diff --git a/baselines/verl/utils/reward_score/mbpp.py b/baselines/verl/utils/reward_score/mbpp.py
index fc27205..8e6660c 100644
--- a/baselines/verl/utils/reward_score/mbpp.py
+++ b/baselines/verl/utils/reward_score/mbpp.py
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 """MBPP reward score computation for Python code generation."""
+import json
+import os
 import re
 import signal
 import threading
-from typing import Any, Dict, List, Union
+import time
+from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, List, Optional, Union
 from contextlib import contextmanager
 
 
@@ -43,6 +46,59 @@ def handler(signum, frame):
         yield
 
 
+def _run_with_hard_timeout(fn: Callable[[], Dict[str, Any]], seconds: float) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    """Run ``fn`` in a forked child and hard-kill it at the deadline.
+
+    The SIGALRM guard above can only fire between bytecodes, so generated code
+    that sits in a single long C-level call (a huge integer power, a
+    catastrophic regex, ``sum(range(10**12))``) never gets interrupted, and in
+    non-main threads the guard is skipped entirely. Running the evaluation in
+    a child process that the parent kills with SIGKILL is immune to both.
+
+    Returns the child's result dict, or None if it hit the deadline or exited
+    without reporting. Only available where ``os.fork`` exists; callers fall
+    back to the in-process path elsewhere.
+    """
+    read_fd, write_fd = os.pipe()
+    pid = os.fork()
+    if pid == 0:  # child
+        try:
+            os.close(read_fd)
+            payload = json.dumps(fn()).encode()
+            os.write(write_fd, payload)
+        except BaseException:
+            pass
+        finally:
+            os._exit(0)
+    os.close(write_fd)
+    deadline = time.monotonic() + seconds
+    finished = False
+    while time.monotonic() < deadline:
+        done_pid, _ = os.waitpid(pid, os.WNOHANG)
+        if done_pid == pid:
+            finished = True
+            break
+        time.sleep(0.02)
+    if not finished:
+        try:
+            os.kill(pid, signal.SIGKILL)
+        except OSError:
+            pass
+        os.waitpid(pid, 0)
+        os.close(read_fd)
+        return None
+    chunks = []
+    while True:
+        chunk = os.read(read_fd, 65536)
+        if not chunk:
+            break
+        chunks.append(chunk)
+    os.close(read_fd)
+    if not chunks:
+        return None
+    return json.loads(b"".join(chunks).decode())
+
+
 def extract_code(response: str) -> str:
     """Extract code from <answer>...</answer> tags or code blocks."""
     # Try <answer> tags first
@@ -96,47 +152,64 @@ def execute_code_with_tests(
             if setup_str:
                 full_code += setup_str + "\n"
     full_code += code + "\n"
-    
-    # Execute code to define functions
-    namespace = {}
-    try:
-        with timeout(timeout_sec):
-            exec(full_code, namespace)
-    except TimeoutError:
+
+    def run_in_process() -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        # Execute code to define functions
+        namespace = {}
+        try:
+            with timeout(timeout_sec):
+                exec(full_code, namespace)
+        except TimeoutError:
+            return {
+                "passed": False,
+                "passed_count": 0,
+                "total_tests": len(test_list),
+                "error": "Code execution timed out",
+            }
+        except Exception as e:
+            return {
+                "passed": False,
+                "passed_count": 0,
+                "total_tests": len(test_list),
+                "error": f"Code execution error: {str(e)[:100]}",
+            }
+
+        # Run each test
+        passed_count = 0
+        for test in test_list:
+            try:
+                with timeout(timeout_sec):
+                    exec(test, namespace)
+                passed_count += 1
+            except AssertionError:
+                continue
+            except TimeoutError:
+                continue
+            except Exception:
+                continue
+
         return {
-            "passed": False,
-            "passed_count": 0,
+            "passed": passed_count == len(test_list),
+            "passed_count": passed_count,
             "total_tests": len(test_list),
-            "error": "Code execution timed out",
+            "error": None if passed_count == len(test_list) else "Some tests failed",
         }
-    except Exception as e:
+
+    if not hasattr(os, "fork"):
+        return run_in_process()
+
+    # One alarm per exec already bounds the in-process path at
+    # timeout_sec * (1 + len(test_list)); give the child the same budget, then
+    # kill it if a C-level call kept the alarms from ever firing.
+    result = _run_with_hard_timeout(run_in_process, timeout_sec * (1 + len(test_list)))
+    if result is None:
         return {
             "passed": False,
             "passed_count": 0,
             "total_tests": len(test_list),
-            "error": f"Code execution error: {str(e)[:100]}",
+            "error": "Code execution timed out",
         }
-    
-    # Run each test
-    passed_count = 0
-    for test in test_list:
-        try:
-            with timeout(timeout_sec):
-                exec(test, namespace)
-            passed_count += 1
-        except AssertionError:
-            continue
-        except TimeoutError:
-            continue
-        except Exception:
-            continue
-    
-    return {
-        "passed": passed_count == len(test_list),
-        "passed_count": passed_count,
-        "total_tests": len(test_list),
-        "error": None if passed_count == len(test_list) else "Some tests failed",
-    }
+    return result
 
 
 def compute_score(