diff --git a/src/sandbox/firecracker/sandbox.rs b/src/sandbox/firecracker/sandbox.rs
index 5adcaef0..f28718fe 100644
--- a/src/sandbox/firecracker/sandbox.rs
+++ b/src/sandbox/firecracker/sandbox.rs
@@ -454,8 +454,23 @@ impl FirecrackerSandbox {
     #[tracing::instrument(skip(self))]
     pub async fn start(&mut self) -> Result<()> {
         debug!("starting firecracker sandbox");
-        self.start_nowait().await?;
-        self.wait_for_ready().await
+        let start_result = async {
+            self.start_nowait().await?;
+            self.wait_for_ready().await
+        }
+        .await;
+
+        if let Err(err) = start_result {
+            if let Err(stop_err) = self.stop().await {
+                warn!(
+                    error = %stop_err,
+                    "failed to stop sandbox after start failure"
+                );
+            }
+            return Err(err);
+        }
+
+        Ok(())
     }
 
     /// Start the sandbox WITHOUT waiting for envd's readiness.
@@ -879,6 +894,19 @@ impl FirecrackerSandbox {
         )
     }
 
+    fn configure_network_slot(
+        &mut self,
+        slot: Slot,
+        policy: Option<&SandboxNetworkPolicy>,
+    ) -> Result<()> {
+        self.network_slot = Some(slot);
+        self.network_slot
+            .as_ref()
+            .expect("network slot was just assigned")
+            .set_egress_policy(policy)
+            .context("Failed to configure sandbox egress policy")
+    }
+
     fn mmds_metadata(&self, common: &FirecrackerCommonConfig) -> MmdsMetadata {
         common
             .mmds_metadata
@@ -1201,9 +1229,7 @@ impl FirecrackerSandbox {
         // valid DNS server IP in the 8th field. See that method for format details.
         let ip_config = slot.build_ip_boot_arg();
         let netns = slot.namespace_path();
-        slot.set_egress_policy(config.common.network_policy.as_ref())
-            .context("Failed to configure sandbox egress policy")?;
-        self.network_slot = Some(slot);
+        self.configure_network_slot(slot, config.common.network_policy.as_ref())?;
         boot_args = Some(match boot_args.take() {
             Some(existing) => format!("{existing} {ip_config}"),
             None => ip_config,
@@ -1909,6 +1935,27 @@ mod tests {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn start_failure_rolls_back_initialized_runtime_state() -> Result<()> {
+        let mut sandbox = FirecrackerSandbox::new(fresh_config())?;
+        sandbox.envd_instance = Some(EnvdInstance::new(format!(
+            "http://127.0.0.1:{}",
+            ToolsConfig::default().control_plane_port
+        )));
+
+        let err = sandbox
+            .start()
+            .await
+            .expect_err("missing launch artifacts should fail validation");
+
+        assert!(err.to_string().contains("firecracker binary not found"));
+        assert!(
+            sandbox.envd_instance.is_none(),
+            "failed start must roll back initialized runtime state"
+        );
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn host_interaction_ip_reflects_network_slot_state() -> Result<()> {
         let mut sandbox = FirecrackerSandbox::new(fresh_config())?;
@@ -1928,6 +1975,24 @@ mod tests {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn egress_policy_failure_keeps_network_slot_owned_for_cleanup() -> Result<()> {
+        let mut sandbox = FirecrackerSandbox::new(fresh_config())?;
+        let manager = NetworkManager::new(false, 0, 0);
+        let slot = manager.allocate_test_slot()?;
+
+        sandbox
+            .configure_network_slot(slot, None)
+            .expect_err("test slot has no network namespace");
+
+        let slot = sandbox
+            .network_slot
+            .take()
+            .expect("failed policy setup must leave the slot owned by the sandbox");
+        manager.cleanup_allocated_slot(slot, true)?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn work_rootfs_path_uses_overlaybd_symlink_path() -> Result<()> {
         let sandbox = FirecrackerSandbox::new(overlaybd_config())?;