diff --git a/litellm/router.py b/litellm/router.py
index bc755ad4374..7059dc0fac0 100644
--- a/litellm/router.py
+++ b/litellm/router.py
@@ -9991,9 +9991,11 @@ class Router:
         True when `fallbacks` routes `model_name` to a model group with at least one
         unblocked deployment. `fallbacks` must already reflect the precedence the router
         applies at call time, so a request-supplied list replaces the router-level chain
-        rather than merging with it. Visited groups are skipped so a cycle terminates.
+        rather than merging with it. Traversal stops on a repeat group and after
+        `max_fallbacks` hops, matching the runtime limit and bounding recursion so a long
+        client-supplied chain cannot exhaust the stack.
         """
-        if model_name in visited:
+        if model_name in visited or len(visited) >= self.max_fallbacks:
             return False
         fallback_model_group, _ = get_fallback_model_group(fallbacks=fallbacks, model_group=model_name)
         if not fallback_model_group:
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/test_router_block_helpers.py b/tests/test_litellm/test_router_block_helpers.py
index f210371d2dd..a924fe60d06 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/test_router_block_helpers.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/test_router_block_helpers.py
@@ -146,6 +146,17 @@ class TestHasReachableFallback:
         )
         assert router._has_reachable_fallback("primary", fallbacks=["fallback"]) is True
 
+    def test_chain_longer_than_max_fallbacks_fails_closed(self):
+        hops = 6
+        router = Router(
+            model_list=[_deployment("m0", "m0", blocked=True)]
+            + [_deployment(f"m{i}", f"m{i}", blocked=True) for i in range(1, hops)]
+            + [_deployment("healthy", "h0", blocked=False)],
+            max_fallbacks=hops - 2,
+        )
+        chain = [{f"m{i}": [f"m{i + 1}"]} for i in range(hops - 1)] + [{f"m{hops - 1}": ["healthy"]}]
+        assert router._has_reachable_fallback("m0", fallbacks=chain) is False
+
 
 class TestIsBlockedWithoutReachableFallback:
     def test_blocked_and_no_fallback_returns_true(self):