diff --git a/apps/sim/lib/execution/isolated-vm.test.ts b/apps/sim/lib/execution/isolated-vm.test.ts
index 2d77e438c8f..717f9ebaa2e 100644
--- a/apps/sim/lib/execution/isolated-vm.test.ts
+++ b/apps/sim/lib/execution/isolated-vm.test.ts
@@ -654,7 +654,57 @@ describe('isolated-vm scheduler', () => {
     expect(result.error?.message).toContain('Too many concurrent')
   })
 
+  it('releases the lease when abort races an undetermined acquisition', async () => {
+    const scripts: string[] = []
+    let markLeaseRequested!: () => void
+    const leaseRequested = new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+      markLeaseRequested = resolve
+    })
+    const { executeInIsolatedVM, spawnMock } = await loadExecutionModule({
+      envOverrides: {
+        REDIS_URL: 'redis://localhost:6379',
+        IVM_LEASE_REDIS_DEADLINE_MS: '5',
+      },
+      spawns: [() => createReadyProc('unused')],
+      redisEvalImpl: (...args: unknown[]) => {
+        const script = String(args[0] ?? '')
+        scripts.push(script)
+        // Never settles, so the deadline decides and Redis may still register
+        // the lease id afterwards.
+        if (script.includes('ZREMRANGEBYSCORE')) {
+          markLeaseRequested()
+          return new Promise<number>(() => {})
+        }
+        return 1
+      },
+    })
+    const controller = new AbortController()
+
+    const execution = executeInIsolatedVM(
+      {
+        code: 'return "unused"',
+        params: {},
+        envVars: {},
+        contextVariables: {},
+        timeoutMs: 100,
+        requestId: 'req-abort-undetermined',
+        ownerKey: 'user:cancelled-undetermined',
+      },
+      { signal: controller.signal }
+    )
+    await leaseRequested
+    controller.abort(new DOMException('user', 'AbortError'))
+
+    await expect(execution).resolves.toMatchObject({
+      termination: 'cancelled',
+      error: { name: 'AbortError' },
+    })
+    expect(scripts.some((script) => script.includes("'ZREM'"))).toBe(true)
+    expect(spawnMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
   it('reports cancellation when abort races a rejected distributed lease', async () => {
+    const scripts: string[] = []
     let resolveLease!: (value: number) => void
     let markLeaseRequested!: () => void
     const leaseResult = new Promise<number>((resolve) => {
@@ -670,6 +720,7 @@ describe('isolated-vm scheduler', () => {
       spawns: [() => createReadyProc('unused')],
       redisEvalImpl: (...args: unknown[]) => {
         const script = String(args[0] ?? '')
+        scripts.push(script)
         if (script.includes('ZREMRANGEBYSCORE')) {
           markLeaseRequested()
           return leaseResult
@@ -699,6 +750,8 @@ describe('isolated-vm scheduler', () => {
       termination: 'cancelled',
       error: { name: 'AbortError' },
     })
+    // Redis answered before its ZADD, so there is nothing to remove.
+    expect(scripts.some((script) => script.includes("'ZREM'"))).toBe(false)
     expect(spawnMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
   })
 
diff --git a/apps/sim/lib/execution/isolated-vm.ts b/apps/sim/lib/execution/isolated-vm.ts
index 4918380f77c..ba9832fe41f 100644
--- a/apps/sim/lib/execution/isolated-vm.ts
+++ b/apps/sim/lib/execution/isolated-vm.ts
@@ -1415,7 +1415,29 @@ export async function executeInIsolatedVM(
     distributedLeaseId,
     req.timeoutMs
   )
+  let settled = false
+  /**
+   * Released even when the acquisition was undetermined. The deadline abandons
+   * the local wait but cannot cancel the script, so a late completion still
+   * registers this lease id — and unreleased it would count against the owner
+   * for the whole TTL, denying later executions that do have capacity. The
+   * lease id is unique to this execution, so removing one that was never
+   * registered is a no-op.
+   *
+   * Declared before the early returns below so every exit path that can leave a
+   * registration behind reaches it, not just the ones that run the execution.
+   */
+  const releaseLease = () => {
+    if (settled) return
+    settled = true
+    releaseDistributedLease(ownerKey, distributedLeaseId).catch((error) => {
+      logger.error('Failed to release distributed lease', { ownerKey, error })
+    })
+  }
+
   if (leaseAcquireResult !== 'acquired' && signal?.aborted) {
+    // Only an undetermined result can have registered; see the over-limit branch below.
+    if (leaseAcquireResult === 'undetermined') releaseLease()
     maybeCleanupOwner(ownerKey)
     return {
       result: null,
@@ -1430,6 +1452,7 @@ export async function executeInIsolatedVM(
       ownerKey,
       max: DISTRIBUTED_MAX_INFLIGHT_PER_OWNER,
     })
+    // No release: the script returns this before its ZADD, so nothing was registered.
     maybeCleanupOwner(ownerKey)
     return {
       result: null,
@@ -1444,23 +1467,6 @@ export async function executeInIsolatedVM(
   // An undetermined lease cannot reject the execution: the per-process pool and
   // the per-owner active/queued limits above still bound this work.
 
-  let settled = false
-  /**
-   * Released even when the acquisition was undetermined. The deadline abandons
-   * the local wait but cannot cancel the script, so a late completion still
-   * registers this lease id — and unreleased it would count against the owner
-   * for the whole TTL, denying later executions that do have capacity. The
-   * lease id is unique to this execution, so removing one that was never
-   * registered is a no-op.
-   */
-  const releaseLease = () => {
-    if (settled) return
-    settled = true
-    releaseDistributedLease(ownerKey, distributedLeaseId).catch((error) => {
-      logger.error('Failed to release distributed lease', { ownerKey, error })
-    })
-  }
-
   const state: ExecutionState = { cancelled: false }
 
   return new Promise<IsolatedVMExecutionResult>((resolve) => {