diff --git a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/ha/ZKFailoverController.java b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/ha/ZKFailoverController.java
index 487d7b9409..91f720a49e 100644
--- a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/ha/ZKFailoverController.java
+++ b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/ha/ZKFailoverController.java
@@ -660,6 +660,7 @@ public Void run() throws Exception {
   private void doGracefulFailover()
       throws ServiceFailedException, IOException, InterruptedException {
     int timeout = FailoverController.getGracefulFenceTimeout(conf) * 2;
+    Preconditions.checkArgument(timeout >= 0, "timeout should be non-negative.");
     
     // Phase 1: pre-flight checks
     checkEligibleForFailover();