diff --git a/changes/42901-fix-ticker-leak b/changes/42901-fix-ticker-leak
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..58ed3a0d2db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/42901-fix-ticker-leak
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- Fixed resource leak in conditional access polling loop.
diff --git a/server/service/osquery.go b/server/service/osquery.go
index 267430054d8..9609080e7e8 100644
--- a/server/service/osquery.go
+++ b/server/service/osquery.go
@@ -2666,6 +2666,13 @@ func (svc *Service) setHostConditionalAccessAsync(
 // It's a global variable to be set in tests.
 var conditionalAccessSetWaitTime = 10 * time.Second
 
+// newConditionalAccessTicker creates a ticker for the conditional access polling loop.
+// It's a package-level variable so tests can replace it to track Stop() calls.
+var newConditionalAccessTicker = func(d time.Duration) (tickCh <-chan time.Time, stop func()) {
+	t := time.NewTicker(d)
+	return t.C, t.Stop
+}
+
 func (svc *Service) setHostConditionalAccess(
 	hostID uint,
 	hostPlatform string,
@@ -2724,7 +2731,9 @@ func (svc *Service) setHostConditionalAccess(
 		)
 		logger.DebugContext(ctx, "set compliance status message sent")
 		startTime := time.Now()
-		for range time.Tick(conditionalAccessSetWaitTime) {
+		tickCh, tickStop := newConditionalAccessTicker(conditionalAccessSetWaitTime)
+		defer tickStop()
+		for range tickCh {
 			if time.Since(startTime) > timeout {
 				// No failure activity is recorded here. SetComplianceStatus
 				// succeeded (we have a MessageID), so the push was accepted by
diff --git a/server/service/osquery_conditional_access_test.go b/server/service/osquery_conditional_access_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8774495a272
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/service/osquery_conditional_access_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+package service
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/fleetdm/fleet/v4/server/fleet"
+	"github.com/fleetdm/fleet/v4/server/mock"
+	"github.com/fleetdm/fleet/v4/server/service/conditional_access_microsoft_proxy"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// testConditionalAccessProxy is a minimal mock of ConditionalAccessMicrosoftProxy
+// for the ticker cleanup test.
+type testConditionalAccessProxy struct{}
+
+func (m *testConditionalAccessProxy) Create(_ context.Context, _ string) (*conditional_access_microsoft_proxy.CreateResponse, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+
+func (m *testConditionalAccessProxy) Get(_ context.Context, _ string, _ string) (*conditional_access_microsoft_proxy.GetResponse, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+
+func (m *testConditionalAccessProxy) Delete(_ context.Context, _ string, _ string) (*conditional_access_microsoft_proxy.DeleteResponse, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+
+func (m *testConditionalAccessProxy) SetComplianceStatus(
+	_ context.Context,
+	_ string, _ string,
+	_ string,
+	_ string,
+	_ bool,
+	_, _, _ string,
+	_ bool,
+	_ time.Time,
+) (*conditional_access_microsoft_proxy.SetComplianceStatusResponse, error) {
+	return &conditional_access_microsoft_proxy.SetComplianceStatusResponse{
+		MessageID: "test-message-id",
+	}, nil
+}
+
+func (m *testConditionalAccessProxy) GetMessageStatus(
+	_ context.Context, _ string, _ string, _ string,
+) (*conditional_access_microsoft_proxy.GetMessageStatusResponse, error) {
+	return &conditional_access_microsoft_proxy.GetMessageStatusResponse{
+		Status: conditional_access_microsoft_proxy.MessageStatusCompleted,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// TestSetHostConditionalAccess_TickerCleanup verifies that the ticker used in
+// setHostConditionalAccess for polling macOS message status is properly stopped
+// after each call, preventing resource leaks.
+//
+// With the old code (`for range time.Tick(...)`) each call leaked a ticker
+// because time.Tick never releases the underlying ticker. The fix uses the
+// injectable newConditionalAccessTicker factory with a proper stop function.
+func TestSetHostConditionalAccess_TickerCleanup(t *testing.T) {
+	ds := new(mock.Store)
+
+	ds.ConditionalAccessMicrosoftGetFunc = func(_ context.Context) (*fleet.ConditionalAccessMicrosoftIntegration, error) {
+		return &fleet.ConditionalAccessMicrosoftIntegration{
+			TenantID:          "test-tenant",
+			ProxyServerSecret: "test-secret",
+			SetupDone:         true,
+		}, nil
+	}
+
+	ds.SetHostConditionalAccessStatusFunc = func(_ context.Context, _ uint, _ bool, _ bool) error {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	proxy := &testConditionalAccessProxy{}
+
+	svc, _ := newTestService(t, ds, nil, nil, &TestServerOpts{
+		ConditionalAccessMicrosoftProxy: proxy,
+	})
+
+	// Unwrap the validationMiddleware to get the concrete *Service.
+	concreteSvc := svc.(validationMiddleware).Service.(*Service)
+
+	// Use a very short poll interval so the test runs fast.
+	origWait := conditionalAccessSetWaitTime
+	conditionalAccessSetWaitTime = 1 * time.Millisecond
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		conditionalAccessSetWaitTime = origWait
+	})
+
+	// Instrument the ticker factory to track Stop() calls.
+	var tickersCreated atomic.Int32
+	var tickersStopped atomic.Int32
+
+	origTickerFactory := newConditionalAccessTicker
+	newConditionalAccessTicker = func(d time.Duration) (<-chan time.Time, func()) {
+		tickersCreated.Add(1)
+		ticker := time.NewTicker(d)
+		return ticker.C, func() {
+			tickersStopped.Add(1)
+			ticker.Stop()
+		}
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		newConditionalAccessTicker = origTickerFactory
+	})
+
+	hostCA := &fleet.HostConditionalAccessStatus{
+		HostID:            1,
+		DeviceID:          "device-1",
+		UserPrincipalName: "user@example.com",
+		DisplayName:       "Test Host",
+		OSVersion:         "14.0",
+	}
+
+	const iterations = 10
+	for i := 0; i < iterations; i++ {
+		err := concreteSvc.setHostConditionalAccess(
+			uint(i+1), // hostID
+			"darwin",  // platform -- triggers the ticker polling path
+			hostCA,
+			true, // managed
+			true, // compliant
+			nil,  // failingPolicyIDs
+		)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+	}
+
+	created := tickersCreated.Load()
+	stopped := tickersStopped.Load()
+	t.Logf("tickers created: %d, stopped: %d", created, stopped)
+
+	// Each darwin call should create exactly one ticker.
+	assert.Equal(t, int32(iterations), created, "expected %d tickers to be created", iterations)
+	// With the fix, every created ticker must be stopped.
+	// With the old time.Tick code, Stop() is never called, so stopped would be 0.
+	assert.Equal(t, created, stopped, "every created ticker must be stopped to avoid resource leaks")
+}