diff --git a/lib/crewai/src/crewai/flow/flow.py b/lib/crewai/src/crewai/flow/flow.py
index 712c47657..d8e74fc08 100644
--- a/lib/crewai/src/crewai/flow/flow.py
+++ b/lib/crewai/src/crewai/flow/flow.py
@@ -2668,6 +2668,11 @@ class Flow(Generic[T], metaclass=FlowMeta):
             message: The question or prompt to display to the user.
             timeout: Maximum seconds to wait for input. ``None`` means
                 wait indefinitely. When timeout expires, returns ``None``.
+                Note: timeout is best-effort for the provider call --
+                ``ask()`` returns ``None`` promptly, but the underlying
+                ``request_input()`` may continue running in a background
+                thread until it completes naturally. Network providers
+                should implement their own internal timeouts.
             metadata: Optional metadata to send to the input provider,
                 such as user ID, channel, session context. The provider
                 can use this to route the question to the right recipient.
@@ -2723,14 +2728,22 @@ class Flow(Generic[T], metaclass=FlowMeta):
 
         try:
             if timeout is not None:
-                with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=1) as executor:
-                    future = executor.submit(
-                        provider.request_input, message, self, metadata
-                    )
-                    try:
-                        raw = future.result(timeout=timeout)
-                    except FuturesTimeoutError:
-                        raw = None
+                # Manual executor management to avoid shutdown(wait=True)
+                # deadlock when the provider call outlives the timeout.
+                executor = ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=1)
+                future = executor.submit(
+                    provider.request_input, message, self, metadata
+                )
+                try:
+                    raw = future.result(timeout=timeout)
+                except FuturesTimeoutError:
+                    future.cancel()
+                    raw = None
+                finally:
+                    # wait=False so we don't block if the provider is still
+                    # running (e.g. input() stuck waiting for user).
+                    # cancel_futures=True cleans up any queued-but-not-started tasks.
+                    executor.shutdown(wait=False, cancel_futures=True)
             else:
                 raw = provider.request_input(message, self, metadata=metadata)
         except KeyboardInterrupt: