = checkFallbackError(
+    429,
+    "",
+    0, // first failure
+    "some-model",
+    "test-oauth-provider",
+    null,
+    legacyMigratedOAuthProfile
+  );
+
+  assert.equal(result.shouldFallback, true);
+  assert.equal(result.cooldownMs, legacyMigratedOAuthProfile.baseCooldownMs);
+  assert.ok(result.cooldownMs < legacyMigratedOAuthProfile.maxCooldownMs);
+});