diff --git a/components/esp_system/panic.c b/components/esp_system/panic.c
index 52a9d45624..b0912dacbf 100644
--- a/components/esp_system/panic.c
+++ b/components/esp_system/panic.c
@@ -262,6 +262,14 @@ static inline void disable_all_wdts(void)
     wdt_hal_write_protect_enable(&rtc_wdt_ctx);
 }
 
+/* IRAM-only halt stub: reset modules, then loop */
+void IRAM_ATTR esp_panic_handler_reset_modules_on_exit_and_halt(void)
+{
+    // Do not print or call non-IRAM functions beyond this point
+    esp_system_reset_modules_on_exit();
+    ESP_INFINITE_LOOP();
+}
+
 /********************** Panic handler functions **********************/
 
 /* This function is called from the panic handler entry point to increment the panic entry count */
@@ -455,10 +463,10 @@ void esp_panic_handler(panic_info_t *info)
     panic_print_str("Rebooting...\r\n");
     panic_restart();
 #else /* CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_PRINT_REBOOT || CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_SILENT_REBOOT */
+    esp_panic_handler_feed_wdts();
     panic_print_str("CPU halted.\r\n");
-    esp_system_reset_modules_on_exit();
     disable_all_wdts();
-    ESP_INFINITE_LOOP();
+    esp_panic_handler_reset_modules_on_exit_and_halt();
 #endif /* CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_PRINT_REBOOT || CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_SILENT_REBOOT */
 #endif /* CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_GDBSTUB */
 }
diff --git a/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/include/test_panic.h b/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/include/test_panic.h
index ab62a637d4..df22b43249 100644
--- a/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/include/test_panic.h
+++ b/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/include/test_panic.h
@@ -83,6 +83,10 @@ void test_coredump_summary(void);
 
 void test_panic_print_backtrace(void);
 
+#if CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_PRINT_HALT
+void test_panic_halt(void);
+#endif /* CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_PRINT_HALT */
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/test_app_main.c b/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/test_app_main.c
index 9b883d0e00..880999cbfb 100644
--- a/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/test_app_main.c
+++ b/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/test_app_main.c
@@ -126,6 +126,9 @@ void app_main(void)
     HANDLE_TEST(test_name, test_tcb_corrupted);
     HANDLE_TEST(test_name, test_panic_handler_stuck0);
     HANDLE_TEST(test_name, test_panic_handler_crash0);
+#if CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_PRINT_HALT
+    HANDLE_TEST(test_name, test_panic_halt);
+#endif /* CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_PRINT_HALT */
 #if CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_USE_FRAME_POINTER
     HANDLE_TEST(test_name, test_panic_print_backtrace);
 #endif
diff --git a/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/test_panic.c b/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/test_panic.c
index b808fad6b8..aab4fc8509 100644
--- a/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/test_panic.c
+++ b/tools/test_apps/system/panic/main/test_panic.c
@@ -445,3 +445,12 @@ void test_panic_print_backtrace(void)
 }
 
 #endif
+
+#if CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_PRINT_HALT
+void test_panic_halt(void)
+{
+    printf("Triggering panic. Device should print 'CPU halted.' and stop.\n");
+    fflush(stdout);
+    assert(0);
+}
+#endif /* CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_PRINT_HALT */
diff --git a/tools/test_apps/system/panic/pytest_panic.py b/tools/test_apps/system/panic/pytest_panic.py
index 85237ccff8..6720f13963 100644
--- a/tools/test_apps/system/panic/pytest_panic.py
+++ b/tools/test_apps/system/panic/pytest_panic.py
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ CONFIGS = list(
 
 CONFIG_PANIC = list(itertools.chain(itertools.product(['panic'], ['supported_targets'])))
 CONFIG_PANIC_DUAL_CORE = list(itertools.chain(itertools.product(['panic'], TARGETS_DUAL_CORE)))
+CONFIG_PANIC_HALT = list(itertools.chain(itertools.product(['panic_halt'], TARGETS_ALL)))
 
 CONFIGS_BACKTRACE = list(
     itertools.chain(
@@ -1235,3 +1236,11 @@ def test_panic_print_backtrace(dut: PanicTestDut, config: str, test_func_name: s
 
     coredump_pattern = re.compile(PANIC_ABORT_PREFIX + regex_pattern.decode('utf-8'))
     common_test(dut, config, expected_backtrace=None, expected_coredump=[coredump_pattern])
+
+
+@pytest.mark.generic
+@idf_parametrize('config, target', CONFIG_PANIC_HALT, indirect=['config', 'target'])
+def test_panic_halt(dut: PanicTestDut) -> None:
+    dut.run_test_func('test_panic_halt')
+    dut.expect_exact('CPU halted.', timeout=30)
+    dut.expect_none(dut.REBOOT, timeout=3)
diff --git a/tools/test_apps/system/panic/sdkconfig.ci.panic_halt b/tools/test_apps/system/panic/sdkconfig.ci.panic_halt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..31714460cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/test_apps/system/panic/sdkconfig.ci.panic_halt
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Panic halt CI config
+CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_PRINT_HALT=y
+CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_PRINT_REBOOT=n
+CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_SILENT_REBOOT=n
+CONFIG_ESP_SYSTEM_PANIC_GDBSTUB=n