diff --git a/CHANGES.txt b/CHANGES.txt
index 8aef84dc9a..28e831b1a2 100644
--- a/CHANGES.txt
+++ b/CHANGES.txt
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
  * Fix infinite loop on exception while streaming (CASSANDRA-7330)
  * Reference sstables before populating key cache (CASSANDRA-7234)
 Merged from 1.2:
+ * Errors in FlushRunnable may leave threads hung (CASSANDRA-7275)
  * reduce failure detector initial value to 2s (CASSANDRA-7307)
  * Fix problem truncating on a node that was previously in a dead state (CASSANDRA-7318)
  * Don't insert tombstones that hide indexed values into 2i (CASSANDRA-7268)
diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/db/Memtable.java b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/db/Memtable.java
index bcef0ecb7f..c72254c352 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/db/Memtable.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/db/Memtable.java
@@ -345,11 +345,17 @@ public class Memtable
 
         protected void runWith(File sstableDirectory) throws Exception
         {
-            assert sstableDirectory != null : "Flush task is not bound to any disk";
+            try
+            {
+                assert sstableDirectory != null : "Flush task is not bound to any disk";
 
-            SSTableReader sstable = writeSortedContents(context, sstableDirectory);
-            cfs.replaceFlushed(Memtable.this, sstable);
-            latch.countDown();
+                SSTableReader sstable = writeSortedContents(context, sstableDirectory);
+                cfs.replaceFlushed(Memtable.this, sstable);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                latch.countDown();
+            }
         }
 
         protected Directories getDirectories()