diff --git a/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/localdns_exporter.sh b/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/localdns_exporter.sh
index 2c75ba10f88..ada16e13d81 100755
--- a/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/localdns_exporter.sh
+++ b/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/localdns_exporter.sh
@@ -13,12 +13,32 @@ set -euo pipefail
 # This avoids the exporter needing to query systemd over D-Bus, which fails under DynamicUser=yes
 # ("Transport endpoint is not connected") due to namespace isolation.
 
+# A scrape client may close the socket after reading enough data (for example, a probe
+# that only checks status/headers). Treat that as a normal connection termination so
+# socket-activated worker units do not remain in a failed state.
+trap 'exit 0' PIPE
+
 # Pre-generated .prom files written by localdns.sh
 # LOCALDNS_SCRIPT_PATH is set via Environment= in localdns-exporter@.service
 LOCALDNS_SCRIPT_PATH="${LOCALDNS_SCRIPT_PATH:-/opt/azure/containers/localdns}"
 RESOURCES_PROM_FILE="${LOCALDNS_SCRIPT_PATH}/resources.prom"
 FORWARD_IPS_PROM_FILE="${LOCALDNS_SCRIPT_PATH}/forward_ips.prom"
 
+emit() {
+    printf "%s\n" "$*" 2>/dev/null || exit 0
+}
+
+emit_raw() {
+    printf "%b" "$1" 2>/dev/null || exit 0
+}
+
+emit_file() {
+    local file="$1"
+    while IFS= read -r line || [ -n "$line" ]; do
+        emit "$line"
+    done < "$file"
+}
+
 # Read the HTTP request line to extract the path
 # Format: "GET /metrics HTTP/1.1"
 # Handle read failure gracefully (client disconnected, incomplete request, or timeout)
@@ -30,43 +50,43 @@ REQUEST_PATH=$(echo "$REQUEST_LINE" | awk '{print $2}')
 
 # Only serve metrics at /metrics endpoint (Prometheus convention)
 if [ "$REQUEST_PATH" != "/metrics" ]; then
-    printf "HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found\r\nContent-Type: text/plain\r\nConnection: close\r\n\r\n"
-    echo "404 Not Found - Metrics available at /metrics"
+    emit_raw "HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found\r\nContent-Type: text/plain\r\nConnection: close\r\n\r\n"
+    emit "404 Not Found - Metrics available at /metrics"
     exit 0
 fi
 
 # Output HTTP Response in Prometheus Exposition Format
 # Note: The empty line after headers is required by HTTP protocol
-printf "HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\nContent-Type: text/plain; version=0.0.4\r\nConnection: close\r\n\r\n"
+emit_raw "HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\nContent-Type: text/plain; version=0.0.4\r\nConnection: close\r\n\r\n"
 
 # Resource metrics (service status, CPU, memory) — pre-generated by localdns.sh
 if [ -f "$RESOURCES_PROM_FILE" ]; then
-    cat "$RESOURCES_PROM_FILE"
+    emit_file "$RESOURCES_PROM_FILE"
 else
     # Fallback if .prom file doesn't exist yet (before first watchdog tick)
-    echo "# HELP localdns_service_status CoreDNS process status (1=active, 0=inactive)"
-    echo "# TYPE localdns_service_status gauge"
-    echo "localdns_service_status{status=\"unknown\"} 0"
-    echo "# HELP localdns_memory_usage_bytes Current memory usage in bytes"
-    echo "# TYPE localdns_memory_usage_bytes gauge"
-    echo "localdns_memory_usage_bytes 0"
-    echo "# HELP localdns_cpu_usage_seconds_total Total CPU time consumed in Seconds"
-    echo "# TYPE localdns_cpu_usage_seconds_total counter"
-    echo "localdns_cpu_usage_seconds_total 0.000000000"
-    echo "# HELP localdns_metrics_last_update_timestamp_seconds Unix timestamp of last metrics generation"
-    echo "# TYPE localdns_metrics_last_update_timestamp_seconds gauge"
-    echo "localdns_metrics_last_update_timestamp_seconds 0"
+    emit "# HELP localdns_service_status CoreDNS process status (1=active, 0=inactive)"
+    emit "# TYPE localdns_service_status gauge"
+    emit "localdns_service_status{status=\"unknown\"} 0"
+    emit "# HELP localdns_memory_usage_bytes Current memory usage in bytes"
+    emit "# TYPE localdns_memory_usage_bytes gauge"
+    emit "localdns_memory_usage_bytes 0"
+    emit "# HELP localdns_cpu_usage_seconds_total Total CPU time consumed in Seconds"
+    emit "# TYPE localdns_cpu_usage_seconds_total counter"
+    emit "localdns_cpu_usage_seconds_total 0.000000000"
+    emit "# HELP localdns_metrics_last_update_timestamp_seconds Unix timestamp of last metrics generation"
+    emit "# TYPE localdns_metrics_last_update_timestamp_seconds gauge"
+    emit "localdns_metrics_last_update_timestamp_seconds 0"
 fi
 
 # Forward IP info metrics (VnetDNS, KubeDNS) — pre-generated by localdns.sh
 if [ -f "$FORWARD_IPS_PROM_FILE" ]; then
-    cat "$FORWARD_IPS_PROM_FILE"
+    emit_file "$FORWARD_IPS_PROM_FILE"
 else
     # Fallback if .prom file doesn't exist yet
-    echo "# HELP localdns_vnetdns_forward_info VnetDNS forward plugin IP address from corefile"
-    echo "# TYPE localdns_vnetdns_forward_info gauge"
-    echo "localdns_vnetdns_forward_info{ip=\"unknown\",block=\"none\",status=\"file_missing\"} 0"
-    echo "# HELP localdns_kubedns_forward_info KubeDNS forward plugin IP address from corefile"
-    echo "# TYPE localdns_kubedns_forward_info gauge"
-    echo "localdns_kubedns_forward_info{ip=\"unknown\",block=\"none\",status=\"file_missing\"} 0"
+    emit "# HELP localdns_vnetdns_forward_info VnetDNS forward plugin IP address from corefile"
+    emit "# TYPE localdns_vnetdns_forward_info gauge"
+    emit "localdns_vnetdns_forward_info{ip=\"unknown\",block=\"none\",status=\"file_missing\"} 0"
+    emit "# HELP localdns_kubedns_forward_info KubeDNS forward plugin IP address from corefile"
+    emit "# TYPE localdns_kubedns_forward_info gauge"
+    emit "localdns_kubedns_forward_info{ip=\"unknown\",block=\"none\",status=\"file_missing\"} 0"
 fi
diff --git a/spec/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/localdns_exporter_spec.sh b/spec/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/localdns_exporter_spec.sh
index a86219af00a..000e4a29cfa 100644
--- a/spec/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/localdns_exporter_spec.sh
+++ b/spec/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/localdns_exporter_spec.sh
@@ -141,6 +141,30 @@ Describe 'localdns_exporter.sh HTTP request routing'
         The output should equal ""
     End
 
+    It 'should exit cleanly when client closes during metrics response'
+        When run bash -o pipefail -c '
+            tmp_dir=$(mktemp -d)
+            trap "rm -rf ${tmp_dir}" EXIT
+            {
+                echo "# HELP localdns_service_status CoreDNS process status (1=active, 0=inactive)"
+                echo "# TYPE localdns_service_status gauge"
+                for i in $(seq 1 1000); do
+                    echo "localdns_service_status{status=\"running\",sample=\"${i}\"} 1"
+                done
+            } > "${tmp_dir}/resources.prom"
+            {
+                echo "# HELP localdns_vnetdns_forward_info VnetDNS forward plugin IP address from corefile"
+                echo "# TYPE localdns_vnetdns_forward_info gauge"
+                echo "localdns_vnetdns_forward_info{ip=\"168.63.129.16\",block=\".:53\",status=\"ok\"} 1"
+                echo "# HELP localdns_kubedns_forward_info KubeDNS forward plugin IP address from corefile"
+                echo "# TYPE localdns_kubedns_forward_info gauge"
+                echo "localdns_kubedns_forward_info{ip=\"10.0.0.10\",block=\"cluster.local:53\",status=\"ok\"} 1"
+            } > "${tmp_dir}/forward_ips.prom"
+            printf "GET /metrics HTTP/1.1\r\n\r\n" | LOCALDNS_SCRIPT_PATH="${tmp_dir}" '"$SCRIPT_PATH"' | head -n 1 >/dev/null
+        '
+        The status should be success
+    End
+
     It 'should return 200 and Prometheus metrics for /metrics path'
         When run bash -c "echo 'GET /metrics HTTP/1.1' | $SCRIPT_PATH"
         The status should be success