diff --git a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils.go b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils.go
index 8b05bfc2fc..bac62e8cfd 100644
--- a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils.go
+++ b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils.go
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ const cpBinaryName = "cp"
 
 const fileMode0755 = os.FileMode(0755)
 
+const maxWaitDelay = 50 * time.Millisecond
+
 // The DefaultRateLimiterRefillTime is used for calculating the rate at
 // which a TokenBucket is replinished, in cases where a RateLimiter is
 // applied to either network or disk I/O.
@@ -306,6 +308,44 @@ func ConvertAddressFamily(family int32) pbTypes.IPFamily {
 	}
 }
 
+func waitProcessUsingWaitLoop(pid int, timeoutSecs uint, logger *logrus.Entry) bool {
+	secs := time.Duration(timeoutSecs) * time.Second
+	timeout := time.After(secs)
+	delay := 1 * time.Millisecond
+
+	for {
+		// Wait4 is used to reap and check that a child terminated.
+		// Without the Wait4 call, Kill(0) for a child will always exit without
+		// error because the process isn't reaped.
+		// Wait4 return ECHLD error for non-child processes. Kill(0) is meant
+		// to address this case, once the process is reaped by init process,
+		// the call will return ESRCH error.
+
+		// "A watched pot never boils" and an unwaited-for process never appears to die!
+		waitedPid, err := syscall.Wait4(pid, nil, syscall.WNOHANG, nil)
+
+		if waitedPid == pid && err == nil {
+			return false
+		}
+
+		if err := syscall.Kill(pid, syscall.Signal(0)); err != nil {
+			return false
+		}
+
+		select {
+		case <-time.After(delay):
+			delay = delay * 5
+
+			if delay > maxWaitDelay {
+				delay = maxWaitDelay
+			}
+		case <-timeout:
+			logger.Warnf("process %v still running after waiting %ds", pid, timeoutSecs)
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 // WaitLocalProcess waits for the specified process for up to timeoutSecs seconds.
 //
 // Notes:
@@ -334,49 +374,24 @@ func WaitLocalProcess(pid int, timeoutSecs uint, initialSignal syscall.Signal, l
 		}
 	}
 
-	pidRunning := true
-
-	secs := time.Duration(timeoutSecs)
-	timeout := time.After(secs * time.Second)
-
-	// Wait for the VM process to terminate
-outer:
-	for {
-		select {
-		case <-time.After(50 * time.Millisecond):
-			// Check if the process is running periodically to avoid a busy loop
-
-			var _status syscall.WaitStatus
-			var _rusage syscall.Rusage
-			var waitedPid int
-
-			// "A watched pot never boils" and an unwaited-for process never appears to die!
-			waitedPid, err = syscall.Wait4(pid, &_status, syscall.WNOHANG, &_rusage)
-
-			if waitedPid == pid && err == nil {
-				pidRunning = false
-				break outer
-			}
-
-			if err = syscall.Kill(pid, syscall.Signal(0)); err != nil {
-				pidRunning = false
-				break outer
-			}
-
-			break
-
-		case <-timeout:
-			logger.Warnf("process %v still running after waiting %ds", pid, timeoutSecs)
-
-			break outer
-		}
-	}
+	pidRunning := waitForProcessCompletion(pid, timeoutSecs, logger)
 
 	if pidRunning {
 		// Force process to die
 		if err = syscall.Kill(pid, syscall.SIGKILL); err != nil {
+			if err == syscall.ESRCH {
+				logger.WithField("pid", pid).Warnf("process already finished")
+				return nil
+			}
 			return fmt.Errorf("Failed to stop process %v: %s", pid, err)
 		}
+
+		for {
+			_, err := syscall.Wait4(pid, nil, 0, nil)
+			if err != syscall.EINTR {
+				break
+			}
+		}
 	}
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils_darwin.go b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils_darwin.go
index 54b2124ce1..db1d9ea750 100644
--- a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils_darwin.go
+++ b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils_darwin.go
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@
 
 package utils
 
+import "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+
 func GetDevicePathAndFsTypeOptions(mountPoint string) (devicePath, fsType string, fsOptions []string, err error) {
 	return
 }
+
+func waitForProcessCompletion(pid int, timeoutSecs uint, logger *logrus.Entry) bool {
+	return waitProcessUsingWaitLoop(pid, timeoutSecs, logger)
+}
diff --git a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils_linux.go b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils_linux.go
index c223fb93bb..40c5c360ea 100644
--- a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils_linux.go
+++ b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/utils/utils_linux.go
@@ -14,8 +14,10 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"syscall"
+	"time"
 	"unsafe"
 
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
 )
 
@@ -151,3 +153,60 @@ func IsAPVFIOMediatedDevice(sysfsdev string) bool {
 	}
 	return false
 }
+
+func waitProcessUsingPidfd(pid int, timeoutSecs uint, logger *logrus.Entry) (bool, error) {
+	pidfd, err := unix.PidfdOpen(pid, 0)
+
+	if err != nil {
+		if err == unix.ESRCH {
+			return false, nil
+		}
+
+		return true, err
+	}
+
+	defer unix.Close(pidfd)
+	var n int
+
+	maxDelay := time.Duration(timeoutSecs) * time.Second
+	end := time.Now().Add(maxDelay)
+
+	for {
+		remaining := time.Until(end).Milliseconds()
+		if remaining < 0 {
+			remaining = 0
+		}
+
+		n, err = unix.Poll([]unix.PollFd{{Fd: int32(pidfd), Events: unix.POLLIN}}, int(remaining))
+		if err != unix.EINTR {
+			break
+		}
+	}
+
+	if err != nil || n != 1 {
+		logger.Warnf("process %v still running after waiting %ds", pid, timeoutSecs)
+		return true, err
+	}
+
+	for {
+		err := unix.Waitid(unix.P_PIDFD, pidfd, nil, unix.WEXITED, nil)
+		if err == unix.EINVAL {
+			err = unix.Waitid(unix.P_PID, pid, nil, unix.WEXITED, nil)
+		}
+
+		if err != unix.EINTR {
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	return false, nil
+}
+
+func waitForProcessCompletion(pid int, timeoutSecs uint, logger *logrus.Entry) bool {
+	pidRunning, err := waitProcessUsingPidfd(pid, timeoutSecs, logger)
+
+	if err == unix.ENOSYS {
+		pidRunning = waitProcessUsingWaitLoop(pid, timeoutSecs, logger)
+	}
+
+	return pidRunning
+}