diff --git a/distribution/src/config/jvm.options b/distribution/src/config/jvm.options
index 67bda171d1bb0..a0c5ef53fc14a 100644
--- a/distribution/src/config/jvm.options
+++ b/distribution/src/config/jvm.options
@@ -71,6 +71,10 @@
 # specified
 -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError
 
+# exit right after heap dump on out of memory error. Recommended to also use
+# on java 8 for supported versions (8u92+).
+9-:-XX:+ExitOnOutOfMemoryError
+
 # specify an alternative path for heap dumps; ensure the directory exists and
 # has sufficient space
 @heap.dump.path@
diff --git a/test/external-modules/die-with-dignity/build.gradle b/test/external-modules/die-with-dignity/build.gradle
index dc79a6f0275e1..3466b7bb24adc 100644
--- a/test/external-modules/die-with-dignity/build.gradle
+++ b/test/external-modules/die-with-dignity/build.gradle
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ tasks.named("javaRestTest").configure {
 
 testClusters.matching { it.name == "javaRestTest" }.configureEach {
   systemProperty "die.with.dignity.test", "true"
+  // disable exit on out of memory error to let DieWithDignityIT verify that OOM handling without that works (including OOMs that are not caused by
+  // memory like native threads. We leave it to the JVM to test that exit on OOM works via the flag.
+  jvmArgs '-XX:-ExitOnOutOfMemoryError'
 }
 
 tasks.named("test").configure {