diff --git a/src/p11_child/p11_child_openssl.c b/src/p11_child/p11_child_openssl.c
index 9478d7450d8..2e78643be07 100644
--- a/src/p11_child/p11_child_openssl.c
+++ b/src/p11_child/p11_child_openssl.c
@@ -38,6 +38,9 @@
 #include "util/crypto/sss_crypto.h"
 #include "p11_child/p11_child.h"
 
+/* Timeout in seconds for soft_ocsp OCSP requests when no explicit timeout is set. */
+#define SOFT_OCSP_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT 10
+
 struct p11_ctx {
     X509_STORE *x509_store;
     const char *ca_db;
@@ -381,8 +384,18 @@ static errno_t do_ocsp(struct p11_ctx *p11_ctx, X509 *cert)
 
     OCSP_request_add1_nonce(ocsp_req, NULL, -1);
 
-    if (p11_ctx->ocsp_deadline != -1  && p11_ctx->cert_verify_opts->soft_ocsp) {
-        req_timeout = p11_ctx->ocsp_deadline - time(NULL);
+    if (p11_ctx->cert_verify_opts->soft_ocsp) {
+        if (p11_ctx->ocsp_deadline != -1) {
+            req_timeout = p11_ctx->ocsp_deadline - time(NULL);
+        } else {
+            /* No explicit timeout was provided but soft_ocsp is enabled.
+             * Use a default timeout to prevent the BIO connect from
+             * blocking indefinitely when the OCSP host is unreachable. */
+            DEBUG(SSSDBG_TRACE_INTERNAL,
+                  "No timeout set with soft_ocsp, using default [%d]s.\n",
+                  SOFT_OCSP_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT);
+            req_timeout = SOFT_OCSP_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT;
+        }
         if (req_timeout <= 0) {
             /* no time left for OCSP */
             DEBUG(SSSDBG_TRACE_INTERNAL,
@@ -594,15 +607,18 @@ errno_t init_p11_ctx(TALLOC_CTX *mem_ctx, const char *ca_db,
         return ENOMEM;
     }
 
-    if (timeout == 1) {
-        /* timeout of 1 sec is too short (see -1 in deadline calculation),
-         * increasing to 2 and hope that the ocsp operation finishes
-         * before p11_child is terminated.
-         */
-        timeout = 2;
+    /* Use half the total timeout for OCSP to leave p11_child enough margin
+     * to output results before the PAM responder's kill timer fires (RHEL-5043). */
+    if (timeout > 0) {
+        time_t ocsp_budget = timeout / 2;
+        if (ocsp_budget < 1) {
+            ocsp_budget = 1;
+        }
+        ctx->ocsp_deadline = time(NULL) + ocsp_budget;
+    } else {
+        /* timeout <= 0 means no timeout specified */
+        ctx->ocsp_deadline = -1;
     }
-    /* timeout <= 0 means no timeout specified */
-    ctx->ocsp_deadline = timeout > 0 ? time(NULL) + timeout - 1 : -1;
 
     /* See https://wiki.openssl.org/index.php/Library_Initialization for
      * details. */
diff --git a/src/tests/system/requirements.txt b/src/tests/system/requirements.txt
index 788c9285d55..6814a4d9cd0 100644
--- a/src/tests/system/requirements.txt
+++ b/src/tests/system/requirements.txt
@@ -5,4 +5,5 @@ git+https://github.com/next-actions/pytest-mh
 git+https://github.com/next-actions/pytest-ticket
 git+https://github.com/next-actions/pytest-tier
 git+https://github.com/next-actions/pytest-output
-git+https://github.com/SSSD/sssd-test-framework
+#git+https://github.com/SSSD/sssd-test-framework
+git+https://github.com/krishnavema/sssd-test-framework@smartcard-pkcs11
diff --git a/src/tests/system/tests/test_smartcard_soft_ocsp.py b/src/tests/system/tests/test_smartcard_soft_ocsp.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8945aff7d29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/system/tests/test_smartcard_soft_ocsp.py
@@ -0,0 +1,212 @@
+"""
+SSSD smart card authentication with soft_ocsp
+
+Regression tests for RHEL-5043: when ``soft_ocsp`` is configured and the OCSP
+responder is unreachable, smart card authentication should still succeed.
+
+:requirement: smartcard_authentication
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import time
+
+import pytest
+from sssd_test_framework.roles.client import Client
+from sssd_test_framework.roles.ipa import IPA
+from sssd_test_framework.topology import KnownTopology
+
+#: Seconds to wait after restarting virt_cacard so that pcscd registers
+#: the virtual card reader and the card is fully presented.
+VIRT_CACARD_SETTLE_SECONDS = 5
+
+#: Label for PKCS#11 objects stored in SoftHSM.  ``p11_child``'s
+#: ``parse_p11_child_response()`` rejects certificates that have an
+#: empty label field, so every object must carry a non-empty one.
+PKCS11_LABEL = "cert"
+
+
+def _enroll_smartcard(client: Client, ipa: IPA, username: str) -> None:
+    """Request a certificate from the IPA CA and load it into a SoftHSM token.
+
+    Follows the same ordering as
+    ``test_ipa__switch_user_with_smartcard_authentication`` which is the
+    canonical IPA smart-card test.
+    """
+    cert, key, _ = ipa.ca.request(username)
+
+    cert_content = ipa.fs.read(cert)
+    key_content = ipa.fs.read(key)
+    client.fs.write(f"/opt/test_ca/{username}.crt", cert_content)
+    client.fs.write(f"/opt/test_ca/{username}.key", key_content)
+
+    client.smartcard.initialize_card()
+    client.smartcard.add_key(f"/opt/test_ca/{username}.key", label=PKCS11_LABEL)
+    client.smartcard.add_cert(f"/opt/test_ca/{username}.crt", label=PKCS11_LABEL)
+
+
+def _configure_smartcard_and_start(
+    client: Client,
+    *,
+    certificate_verification: str | None = None,
+    p11_child_timeout: int = 30,
+) -> None:
+    """Configure SSSD for smart-card authentication and present a virtual card."""
+    client.authselect.select("sssd", ["with-smartcard"])
+
+    if certificate_verification is not None:
+        client.sssd.sssd["certificate_verification"] = certificate_verification
+
+    client.sssd.pam["pam_cert_auth"] = "True"
+    client.sssd.pam["p11_child_timeout"] = str(p11_child_timeout)
+
+    client.sssd.start()
+    client.svc.restart("virt_cacard.service")
+    time.sleep(VIRT_CACARD_SETTLE_SECONDS)
+
+
+def _assert_smartcard_auth_success(client: Client, username: str) -> None:
+    """Run the double-``su`` pattern and verify PIN-based authentication."""
+    result = client.host.conn.run(
+        f"su - {username} -c 'su - {username} -c whoami'",
+        input="123456",
+    )
+    assert "PIN" in result.stderr, f"String 'PIN' was not found in stderr! Stderr content: {result.stderr}"
+    assert username in result.stdout, f"'{username}' not found in 'whoami' output! Stdout content: {result.stdout}"
+
+
+def _redirect_ocsp_responder(client: Client, ipa: IPA, target_ip: str) -> None:
+    """Point the IPA OCSP responder hostname to *target_ip* via ``/etc/hosts``."""
+    ipa_ca_hostname = f"ipa-ca.{ipa.domain}"
+    client.fs.append("/etc/hosts", f"\n{target_ip}  {ipa_ca_hostname}\n")
+
+
+@pytest.mark.ticket(jira="RHEL-5043")
+@pytest.mark.importance("high")
+@pytest.mark.topology(KnownTopology.IPA)
+@pytest.mark.builtwith(client="virtualsmartcard")
+def test_smartcard__soft_ocsp_with_unreachable_responder(client: Client, ipa: IPA):
+    """
+    :title: Smart card authentication succeeds with soft_ocsp when OCSP responder is unreachable
+    :setup:
+        1. Create an IPA user and enroll a smart card.
+        2. Configure ``certificate_verification = soft_ocsp``.
+        3. Point ipa-ca to 192.168.123.1 (non-routable, packets silently dropped).
+        4. Start SSSD and present the virtual smart card.
+    :steps:
+        1. Authenticate via ``su`` with the smart card PIN.
+    :expectedresults:
+        1. PIN prompt appears and authentication succeeds despite the
+           unreachable OCSP responder.
+    :customerscenario: True
+    """
+    username = "smartcarduser1"
+
+    ipa.user(username).add()
+    _enroll_smartcard(client, ipa, username)
+
+    # 192.168.123.1: non-routable → TCP SYN silently dropped → triggers the bug
+    _redirect_ocsp_responder(client, ipa, "192.168.123.1")
+    _configure_smartcard_and_start(client, certificate_verification="soft_ocsp")
+
+    _assert_smartcard_auth_success(client, username)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.ticket(jira="RHEL-5043")
+@pytest.mark.importance("high")
+@pytest.mark.topology(KnownTopology.IPA)
+@pytest.mark.builtwith(client="virtualsmartcard")
+def test_smartcard__soft_ocsp_with_reachable_responder(client: Client, ipa: IPA):
+    """
+    :title: Smart card authentication succeeds with soft_ocsp when OCSP responder is reachable
+    :setup:
+        1. Create an IPA user and enroll a smart card.
+        2. Configure ``certificate_verification = soft_ocsp``.
+        3. Start SSSD and present the virtual smart card (OCSP responder is reachable).
+    :steps:
+        1. Authenticate via ``su`` with the smart card PIN.
+    :expectedresults:
+        1. PIN prompt appears and authentication succeeds; the OCSP check
+           completes normally.
+    :customerscenario: True
+    """
+    username = "smartcarduser2"
+
+    ipa.user(username).add()
+    _enroll_smartcard(client, ipa, username)
+
+    # No /etc/hosts redirect – OCSP responder is reachable.
+    _configure_smartcard_and_start(client, certificate_verification="soft_ocsp")
+
+    _assert_smartcard_auth_success(client, username)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.ticket(jira="RHEL-5043")
+@pytest.mark.importance("high")
+@pytest.mark.topology(KnownTopology.IPA)
+@pytest.mark.builtwith(client="virtualsmartcard")
+def test_smartcard__soft_ocsp_with_connection_refused(client: Client, ipa: IPA):
+    """
+    :title: Smart card authentication succeeds with soft_ocsp when OCSP connection is refused
+    :setup:
+        1. Create an IPA user and enroll a smart card.
+        2. Configure ``certificate_verification = soft_ocsp``.
+        3. Point ipa-ca to 127.0.0.7 (loopback, immediate TCP RST).
+        4. Start SSSD and present the virtual smart card.
+    :steps:
+        1. Authenticate via ``su`` with the smart card PIN.
+    :expectedresults:
+        1. PIN prompt appears and authentication succeeds; the OCSP
+           connection is immediately refused and soft_ocsp skips the check.
+    :customerscenario: True
+    """
+    username = "smartcarduser3"
+
+    ipa.user(username).add()
+    _enroll_smartcard(client, ipa, username)
+
+    # 127.0.0.7: loopback → immediate connection-refused (TCP RST)
+    _redirect_ocsp_responder(client, ipa, "127.0.0.7")
+    _configure_smartcard_and_start(client, certificate_verification="soft_ocsp")
+
+    _assert_smartcard_auth_success(client, username)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.ticket(jira="RHEL-5043")
+@pytest.mark.importance("high")
+@pytest.mark.topology(KnownTopology.IPA)
+@pytest.mark.builtwith(client="virtualsmartcard")
+def test_smartcard__without_soft_ocsp_with_unreachable_responder(client: Client, ipa: IPA):
+    """
+    :title: Smart card authentication fails without soft_ocsp when OCSP responder is unreachable
+    :setup:
+        1. Create an IPA user and enroll a smart card.
+        2. Do NOT set ``certificate_verification`` (default OCSP behaviour).
+        3. Point ipa-ca to 192.168.123.1 (unreachable).
+        4. Start SSSD and present the virtual smart card.
+    :steps:
+        1. Attempt to authenticate via ``su`` with the smart card PIN.
+    :expectedresults:
+        1. Without ``soft_ocsp``, the certificate check fails because the
+           OCSP responder is unreachable.  The user sees a password prompt
+           (not a PIN prompt) or the authentication fails outright.
+    :customerscenario: True
+    """
+    username = "smartcarduser4"
+
+    ipa.user(username).add()
+    _enroll_smartcard(client, ipa, username)
+
+    _redirect_ocsp_responder(client, ipa, "192.168.123.1")
+    # certificate_verification is left unset → default OCSP is enforced.
+    _configure_smartcard_and_start(client, certificate_verification=None)
+
+    result = client.host.conn.run(
+        f"su - {username} -c 'su - {username} -c whoami'",
+        input="123456",
+        raise_on_error=False,
+    )
+
+    assert (
+        "PIN" not in result.stderr or result.rc != 0
+    ), f"Expected authentication to fail without soft_ocsp when OCSP is unreachable! rc={result.rc}"