diff --git a/remote/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/AckedDelivery.scala b/remote/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/AckedDelivery.scala
index f84c2c79166..16fc083272a 100644
--- a/remote/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/AckedDelivery.scala
+++ b/remote/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/AckedDelivery.scala
@@ -116,23 +116,25 @@ final case class AckedSendBuffer[T <: HasSequenceNumber](
 
   /**
    * Processes an incoming acknowledgement and returns a new buffer with only unacknowledged elements remaining.
+   * Acknowledgements for sequence numbers newer than this buffer has seen are stale and return this buffer unchanged.
    * @param ack The received acknowledgement
    * @return An updated buffer containing the remaining unacknowledged messages
    */
   def acknowledge(ack: Ack): AckedSendBuffer[T] = {
-    if (ack.cumulativeAck > maxSeq)
-      throw new IllegalArgumentException(s"Highest SEQ so far was $maxSeq but cumulative ACK is ${ack.cumulativeAck}")
-    val newNacked =
-      if (ack.nacks.isEmpty) Vector.empty
+    if (ack.cumulativeAck > maxSeq) this
+    else {
+      val newNacked =
+        if (ack.nacks.isEmpty) Vector.empty
+        else
+          (nacked ++ nonAcked).filter { m =>
+            ack.nacks(m.seq)
+          }
+      if (newNacked.size < ack.nacks.size) throw new ResendUnfulfillableException
       else
-        (nacked ++ nonAcked).filter { m =>
-          ack.nacks(m.seq)
-        }
-    if (newNacked.size < ack.nacks.size) throw new ResendUnfulfillableException
-    else
-      this.copy(nonAcked = nonAcked.filter { m =>
-          m.seq > ack.cumulativeAck
-        }, nacked = newNacked)
+        this.copy(nonAcked = nonAcked.filter { m =>
+            m.seq > ack.cumulativeAck
+          }, nacked = newNacked)
+    }
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/remote/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/Endpoint.scala b/remote/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/Endpoint.scala
index 9da404cdadb..221fd47848b 100644
--- a/remote/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/Endpoint.scala
+++ b/remote/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/Endpoint.scala
@@ -366,20 +366,28 @@ private[remote] class ReliableDeliverySupervisor(
     case ack: Ack =>
       // If we are not sure about the UID just ignore the ack. Ignoring is fine.
       if (uidConfirmed) {
-        try resendBuffer = resendBuffer.acknowledge(ack)
-        catch {
-          case NonFatal(e) =>
-            throw new HopelessAssociation(
-              localAddress,
-              remoteAddress,
-              uid,
-              new IllegalStateException(
-                s"Error encountered while processing system message " +
-                s"acknowledgement buffer: $resendBuffer ack: $ack",
-                e))
-        }
+        if (ack.cumulativeAck > resendBuffer.maxSeq)
+          log.warning(
+            "Ignoring stale system message acknowledgement from remote system [{}]. Highest SEQ so far was [{}] but cumulative ACK is [{}].",
+            remoteAddress,
+            resendBuffer.maxSeq,
+            ack.cumulativeAck)
+        else {
+          try resendBuffer = resendBuffer.acknowledge(ack)
+          catch {
+            case NonFatal(e) =>
+              throw new HopelessAssociation(
+                localAddress,
+                remoteAddress,
+                uid,
+                new IllegalStateException(
+                  s"Error encountered while processing system message " +
+                  s"acknowledgement buffer: $resendBuffer ack: $ack",
+                  e))
+          }
 
-        resendNacked()
+          resendNacked()
+        }
       }
     case AttemptSysMsgRedelivery =>
       if (uidConfirmed) resendAll()
diff --git a/remote/src/test/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/AckedDeliverySpec.scala b/remote/src/test/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/AckedDeliverySpec.scala
index 60494a661b9..cb3f22b62c8 100644
--- a/remote/src/test/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/AckedDeliverySpec.scala
+++ b/remote/src/test/scala/org/apache/pekko/remote/AckedDeliverySpec.scala
@@ -151,6 +151,17 @@ class AckedDeliverySpec extends PekkoSpec {
 
     }
 
+    "ignore stale cumulative ack newer than the send buffer" in {
+      val emptyBuffer = new AckedSendBuffer[Sequenced](10)
+      emptyBuffer.acknowledge(Ack(SeqNo(2))) should ===(emptyBuffer)
+      emptyBuffer.acknowledge(Ack(SeqNo(2), nacks = Set(SeqNo(0)))) should ===(emptyBuffer)
+
+      val buffer = emptyBuffer.buffer(msg(0)).buffer(msg(1))
+      buffer.acknowledge(Ack(SeqNo(2))) should ===(buffer)
+      buffer.acknowledge(Ack(SeqNo(2), nacks = Set(SeqNo(0)))) should ===(buffer)
+      buffer.acknowledge(Ack(SeqNo(2))).acknowledge(Ack(SeqNo(0))).nonAcked should ===(Vector(msg(1)))
+    }
+
     "keep NACKed messages in buffer if selective nacks are received" in {
       val b0 = new AckedSendBuffer[Sequenced](10)
       val msg0 = msg(0)