diff --git a/src/tincd.c b/src/tincd.c
index b62c8c19..14a0c112 100644
--- a/src/tincd.c
+++ b/src/tincd.c
@@ -370,6 +370,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
 		umbilical = atoi(umbstr);
 		if(fcntl(umbilical, F_GETFL) < 0)
 			umbilical = 0;
+#ifdef FD_CLOEXEC
+		if(umbilical)
+			fcntl(umbilical, F_SETFD, FD_CLOEXEC);
+#endif
 	}
 #endif