diff --git a/ansible.cfg b/ansible.cfg
index a044294..69a2657 100644
--- a/ansible.cfg
+++ b/ansible.cfg
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 # ==============================================
 [defaults]
 forks = 50
+# work around privilege escalation timeouts in ansible
+timeout = 30
 host_key_checking = False
 hostfile = inventory.sh
 remote_user = cloud-user