diff --git a/docs/src/_changelog.md b/docs/src/_changelog.md
index 9eec614..1e0e1fd 100644
--- a/docs/src/_changelog.md
+++ b/docs/src/_changelog.md
@@ -7,6 +7,12 @@ CurrentModule = DistributedNext
 This documents notable changes in DistributedNext.jl. The format is based on
 [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com).
 
+## Unreleased
+
+### Fixed
+- Backported various fixes from Distributed ([#25]).
+- Fixed a lingering task that could cause hangs when exiting Distributed ([#51]).
+
 ## [v1.1.0] - 2025-08-02
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/src/DistributedNext.jl b/src/DistributedNext.jl
index 113679b..cbd16b5 100644
--- a/src/DistributedNext.jl
+++ b/src/DistributedNext.jl
@@ -132,7 +132,10 @@ include("pmap.jl")
 include("managers.jl")    # LocalManager and SSHManager
 include("precompile.jl")
 
+_stdlib_watcher_timer::Union{Timer, Nothing} = nothing
+
 function __init__()
+    global _stdlib_watcher_timer
     init_parallel()
 
     if ccall(:jl_generating_output, Cint, ()) == 0
@@ -141,20 +144,12 @@ function __init__()
         # cluster cookie has been set, which is most likely to have been done
         # through Distributed.init_multi() being called by Distributed.addprocs() or
         # something.
-        watcher_task = Threads.@spawn while true
+        _stdlib_watcher_timer = Timer(0; interval=1) do timer
             if _check_distributed_active()
-                return
-            end
-
-            try
-                sleep(1)
-            catch
-                # sleep() may throw when the internal object it waits on is closed
-                # as the process exits.
-                return
+                close(timer)
             end
         end
-        errormonitor(watcher_task)
+        atexit(() -> close(_stdlib_watcher_timer))
     end
 end
 
diff --git a/test/runtests.jl b/test/runtests.jl
index bbc8577..ab596e9 100644
--- a/test/runtests.jl
+++ b/test/runtests.jl
@@ -10,8 +10,9 @@ include(joinpath(Sys.BINDIR, "..", "share", "julia", "test", "testenv.jl"))
 
 cmd = `$test_exename $test_exeflags`
 
-# LibSSH.jl currently only works on unixes
-if Sys.isunix()
+# LibSSH.jl currently only works on unixes, and the latest release currently
+# doesn't pass CI on MacOS.
+if Sys.islinux()
     # Run the SSH tests with a single thread because LibSSH.jl is not thread-safe
     sshtestfile = joinpath(@__DIR__, "sshmanager.jl")
     if Base.VERSION >= v"1.12-"