diff --git a/src/runtime/nodes/mqtt.rs b/src/runtime/nodes/mqtt.rs
index 9607c51..96a88d7 100644
--- a/src/runtime/nodes/mqtt.rs
+++ b/src/runtime/nodes/mqtt.rs
@@ -471,11 +471,17 @@ impl Node for MqttOutNode {
                             status("error", "no_topic", Value::Null);
                             continue;
                         };
-                        if let Err(e) = shared
-                            .publish(&topic, self.qos, self.retain, value_to_bytes(&msg.payload))
-                            .await
-                        {
-                            status("error", "publish_error", json!({ "error": e }));
+                        // A publish blocks when the broker is down (the client's
+                        // request queue fills). Race it against shutdown so Stop
+                        // still works — otherwise the node is aborted before it
+                        // can release the shared connection (driver leak).
+                        tokio::select! {
+                            _ = NodeCtx::shutdown_requested(&mut shutdown) => break,
+                            r = shared.publish(&topic, self.qos, self.retain, value_to_bytes(&msg.payload)) => {
+                                if let Err(e) = r {
+                                    status("error", "publish_error", json!({ "error": e }));
+                                }
+                            }
                         }
                     }
                     None => break,