diff --git a/changelog/68269.fixed.md b/changelog/68269.fixed.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..230abebf002
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/68269.fixed.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fixed the salt-minion (and salt-api, salt-cloud, salt-master, salt-syndic) Debian postinst scripts hanging or erroring with "Bad file descriptor" when run from a non-interactive Debian preseed late_command chroot, by tearing down the debconf protocol with ``db_stop`` and explicitly closing file descriptor 3 before the auto-generated ``#DEBHELPER#`` section runs.
diff --git a/pkg/debian/salt-api.postinst b/pkg/debian/salt-api.postinst
index 8bb03451c44..668d36d953e 100644
--- a/pkg/debian/salt-api.postinst
+++ b/pkg/debian/salt-api.postinst
@@ -43,6 +43,17 @@ case "$1" in
   ;;
 esac
 
+# Terminate the debconf protocol and close fd 3 before the
+# debhelper-generated section runs. Without this, fd 3 (opened by
+# confmodule above) leaks into commands such as deb-systemd-helper and
+# produces "Bad file descriptor" errors in non-interactive preseed
+# late_command chroot installs where the parent debconf frontend is
+# not reachable. See https://github.com/saltstack/salt/issues/68269.
+if [ "$1" = "configure" ] && command -v db_stop >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    db_stop
+    exec 3>&- || true
+fi
+
 # dh_installdeb will replace this with shell code automatically
 # generated by other debhelper scripts.
 
diff --git a/pkg/debian/salt-cloud.postinst b/pkg/debian/salt-cloud.postinst
index b5b7257c9fc..08eb932503e 100644
--- a/pkg/debian/salt-cloud.postinst
+++ b/pkg/debian/salt-cloud.postinst
@@ -41,6 +41,17 @@ case "$1" in
   ;;
 esac
 
+# Terminate the debconf protocol and close fd 3 before the
+# debhelper-generated section runs. Without this, fd 3 (opened by
+# confmodule above) leaks into commands such as deb-systemd-helper and
+# produces "Bad file descriptor" errors in non-interactive preseed
+# late_command chroot installs where the parent debconf frontend is
+# not reachable. See https://github.com/saltstack/salt/issues/68269.
+if [ "$1" = "configure" ] && command -v db_stop >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    db_stop
+    exec 3>&- || true
+fi
+
 # dh_installdeb will replace this with shell code automatically
 # generated by other debhelper scripts.
 
diff --git a/pkg/debian/salt-master.postinst b/pkg/debian/salt-master.postinst
index 86a76a6ade9..1a64bbcde8e 100644
--- a/pkg/debian/salt-master.postinst
+++ b/pkg/debian/salt-master.postinst
@@ -51,6 +51,17 @@ case "$1" in
   ;;
 esac
 
+# Terminate the debconf protocol and close fd 3 before the
+# debhelper-generated section runs. Without this, fd 3 (opened by
+# confmodule above) leaks into commands such as deb-systemd-helper and
+# produces "Bad file descriptor" errors in non-interactive preseed
+# late_command chroot installs where the parent debconf frontend is
+# not reachable. See https://github.com/saltstack/salt/issues/68269.
+if [ "$1" = "configure" ] && command -v db_stop >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    db_stop
+    exec 3>&- || true
+fi
+
 # dh_installdeb will replace this with shell code automatically
 # generated by other debhelper scripts.
 
diff --git a/pkg/debian/salt-minion.postinst b/pkg/debian/salt-minion.postinst
index 7378a97cc6c..b7bd71a977a 100644
--- a/pkg/debian/salt-minion.postinst
+++ b/pkg/debian/salt-minion.postinst
@@ -65,6 +65,17 @@ case "$1" in
   ;;
 esac
 
+# Terminate the debconf protocol and close fd 3 before the
+# debhelper-generated section runs. Without this, fd 3 (opened by
+# confmodule above) leaks into commands such as deb-systemd-helper and
+# produces "Bad file descriptor" errors in non-interactive preseed
+# late_command chroot installs where the parent debconf frontend is
+# not reachable. See https://github.com/saltstack/salt/issues/68269.
+if [ "$1" = "configure" ] && command -v db_stop >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    db_stop
+    exec 3>&- || true
+fi
+
 # dh_installdeb will replace this with shell code automatically
 # generated by other debhelper scripts.
 
diff --git a/pkg/debian/salt-syndic.postinst b/pkg/debian/salt-syndic.postinst
index ed873caa634..9a94793124c 100644
--- a/pkg/debian/salt-syndic.postinst
+++ b/pkg/debian/salt-syndic.postinst
@@ -45,6 +45,17 @@ case "$1" in
   ;;
 esac
 
+# Terminate the debconf protocol and close fd 3 before the
+# debhelper-generated section runs. Without this, fd 3 (opened by
+# confmodule above) leaks into commands such as deb-systemd-helper and
+# produces "Bad file descriptor" errors in non-interactive preseed
+# late_command chroot installs where the parent debconf frontend is
+# not reachable. See https://github.com/saltstack/salt/issues/68269.
+if [ "$1" = "configure" ] && command -v db_stop >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    db_stop
+    exec 3>&- || true
+fi
+
 # dh_installdeb will replace this with shell code automatically
 # generated by other debhelper scripts.
 
diff --git a/tests/pytests/unit/pkg/__init__.py b/tests/pytests/unit/pkg/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e69de29bb2d
diff --git a/tests/pytests/unit/pkg/test_debian_postinst.py b/tests/pytests/unit/pkg/test_debian_postinst.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5e5d11e744a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/pytests/unit/pkg/test_debian_postinst.py
@@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
+"""
+Regression tests for the Debian postinst scripts.
+
+These verify that the postinst scripts source debconf via ``confmodule``
+but tear it down with ``db_stop`` and explicitly close file descriptor 3
+before the auto-generated ``#DEBHELPER#`` section runs.
+
+Without this teardown, the debconf passthrough fd 3 leaks into the
+debhelper-added systemd commands. In non-interactive Debian preseed
+``late_command`` chroot installs (where the parent debconf frontend is
+not reachable) this produces "Bad file descriptor" errors and can hang
+the install. See https://github.com/saltstack/salt/issues/68269.
+"""
+
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[4]
+PKG_DEBIAN = REPO_ROOT / "pkg" / "debian"
+
+# All postinst scripts that source ``confmodule``. They must all be made
+# safe; the user-reported failure was salt-minion but salt-master,
+# salt-api, salt-cloud, salt-syndic share the same defective structure.
+POSTINST_SCRIPTS = [
+    "salt-api.postinst",
+    "salt-cloud.postinst",
+    "salt-master.postinst",
+    "salt-minion.postinst",
+    "salt-syndic.postinst",
+]
+
+
+pytestmark = [
+    pytest.mark.skipif(
+        sys.platform == "win32",
+        reason="Debian postinst scripts only run on Linux/POSIX shells",
+    ),
+    pytest.mark.skipif(
+        shutil.which("sh") is None,
+        reason="POSIX /bin/sh shell is required to exercise postinst",
+    ),
+]
+
+
+def _build_confmodule_stub(stub_path):
+    """
+    Write a stub that mimics the real /usr/share/debconf/confmodule.
+
+    Sets up fd 3 (the debconf passthrough) so it points somewhere
+    writable (real confmodule does ``exec 3>&1``), exports
+    ``DEBIAN_HAS_FRONTEND`` so we don't try to re-exec a frontend, and
+    defines minimal stubs for ``db_get`` and ``db_stop`` matching the
+    real confmodule semantics.
+
+    Crucially, ``db_stop`` here mirrors the real implementation:
+    ``echo STOP >&3``. It does NOT close fd 3 itself; the *postinst* is
+    responsible for ``exec 3>&-`` after ``db_stop`` so that any leak of
+    fd 3 into subsequently-executed commands cannot occur.
+    """
+    stub_path.write_text(
+        # Mimic the real confmodule: open fd 3 onto original stdout,
+        # then redirect stdout to stderr (as confmodule itself does).
+        # If the script later writes to fd 3 after we close it, this
+        # would error with "Bad file descriptor".
+        "exec 3>&1\n"
+        "exec 1>&2\n"
+        "DEBCONF_REDIR=1\n"
+        "export DEBCONF_REDIR\n"
+        "DEBIAN_HAS_FRONTEND=1\n"
+        "export DEBIAN_HAS_FRONTEND\n"
+        # db_get: return the template default ('root' for salt-*/user
+        # questions). The real db_get sets $RET and returns 0.
+        "db_get() { RET=root; return 0; }\n"
+        # db_stop: real one sends STOP to fd 3. We do the same so we
+        # can detect whether the postinst called it.
+        'db_stop() { echo STOP >&3 2>/dev/null || true; touch "$_DB_STOP_MARKER"; }\n'
+    )
+
+
+def _build_debhelper_stub(marker_path):
+    """
+    Stand in for the auto-generated ``#DEBHELPER#`` block that dh adds
+    to the installed postinst (deb-systemd-helper unmask/enable/etc.).
+
+    The real failure mode is that these inherited fd 3 (still pointing
+    at a stale debconf passthrough). We mimic that by asserting fd 3
+    is *not* open here. If fd 3 is still open, we fail loudly — exactly
+    what surfaces as 'Bad file descriptor' in the wild.
+
+    Note: we use ``if echo test 2>/dev/null >&3`` (a simple command,
+    not a brace-group) so that ``set -e`` plus the redirection failure
+    is captured into the ``if`` test rather than terminating the script.
+    """
+    # Briefly disable set -e because dash treats a failed redirection
+    # in the *test* of an ``if`` differently depending on whether the
+    # command is simple or a group, and we want the leak check to be
+    # purely a probe — not affect the script's exit semantics.
+    return (
+        "# Stand-in for the debhelper-generated systemd section.\n"
+        "# In the buggy case, fd 3 leaks into here from confmodule.\n"
+        "set +e\n"
+        "if echo probe 2>/dev/null >&3; then\n"
+        f'    echo "FAIL: fd 3 still open in #DEBHELPER# section" > "{marker_path}"\n'
+        "    exit 42\n"
+        "fi\n"
+        "set -e\n"
+    )
+
+
+def _materialize_postinst(script_name, tmp_path):
+    """
+    Copy a postinst script into ``tmp_path`` with two substitutions:
+
+    1. ``. /usr/share/debconf/confmodule`` → source our stub instead.
+    2. ``#DEBHELPER#`` token → the fd-3-leak detector.
+
+    Returns the path to the rewritten script and the marker paths used
+    by the stubs.
+    """
+    src = (PKG_DEBIAN / script_name).read_text()
+    confmodule_stub = tmp_path / "confmodule"
+    debhelper_marker = tmp_path / "debhelper_failed"
+    db_stop_marker = tmp_path / "db_stop_called"
+    _build_confmodule_stub(confmodule_stub)
+
+    rewritten = src.replace(
+        ". /usr/share/debconf/confmodule",
+        f". {confmodule_stub}",
+    ).replace(
+        "#DEBHELPER#",
+        _build_debhelper_stub(debhelper_marker),
+    )
+    script = tmp_path / script_name
+    script.write_text(rewritten)
+    script.chmod(0o755)
+    return script, debhelper_marker, db_stop_marker
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("script_name", POSTINST_SCRIPTS)
+def test_postinst_closes_debconf_fd3_before_debhelper(script_name, tmp_path):
+    """
+    The configure branch of each postinst must call ``db_stop`` and
+    close fd 3 before the auto-generated ``#DEBHELPER#`` section runs.
+
+    Without this, fd 3 (the debconf protocol passthrough opened by
+    ``confmodule``) leaks into ``deb-systemd-helper`` invocations and
+    produces ``Bad file descriptor`` errors in non-interactive
+    preseed installs (issue #68269).
+    """
+    script, debhelper_failed, db_stop_marker = _materialize_postinst(
+        script_name, tmp_path
+    )
+    env = {
+        "PATH": "/usr/bin:/bin",
+        # Stub points db_stop's marker writer here.
+        "_DB_STOP_MARKER": str(db_stop_marker),
+        # Force a non-interactive, no-prompts environment.
+        "DEBIAN_FRONTEND": "noninteractive",
+    }
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["/bin/sh", str(script), "configure"],
+        env=env,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        timeout=30,
+        check=False,
+    )
+    assert not debhelper_failed.exists(), (
+        f"#DEBHELPER# section observed fd 3 still open in {script_name}: "
+        f"stdout={result.stdout!r} stderr={result.stderr!r}"
+    )
+    assert result.returncode == 0, (
+        f"{script_name} exited {result.returncode}: "
+        f"stdout={result.stdout!r} stderr={result.stderr!r}"
+    )
+    assert db_stop_marker.exists(), (
+        f"{script_name} configure branch must call db_stop to terminate "
+        f"the debconf protocol; marker missing"
+    )