diff --git a/knotmirror/resyncer.go b/knotmirror/resyncer.go
index 4d64466f..966b04ad 100644
--- a/knotmirror/resyncer.go
+++ b/knotmirror/resyncer.go
@@ -411,6 +411,8 @@ func (r *Resyncer) handleResyncFailure(ctx context.Context, repoDid syntax.DID,
 }
 
 func backoff(retries int, max int) time.Duration {
+	// Cap retries to prevent bit shift overflow
+	retries = min(retries, 30)
 	dur := min(1<<retries, max)
 	jitter := time.Millisecond * time.Duration(rand.Intn(1000))
 	return time.Second*time.Duration(dur) + jitter