diff --git a/inttest/footloose-alpine/Dockerfile b/inttest/footloose-alpine/Dockerfile
index 1636d3e13801..fdf431aba4e4 100644
--- a/inttest/footloose-alpine/Dockerfile
+++ b/inttest/footloose-alpine/Dockerfile
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ RUN rc-update add local default
 RUN rc-update add nginx default
 # Ensures that /usr/local/bin/k0s is seeded from /dist at startup
 RUN rc-update add k0s-seed default
-
+# Prevent start-stop-daemon from hanging when max_fds is huge
+RUN sed -Ei -e 's/^[# ](rc_ulimit)=.*/\1="-n 1048576"/' /etc/rc.conf
 # remove -docker keyword so we actually mount cgroups in container
 RUN sed -i -e '/keyword/s/-docker//' /etc/init.d/cgroups
 # disable ttys