diff --git a/include/crow/http_server.h b/include/crow/http_server.h
index e5cff67a1..082df4298 100644
--- a/include/crow/http_server.h
+++ b/include/crow/http_server.h
@@ -16,8 +16,10 @@
 #endif
 
 #include <atomic>
+#include <cerrno>
 #include <chrono>
 #include <cstdint>
+#include <cstring>
 #include <future>
 #include <memory>
 #include <thread>
@@ -46,7 +48,7 @@ namespace crow // NOTE: Already documented in "crow/app.h"
     {
     public:
       Server(Handler* handler,
-             typename Acceptor::endpoint endpoint, 
+             typename Acceptor::endpoint endpoint,
              std::string server_name = std::string("Crow/") + VERSION,
              std::tuple<Middlewares...>* middlewares = nullptr,
              unsigned int concurrency = 1,
@@ -77,6 +79,12 @@ namespace crow // NOTE: Already documented in "crow/app.h"
                 return;
             }
 
+            if(set_cloexec(acceptor_.raw_acceptor().native_handle()) == -1){
+                CROW_LOG_ERROR << "Failed to set FD_CLOEXEC on start: " << std::strerror(errno);
+                startup_failed_ = true;
+                return;
+            }
+
             acceptor_.raw_acceptor().set_option(Acceptor::reuse_address_option(), ec);
             if (ec) {
                 CROW_LOG_ERROR << "Failed to set socket option: " << ec.message();
@@ -202,8 +210,8 @@ namespace crow // NOTE: Already documented in "crow/app.h"
             }
             handler_->port(acceptor_.port());
             handler_->address_is_bound();
-            CROW_LOG_INFO << server_name_ 
-                          << " server is running at " << acceptor_.url_display(handler_->ssl_used()) 
+            CROW_LOG_INFO << server_name_
+                          << " server is running at " << acceptor_.url_display(handler_->ssl_used())
                           << " using " << concurrency_ << " threads";
             CROW_LOG_INFO << "Call `app.loglevel(crow::LogLevel::Warning)` to hide Info level logs.";
 
@@ -257,7 +265,7 @@ namespace crow // NOTE: Already documented in "crow/app.h"
             io_context_.stop(); // Close main io_service
         }
 
-        
+
         uint16_t port() const {
             return acceptor_.local_endpoint().port();
         }
@@ -310,7 +318,7 @@ namespace crow // NOTE: Already documented in "crow/app.h"
                 auto p = std::make_shared<Connection<Adaptor, Handler, Middlewares...>>(
                     ic, handler_, server_name_, middlewares_,
                     get_cached_date_str_pool_[context_idx], *task_timer_pool_[context_idx], adaptor_ctx_, task_queue_length_pool_[context_idx]);
-                    
+
                 CROW_LOG_DEBUG << &ic << " {" << context_idx << "} queue length: " << task_queue_length_pool_[context_idx];
 
                 acceptor_.raw_acceptor().async_accept(
@@ -318,6 +326,10 @@ namespace crow // NOTE: Already documented in "crow/app.h"
                   [this, p, &ic](error_code ec) {
                       if (!ec)
                       {
+                          if(set_cloexec(p->socket().native_handle()) == -1){
+                                CROW_LOG_ERROR << "Failed to set FD_CLOEXEC on accepted socket: " << std::strerror(errno);
+                            }
+
                           asio::post(ic,
                             [p] {
                                 p->start();
diff --git a/include/crow/socket_acceptors.h b/include/crow/socket_acceptors.h
index 06afacb11..a6acce7a2 100644
--- a/include/crow/socket_acceptors.h
+++ b/include/crow/socket_acceptors.h
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 #pragma once
+#ifndef _WIN32
+#include <fcntl.h>
+#endif
 #ifdef CROW_USE_BOOST
 #include <boost/asio.hpp>
 #ifdef CROW_ENABLE_SSL
@@ -18,6 +21,24 @@
 
 namespace crow
 {
+    /// Set FD_CLOEXEC on a native socket handle to prevent file descriptor leaking across fork/exec.
+    template<typename NativeHandle>
+    inline int set_cloexec([[maybe_unused]] NativeHandle fd)
+    {
+#ifndef _WIN32
+        int flags = fcntl(fd, F_GETFD);
+        if (flags != -1)
+        {
+            return fcntl(fd, F_SETFD, flags | FD_CLOEXEC);
+        }
+        // Retrieving current flags failed
+        return flags;
+#else
+        // Return not -1 (following fcntl()'s docs)
+        return 0;
+#endif
+    }
+
 #ifdef CROW_USE_BOOST
     namespace asio = boost::asio;
     using error_code = boost::system::error_code;