diff --git a/src/input/readers/Raw.cc b/src/input/readers/Raw.cc
index 0f4c4ca7d1..fecf9a7ddc 100644
--- a/src/input/readers/Raw.cc
+++ b/src/input/readers/Raw.cc
@@ -19,7 +19,12 @@ using threading::Value;
 using threading::Field;
 
 const int Raw::block_size = 4096; // how big do we expect our chunks of data to be.
+pthread_mutex_t Raw::fork_mutex;
 
+bool Raw::ClassInit()
+	{
+	return pthread_mutex_init(&fork_mutex, 0) == 0;
+	}
 
 Raw::Raw(ReaderFrontend *frontend) : ReaderBackend(frontend)
 	{
@@ -77,8 +82,30 @@ void Raw::DoClose()
 		}
 	}
 
+void Raw::ClosePipeEnd(int i)
+	{
+	if ( pipes[i] == -1 )
+		return;
+	safe_close(pipes[i]);
+	pipes[i] = -1;
+	}
+
 bool Raw::Execute()
 	{
+	// TODO: AFAICT, pipe/fork/exec should be thread-safe, but actually having
+	// multiple threads set up pipes and fork concurrently sometimes results
+	// in problems w/ a stdin pipe not ever getting an EOF even though both
+	// ends of it are closed.  But if the same threads allocate pipes and fork
+	// individually or sequentially, that issue never crops up... ("never"
+	// meaning I haven't seen in it in hundreds of tests using 50+ threads
+	// where before I'd see the issue w/ just 2 threads ~33% of the time).
+	int lock_rval = pthread_mutex_lock(&fork_mutex);
+	if ( lock_rval != 0 )
+		{
+		Error(Fmt("cannot lock fork mutex: %d", lock_rval));
+		return false;
+		}
+
 	if ( pipe(pipes) != 0 || pipe(pipes+2) || pipe(pipes+4) )
 		{
 		Error(Fmt("Could not open pipe: %d", errno));
@@ -95,65 +122,75 @@ bool Raw::Execute()
 	else if ( childpid == 0 )
 		{
 		// we are the child.
-		safe_close(pipes[stdout_in]);
+		close(pipes[stdout_in]);
 		if ( dup2(pipes[stdout_out], stdout_fileno) == -1 )
-			Error(Fmt("Error on dup2 stdout_out: %d", errno));
+			_exit(252);
+		close(pipes[stdout_out]);
 
-		if ( stdin_towrite )
-			{
-			safe_close(pipes[stdin_out]);
-			if ( dup2(pipes[stdin_in], stdin_fileno) == -1 )
-				Error(Fmt("Error on dup2 stdin_in: %d", errno));
-			}
+		close(pipes[stdin_out]);
+		if ( stdin_towrite && dup2(pipes[stdin_in], stdin_fileno) == -1 )
+			_exit(253);
+		close(pipes[stdin_in]);
 
-		if ( use_stderr )
-			{
-			safe_close(pipes[stderr_in]);
-			if ( dup2(pipes[stderr_out], stderr_fileno) == -1 )
-				Error(Fmt("Error on dup2 stderr_out: %d", errno));
-			}
+		close(pipes[stderr_in]);
+		if ( use_stderr && dup2(pipes[stderr_out], stderr_fileno) == -1 )
+			_exit(254);
+		close(pipes[stderr_out]);
 
 		execl("/bin/sh", "sh", "-c", fname.c_str(), (char*) NULL);
 		fprintf(stderr, "Exec failed :(......\n");
-		exit(255);
+		_exit(255);
 		}
 	else
 		{
 		// we are the parent
-		safe_close(pipes[stdout_out]);
-		pipes[stdout_out] = -1;
+		lock_rval = pthread_mutex_unlock(&fork_mutex);
+		if ( lock_rval != 0 )
+			{
+			Error(Fmt("cannot unlock fork mutex: %d", lock_rval));
+			return false;
+			}
 
+		ClosePipeEnd(stdout_out);
 		if ( Info().mode == MODE_STREAM )
 			fcntl(pipes[stdout_in], F_SETFL, O_NONBLOCK);
 
+		ClosePipeEnd(stdin_in);
 		if ( stdin_towrite )
-			{
-			safe_close(pipes[stdin_in]);
-			pipes[stdin_in] = -1;
 			fcntl(pipes[stdin_out], F_SETFL, O_NONBLOCK); // ya, just always set this to nonblocking. we do not want to block on a program receiving data.
 			// note that there is a small gotcha with it. More data is queued when more data is read from the program output. Hence, when having
 			// a program in mode_manual where the first write cannot write everything, the rest will be stuck in a queue that is never emptied.
-			}
+		else
+			ClosePipeEnd(stdin_out);
 
+		ClosePipeEnd(stderr_out);
 		if ( use_stderr )
-			{
-			safe_close(pipes[stderr_out]);
-			pipes[stderr_out] = -1;
 			fcntl(pipes[stderr_in], F_SETFL, O_NONBLOCK); // true for this too.
-			}
+		else
+			ClosePipeEnd(stderr_in);
 
 		file = fdopen(pipes[stdout_in], "r");
+
+		if ( ! file )
+			{
+			Error("Could not convert stdout_in fileno to file");
+			return false;
+			}
+
 		pipes[stdout_in] = -1; // will be closed by fclose
 
 		if ( use_stderr )
+			{
 			stderrfile = fdopen(pipes[stderr_in], "r");
-			pipes[stderr_in] = -1; // will be closed by fclose
-			if ( file == 0 || (stderrfile == 0 && use_stderr) )
+
+			if ( ! stderrfile )
 				{
-				Error("Could not convert fileno to file");
+				Error("Could not convert stderr_in fileno to file");
 				return false;
 				}
 
+			pipes[stderr_in] = -1; // will be closed by fclose
+			}
 
 		return true;
 		}
@@ -194,15 +231,9 @@ bool Raw::CloseInput()
 	if ( use_stderr )
 		fclose(stderrfile);
 
-	if ( execute ) // we do not care if any of those fails. They should all be defined.
-		{
+	if ( execute )
 		for ( int i = 0; i < 6; i ++ )
-			if ( pipes[i] != -1 )
-				{
-				safe_close(pipes[i]);
-				pipes[i] = -1;
-				}
-		}
+			ClosePipeEnd(i);
 
 	file = 0;
 	stderrfile = 0;
@@ -371,7 +402,7 @@ int64_t Raw::GetLine(FILE* arg_file)
 
 		}
 
-	if ( errno == EAGAIN || errno == EWOULDBLOCK || errno == EINTR )
+	if ( errno == 0 || errno == EAGAIN || errno == EWOULDBLOCK || errno == EINTR )
 		return -2;
 
 	else
@@ -402,10 +433,7 @@ void Raw::WriteToStdin()
 		}
 
 	if ( stdin_towrite == 0 ) // send EOF when we are done.
-		{
-		safe_close(pipes[stdin_out]);
-		pipes[stdin_out] = -1;
-		}
+		ClosePipeEnd(stdin_out);
 
 	if ( Info().mode == MODE_MANUAL && stdin_towrite != 0 )
 		{
diff --git a/src/input/readers/Raw.h b/src/input/readers/Raw.h
index 6dbae21002..8c05b54576 100644
--- a/src/input/readers/Raw.h
+++ b/src/input/readers/Raw.h
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #define INPUT_READERS_RAW_H
 
 #include <vector>
+#include <pthread.h>
 
 #include "../ReaderBackend.h"
 
@@ -20,6 +21,8 @@ public:
 
 	static ReaderBackend* Instantiate(ReaderFrontend* frontend) { return new Raw(frontend); }
 
+	static bool ClassInit();
+
 protected:
 	virtual bool DoInit(const ReaderInfo& info, int arg_num_fields, const threading::Field* const* fields);
 	virtual void DoClose();
@@ -27,6 +30,9 @@ protected:
 	virtual bool DoHeartbeat(double network_time, double current_time);
 
 private:
+
+	void ClosePipeEnd(int i);
+
 	bool OpenInput();
 	bool CloseInput();
 	int64_t GetLine(FILE* file);
@@ -45,6 +51,7 @@ private:
 	unsigned int sep_length; // length of the separator
 
 	static const int block_size;
+	static pthread_mutex_t fork_mutex;
 	int bufpos;
 	char* buf;
 	char* outbuf;
diff --git a/src/main.cc b/src/main.cc
index 6a58832964..fef3d94063 100644
--- a/src/main.cc
+++ b/src/main.cc
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ extern "C" void OPENSSL_add_all_algorithms_conf(void);
 #include "input/Manager.h"
 #include "logging/Manager.h"
 #include "logging/writers/Ascii.h"
+#include "input/readers/Raw.h"
 #include "analyzer/Manager.h"
 #include "analyzer/Tag.h"
 #include "plugin/Manager.h"
@@ -842,6 +843,8 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv)
 
 	init_event_handlers();
 
+	input::reader::Raw::ClassInit();
+
 	// The leak-checker tends to produce some false
 	// positives (memory which had already been
 	// allocated before we start the checking is
diff --git a/testing/btest/Baseline/scripts.base.frameworks.input.raw.executestdin/out b/testing/btest/Baseline/scripts.base.frameworks.input.raw.executestdin/out
index c49aee85b3..d36930d752 100644
--- a/testing/btest/Baseline/scripts.base.frameworks.input.raw.executestdin/out
+++ b/testing/btest/Baseline/scripts.base.frameworks.input.raw.executestdin/out
@@ -1,36 +1,20 @@
-[source=cat |, reader=Input::READER_RAW, mode=Input::STREAM, name=input2, fields=<no value description>, want_record=F, ev=line
-{ 
-print outfile, A::description;
-print outfile, A::tpe;
-print outfile, A::s;
-try = try + 1;
-if (2 == try) 
-{ 
-Input::remove(input2);
-close(outfile);
-terminate();
-}
-
-}, config={
-[stdin] = hello^Jthere^A^B^C^D^E^A^B^Cyay
-}]
-Input::EVENT_NEW
+Input::EVENT_NEW, cat |, input0
 hello
-[source=cat |, reader=Input::READER_RAW, mode=Input::STREAM, name=input2, fields=<no value description>, want_record=F, ev=line
-{ 
-print outfile, A::description;
-print outfile, A::tpe;
-print outfile, A::s;
-try = try + 1;
-if (2 == try) 
-{ 
-Input::remove(input2);
-close(outfile);
-terminate();
-}
-
-}, config={
-[stdin] = hello^Jthere^A^B^C^D^E^A^B^Cyay
-}]
-Input::EVENT_NEW
-there^A^B^C^D^E^A^B^Cyay
+Input::EVENT_NEW, cat |, input0
+there^A^B^C^D^E^A^B^Cyay0
+Input::EVENT_NEW, cat |, input1
+hello
+Input::EVENT_NEW, cat |, input1
+there^A^B^C^D^E^A^B^Cyay01
+Input::EVENT_NEW, cat |, input2
+hello
+Input::EVENT_NEW, cat |, input2
+there^A^B^C^D^E^A^B^Cyay012
+Input::EVENT_NEW, cat |, input3
+hello
+Input::EVENT_NEW, cat |, input3
+there^A^B^C^D^E^A^B^Cyay0123
+Input::EVENT_NEW, cat |, input4
+hello
+Input::EVENT_NEW, cat |, input4
+there^A^B^C^D^E^A^B^Cyay01234
diff --git a/testing/btest/scripts/base/frameworks/input/raw/executestdin.bro b/testing/btest/scripts/base/frameworks/input/raw/executestdin.bro
index f6513dc6aa..f80f2cc613 100644
--- a/testing/btest/scripts/base/frameworks/input/raw/executestdin.bro
+++ b/testing/btest/scripts/base/frameworks/input/raw/executestdin.bro
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # @TEST-EXEC: btest-bg-run bro bro -b %INPUT
-# @TEST-EXEC: btest-bg-wait -k 5
+# @TEST-EXEC: btest-bg-wait 15
 # @TEST-EXEC: btest-diff test.txt
 # @TEST-EXEC: btest-diff out
 
@@ -7,7 +7,13 @@ redef exit_only_after_terminate = T;
 @load base/frameworks/communication  # let network-time run. otherwise there are no heartbeats...
 
 global outfile: file;
-global try: count;
+global processes_finished: count = 0;
+global n: count = 0;
+global total_processes: count = 0;
+
+global config_strings: table[string] of string = {
+	["stdin"] = "hello\nthere\1\2\3\4\5\1\2\3yay"
+};
 
 module A;
 
@@ -17,27 +23,46 @@ type Val: record {
 
 event line(description: Input::EventDescription, tpe: Input::Event, s: string)
 	{
-	print outfile, description;
-	print outfile, tpe;
+	print outfile, tpe, description$source, description$name;
 	print outfile, s;
-	try = try + 1;
-	if ( try == 2 )
+	}
+
+event InputRaw::process_finished(name: string, source:string, exit_code:count, signal_exit:bool)
+	{
+	print "process_finished", name, source;
+	Input::remove(name);
+	++processes_finished;
+	if ( processes_finished == total_processes )
 		{
-		Input::remove("input2");
 		close(outfile);
 		terminate();
 		}
 	}
 
+function more_input(name_prefix: string)
+	{
+	local name = fmt("%s%d", name_prefix, n);
+	config_strings["stdin"] += fmt("%d", n);
+	++n;
+	++total_processes;
+	Input::add_event([$source="cat |",
+	                  $reader=Input::READER_RAW, $mode=Input::STREAM,
+	                  $name=name, $fields=Val, $ev=line, $want_record=F,
+	                  $config=config_strings]);
+	}
+
 event bro_init()
 	{
-	local config_strings: table[string] of string = {
-		["stdin"] = "hello\nthere\1\2\3\4\5\1\2\3yay"
-		#["stdin"] = "yay"
-	};
-
-	try = 0;
 	outfile = open("../out");
-	Input::add_event([$source="cat > ../test.txt |", $reader=Input::READER_RAW, $mode=Input::STREAM, $name="input", $fields=Val, $ev=line, $want_record=F, $config=config_strings]);
-	Input::add_event([$source="cat |", $reader=Input::READER_RAW, $mode=Input::STREAM, $name="input2", $fields=Val, $ev=line, $want_record=F, $config=config_strings]);
+	++total_processes;
+
+	Input::add_event([$source="cat > ../test.txt |",
+	                  $reader=Input::READER_RAW, $mode=Input::STREAM,
+	                  $name="input", $fields=Val, $ev=line, $want_record=F,
+	                  $config=config_strings]);
+	more_input("input");
+	more_input("input");
+	more_input("input");
+	more_input("input");
+	more_input("input");
 	}