diff --git a/app/models/ci/runner.rb b/app/models/ci/runner.rb
index 62cc636db22..5a4c56ec0dc 100644
--- a/app/models/ci/runner.rb
+++ b/app/models/ci/runner.rb
@@ -54,6 +54,10 @@ module Ci
 
     chronic_duration_attr :maximum_timeout_human_readable, :maximum_timeout
 
+    validates :maximum_timeout, allow_nil: true,
+                                numericality: { greater_than_or_equal_to: 600,
+                                                message: 'needs to be at least 10 minutes' }
+
     # Searches for runners matching the given query.
     #
     # This method uses ILIKE on PostgreSQL and LIKE on MySQL.
diff --git a/spec/models/ci/build_spec.rb b/spec/models/ci/build_spec.rb
index b209d53ae08..14dec2d4fc9 100644
--- a/spec/models/ci/build_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/ci/build_spec.rb
@@ -1299,7 +1299,7 @@ describe Ci::Build do
       end
 
       context 'when runner sets timeout to smaller value' do
-        let(:runner2) { create(:ci_runner, maximum_timeout: 500) }
+        let(:runner2) { create(:ci_runner, maximum_timeout: 600) }
         let(:build) { create(:ci_build, :pending, pipeline: pipeline2, runner: runner2) }
 
         it 'returns project timeout configuration' do