diff --git a/runners/flink/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/flink/FlinkPipelineExecutionEnvironment.java b/runners/flink/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/flink/FlinkPipelineExecutionEnvironment.java
index 029eff25a825..973aa6c24298 100644
--- a/runners/flink/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/flink/FlinkPipelineExecutionEnvironment.java
+++ b/runners/flink/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/runners/flink/FlinkPipelineExecutionEnvironment.java
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 import static org.apache.beam.vendor.guava.v32_1_2_jre.com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkNotNull;
 
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import org.apache.beam.runners.core.metrics.MetricsPusher;
 import org.apache.beam.sdk.Pipeline;
 import org.apache.beam.sdk.PipelineResult;
@@ -29,8 +31,10 @@
 import org.apache.flink.api.common.JobExecutionResult;
 import org.apache.flink.api.common.RuntimeExecutionMode;
 import org.apache.flink.api.java.ExecutionEnvironment;
+import org.apache.flink.api.java.LocalEnvironment;
 import org.apache.flink.core.execution.JobClient;
 import org.apache.flink.runtime.jobgraph.JobGraph;
+import org.apache.flink.streaming.api.environment.LocalStreamEnvironment;
 import org.apache.flink.streaming.api.environment.StreamExecutionEnvironment;
 import org.apache.flink.streaming.api.graph.StreamGraph;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
@@ -52,6 +56,8 @@ class FlinkPipelineExecutionEnvironment {
   private static final Logger LOG =
       LoggerFactory.getLogger(FlinkPipelineExecutionEnvironment.class);
 
+  private static final Set<ThreadGroup> protectedThreadGroups = ConcurrentHashMap.newKeySet();
+
   private final FlinkPipelineOptions options;
 
   /**
@@ -143,6 +149,7 @@ public PipelineResult executePipeline() throws Exception {
     if (flinkBatchEnv != null) {
       if (options.getAttachedMode()) {
         JobExecutionResult jobExecutionResult = flinkBatchEnv.execute(jobName);
+        ensureFlinkCleanupComplete(flinkBatchEnv);
         return createAttachedPipelineResult(jobExecutionResult);
       } else {
         JobClient jobClient = flinkBatchEnv.executeAsync(jobName);
@@ -151,6 +158,7 @@ public PipelineResult executePipeline() throws Exception {
     } else if (flinkStreamEnv != null) {
       if (options.getAttachedMode()) {
         JobExecutionResult jobExecutionResult = flinkStreamEnv.execute(jobName);
+        ensureFlinkCleanupComplete(flinkStreamEnv);
         return createAttachedPipelineResult(jobExecutionResult);
       } else {
         JobClient jobClient = flinkStreamEnv.executeAsync(jobName);
@@ -161,6 +169,41 @@ public PipelineResult executePipeline() throws Exception {
     }
   }
 
+  /** Prevents ThreadGroup destruction while Flink cleanup threads are still running. */
+  private void ensureFlinkCleanupComplete(Object executionEnv) {
+    String javaVersion = System.getProperty("java.version");
+    if (javaVersion == null || !javaVersion.startsWith("1.8")) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (!(executionEnv instanceof LocalStreamEnvironment
+        || executionEnv instanceof LocalEnvironment)) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    ThreadGroup currentThreadGroup = Thread.currentThread().getThreadGroup();
+    if (currentThreadGroup == null) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    protectedThreadGroups.add(currentThreadGroup);
+
+    Thread cleanupReleaser =
+        new Thread(
+            () -> {
+              try {
+                Thread.sleep(2000); // 2 seconds should be enough for Flink cleanup
+              } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
+              } finally {
+                protectedThreadGroups.remove(currentThreadGroup);
+              }
+            },
+            "FlinkCleanupReleaser");
+    cleanupReleaser.setDaemon(true);
+    cleanupReleaser.start();
+  }
+
   private FlinkDetachedRunnerResult createDetachedPipelineResult(
       JobClient jobClient, FlinkPipelineOptions options) {
     LOG.info("Pipeline submitted in detached mode");