diff --git a/docs/src/integrate/nodejs-api.md b/docs/src/integrate/nodejs-api.md
index 5d081df3d3b..cc01388f852 100644
--- a/docs/src/integrate/nodejs-api.md
+++ b/docs/src/integrate/nodejs-api.md
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ The `ESLint` constructor takes an `options` object. If you omit the `options` ob
 * `options.globInputPaths` (`boolean`)<br>
   Default is `true`. If `false` is present, the [`eslint.lintFiles()`][eslint-lintfiles] method doesn't interpret glob patterns.
 * `options.ignore` (`boolean`)<br>
-  Default is `true`. If `false` is present, the [`eslint.lintFiles()`][eslint-lintfiles] method doesn't respect `.eslintignore` files or `ignorePatterns` in your configuration.
+  Default is `true`. If `false` is present, the [`eslint.lintFiles()`][eslint-lintfiles] method doesn't respect `ignorePatterns` in your configuration.
 * `options.ignorePatterns` (`string[] | null`)<br>
   Default is `null`. Ignore file patterns to use in addition to config ignores. These patterns are relative to `cwd`.
 * `options.passOnNoPatterns` (`boolean`)<br>
diff --git a/lib/eslint/eslint.js b/lib/eslint/eslint.js
index 5bb2e3fec66..af156526689 100644
--- a/lib/eslint/eslint.js
+++ b/lib/eslint/eslint.js
@@ -879,6 +879,7 @@ class ESLint {
             configs,
             errorOnUnmatchedPattern
         });
+        const controller = new AbortController();
 
         debug(`${filePaths.length} files found in: ${Date.now() - startTime}ms`);
 
@@ -947,9 +948,12 @@ class ESLint {
                     fixer = message => shouldMessageBeFixed(message, config, fixTypesSet) && originalFix(message);
                 }
 
-                return fs.readFile(filePath, "utf8")
+                return fs.readFile(filePath, { encoding: "utf8", signal: controller.signal })
                     .then(text => {
 
+                        // fail immediately if an error occurred in another file
+                        controller.signal.throwIfAborted();
+
                         // do the linting
                         const result = verifyText({
                             text,
@@ -973,6 +977,9 @@ class ESLint {
                         }
 
                         return result;
+                    }).catch(error => {
+                        controller.abort(error);
+                        throw error;
                     });
 
             })
diff --git a/tests/lib/eslint/eslint.js b/tests/lib/eslint/eslint.js
index 9360d39449d..a00efc2afad 100644
--- a/tests/lib/eslint/eslint.js
+++ b/tests/lib/eslint/eslint.js
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ const fs = require("fs");
 const fsp = fs.promises;
 const os = require("os");
 const path = require("path");
+const timers = require("node:timers/promises");
 const escapeStringRegExp = require("escape-string-regexp");
 const fCache = require("file-entry-cache");
 const sinon = require("sinon");
@@ -4445,6 +4446,40 @@ describe("ESLint", () => {
             });
         });
 
+        it("should stop linting files if a rule crashes", async () => {
+
+            const cwd = getFixturePath("files");
+            let createCallCount = 0;
+
+            eslint = new ESLint({
+                cwd,
+                plugins: {
+                    boom: {
+                        rules: {
+                            boom: {
+                                create() {
+                                    createCallCount++;
+                                    throw Error("Boom!");
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                },
+                baseConfig: {
+                    rules: {
+                        "boom/boom": "error"
+                    }
+                }
+            });
+
+            await assert.rejects(eslint.lintFiles("*.js"));
+
+            // Wait until all files have been closed.
+            while (process.getActiveResourcesInfo().includes("CloseReq")) {
+                await timers.setImmediate();
+            }
+            assert.strictEqual(createCallCount, 1);
+        });
 
     });