diff --git a/doc/api/cli.md b/doc/api/cli.md
index 22e087f31725e2..97cfea239e4f1f 100644
--- a/doc/api/cli.md
+++ b/doc/api/cli.md
@@ -197,6 +197,13 @@ added: v9.0.0
 
 Specify the `file` of the custom [experimental ECMAScript Module][] loader.
 
+### `--max-http-header-size=size`
+<!-- YAML
+added: REPLACEME
+-->
+
+Specify the maximum size, in bytes, of HTTP headers. Defaults to 8KB.
+
 ### `--napi-modules`
 <!-- YAML
 added: v7.10.0
@@ -620,6 +627,7 @@ Node.js options that are allowed are:
 - `--inspect-brk`
 - `--inspect-port`
 - `--loader`
+- `--max-http-header-size`
 - `--napi-modules`
 - `--no-deprecation`
 - `--no-force-async-hooks-checks`
diff --git a/doc/node.1 b/doc/node.1
index ca16c78a51777c..66933066bcae15 100644
--- a/doc/node.1
+++ b/doc/node.1
@@ -139,6 +139,9 @@ Specify the
 as a custom loader, to load
 .Fl -experimental-modules .
 .
+.It Fl -max-http-header-size Ns = Ns Ar size
+Specify the maximum size of HTTP headers in bytes. Defaults to 8KB.
+.
 .It Fl -napi-modules
 This option is a no-op.
 It is kept for compatibility.
diff --git a/src/node_http_parser_impl.h b/src/node_http_parser_impl.h
index 4233ccbfcaae65..9274f9dae0b7f9 100644
--- a/src/node_http_parser_impl.h
+++ b/src/node_http_parser_impl.h
@@ -830,7 +830,7 @@ class Parser : public AsyncWrap, public StreamListener {
   int TrackHeader(size_t len) {
 #ifdef NODE_EXPERIMENTAL_HTTP
     header_nread_ += len;
-    if (header_nread_ >= kMaxHeaderSize) {
+    if (header_nread_ >= per_process_opts->max_http_header_size) {
       llhttp_set_error_reason(&parser_, "HPE_HEADER_OVERFLOW:Header overflow");
       return HPE_USER;
     }
@@ -892,9 +892,6 @@ class Parser : public AsyncWrap, public StreamListener {
   typedef int (Parser::*DataCall)(const char* at, size_t length);
 
   static const parser_settings_t settings;
-#ifdef NODE_EXPERIMENTAL_HTTP
-  static const uint64_t kMaxHeaderSize = 8 * 1024;
-#endif  /* NODE_EXPERIMENTAL_HTTP */
 };
 
 const parser_settings_t Parser::settings = {
@@ -916,6 +913,14 @@ const parser_settings_t Parser::settings = {
 };
 
 
+#ifndef NODE_EXPERIMENTAL_HTTP
+void InitMaxHttpHeaderSizeOnce() {
+  const uint32_t max_http_header_size = per_process_opts->max_http_header_size;
+  http_parser_set_max_header_size(max_http_header_size);
+}
+#endif  /* NODE_EXPERIMENTAL_HTTP */
+
+
 void InitializeHttpParser(Local<Object> target,
                           Local<Value> unused,
                           Local<Context> context,
@@ -965,6 +970,11 @@ void InitializeHttpParser(Local<Object> target,
   target->Set(env->context(),
               FIXED_ONE_BYTE_STRING(env->isolate(), "HTTPParser"),
               t->GetFunction(env->context()).ToLocalChecked()).FromJust();
+
+#ifndef NODE_EXPERIMENTAL_HTTP
+  static uv_once_t init_once = UV_ONCE_INIT;
+  uv_once(&init_once, InitMaxHttpHeaderSizeOnce);
+#endif  /* NODE_EXPERIMENTAL_HTTP */
 }
 
 }  // anonymous namespace
diff --git a/src/node_options.cc b/src/node_options.cc
index d4cc19eb021a38..117bff4a944b39 100644
--- a/src/node_options.cc
+++ b/src/node_options.cc
@@ -259,6 +259,10 @@ PerProcessOptionsParser::PerProcessOptionsParser() {
             kAllowedInEnvironment);
   AddAlias("--trace-events-enabled", {
     "--trace-event-categories", "v8,node,node.async_hooks" });
+  AddOption("--max-http-header-size",
+            "set the maximum size of HTTP headers (default: 8KB)",
+            &PerProcessOptions::max_http_header_size,
+            kAllowedInEnvironment);
   AddOption("--v8-pool-size",
             "set V8's thread pool size",
             &PerProcessOptions::v8_thread_pool_size,
diff --git a/src/node_options.h b/src/node_options.h
index f5489900b45fd0..ae7d7a4be5f065 100644
--- a/src/node_options.h
+++ b/src/node_options.h
@@ -151,6 +151,7 @@ class PerProcessOptions : public Options {
   std::string title;
   std::string trace_event_categories;
   std::string trace_event_file_pattern = "node_trace.${rotation}.log";
+  uint64_t max_http_header_size = 8 * 1024;
   int64_t v8_thread_pool_size = 4;
   bool zero_fill_all_buffers = false;
 
diff --git a/test/sequential/test-http-max-http-headers.js b/test/sequential/test-http-max-http-headers.js
index f1be923e225989..b91135a61a2a5a 100644
--- a/test/sequential/test-http-max-http-headers.js
+++ b/test/sequential/test-http-max-http-headers.js
@@ -4,10 +4,14 @@ const common = require('../common');
 const assert = require('assert');
 const http = require('http');
 const net = require('net');
-const MAX = 8 * 1024; // 8KB
+const MAX = +(process.argv[2] || 8 * 1024); // Command line option, or 8KB.
 
 const { getOptionValue } = require('internal/options');
 
+console.log('pid is', process.pid);
+console.log('max header size is', getOptionValue('--max-http-header-size'));
+console.log('current http parser is', getOptionValue('--http-parser'));
+
 // Verify that we cannot receive more than 8KB of headers.
 
 function once(cb) {
@@ -38,19 +42,15 @@ function fillHeaders(headers, currentSize, valid = false) {
 
   // Generate valid headers
   if (valid) {
-    // TODO(mcollina): understand why -9 is needed instead of -1
-    headers = headers.slice(0, -9);
+    // TODO(mcollina): understand why -32 is needed instead of -1
+    headers = headers.slice(0, -32);
   }
   return headers + '\r\n\r\n';
 }
 
-const timeout = common.platformTimeout(10);
-
 function writeHeaders(socket, headers) {
   const array = [];
-
-  // This is off from 1024 so that \r\n does not get split
-  const chunkSize = 1000;
+  const chunkSize = 100;
   let last = 0;
 
   for (let i = 0; i < headers.length / chunkSize; i++) {
@@ -65,19 +65,25 @@ function writeHeaders(socket, headers) {
   next();
 
   function next() {
-    if (socket.write(array.shift())) {
-      if (array.length === 0) {
-        socket.end();
-      } else {
-        setTimeout(next, timeout);
-      }
+    if (socket.destroyed) {
+      console.log('socket was destroyed early, data left to write:',
+                  array.join('').length);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const chunk = array.shift();
+
+    if (chunk) {
+      console.log('writing chunk of size', chunk.length);
+      socket.write(chunk, next);
     } else {
-      socket.once('drain', next);
+      socket.end();
     }
   }
 }
 
 function test1() {
+  console.log('test1');
   let headers =
     'HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\n' +
     'Content-Length: 0\r\n' +
@@ -92,6 +98,9 @@ function test1() {
       writeHeaders(sock, headers);
       sock.resume();
     });
+
+    // The socket might error but that's ok
+    sock.on('error', () => {});
   });
 
   server.listen(0, common.mustCall(() => {
@@ -100,17 +109,17 @@ function test1() {
 
     client.on('error', common.mustCall((err) => {
       assert.strictEqual(err.code, 'HPE_HEADER_OVERFLOW');
-      server.close();
-      setImmediate(test2);
+      server.close(test2);
     }));
   }));
 }
 
 const test2 = common.mustCall(() => {
+  console.log('test2');
   let headers =
     'GET / HTTP/1.1\r\n' +
     'Host: localhost\r\n' +
-    'Agent: node\r\n' +
+    'Agent: nod2\r\n' +
     'X-CRASH: ';
 
   // /, Host, localhost, Agent, node, X-CRASH, a...
@@ -119,7 +128,7 @@ const test2 = common.mustCall(() => {
 
   const server = http.createServer(common.mustNotCall());
 
-  server.on('clientError', common.mustCall((err) => {
+  server.once('clientError', common.mustCall((err) => {
     assert.strictEqual(err.code, 'HPE_HEADER_OVERFLOW');
   }));
 
@@ -131,34 +140,46 @@ const test2 = common.mustCall(() => {
     });
 
     finished(client, common.mustCall((err) => {
-      server.close();
-      setImmediate(test3);
+      server.close(test3);
     }));
   }));
 });
 
 const test3 = common.mustCall(() => {
+  console.log('test3');
   let headers =
     'GET / HTTP/1.1\r\n' +
     'Host: localhost\r\n' +
-    'Agent: node\r\n' +
+    'Agent: nod3\r\n' +
     'X-CRASH: ';
 
   // /, Host, localhost, Agent, node, X-CRASH, a...
   const currentSize = 1 + 4 + 9 + 5 + 4 + 7;
   headers = fillHeaders(headers, currentSize, true);
 
+  console.log('writing', headers.length);
+
   const server = http.createServer(common.mustCall((req, res) => {
-    res.end('hello world');
-    setImmediate(server.close.bind(server));
+    res.end('hello from test3 server');
+    server.close();
   }));
 
+  server.on('clientError', (err) => {
+    console.log(err.code);
+    if (err.code === 'HPE_HEADER_OVERFLOW') {
+      console.log(err.rawPacket.toString('hex'));
+    }
+  });
+  server.on('clientError', common.mustNotCall());
+
   server.listen(0, common.mustCall(() => {
     const client = net.connect(server.address().port);
     client.on('connect', () => {
       writeHeaders(client, headers);
       client.resume();
     });
+
+    client.pipe(process.stdout);
   }));
 });
 
diff --git a/test/sequential/test-set-http-max-http-headers.js b/test/sequential/test-set-http-max-http-headers.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..657f9948be149d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/sequential/test-set-http-max-http-headers.js
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const common = require('../common');
+const assert = require('assert');
+const { spawn } = require('child_process');
+const path = require('path');
+const testName = path.join(__dirname, 'test-http-max-http-headers.js');
+const parsers = ['legacy', 'llhttp'];
+
+const timeout = common.platformTimeout(100);
+
+const tests = [];
+
+function test(fn) {
+  tests.push(fn);
+}
+
+parsers.forEach((parser) => {
+  test(function(cb) {
+    console.log('running subtest expecting failure');
+
+    // Validate that the test fails if the max header size is too small.
+    const args = ['--expose-internals',
+                  `--http-parser=${parser}`,
+                  '--max-http-header-size=1024',
+                  testName];
+    const cp = spawn(process.execPath, args, { stdio: 'inherit' });
+
+    cp.on('close', common.mustCall((code, signal) => {
+      assert.strictEqual(code, 1);
+      assert.strictEqual(signal, null);
+      cb();
+    }));
+  });
+
+  test(function(cb) {
+    console.log('running subtest expecting success');
+
+    const env = Object.assign({}, process.env, {
+      NODE_DEBUG: 'http'
+    });
+
+    // Validate that the test fails if the max header size is too small.
+    // Validate that the test now passes if the same limit becomes large enough.
+    const args = ['--expose-internals',
+                  `--http-parser=${parser}`,
+                  '--max-http-header-size=1024',
+                  testName,
+                  '1024'];
+    const cp = spawn(process.execPath, args, {
+      env,
+      stdio: 'inherit'
+    });
+
+    cp.on('close', common.mustCall((code, signal) => {
+      assert.strictEqual(code, 0);
+      assert.strictEqual(signal, null);
+      cb();
+    }));
+  });
+
+  // Next, repeat the same checks using NODE_OPTIONS if it is supported.
+  if (process.config.variables.node_without_node_options) {
+    const env = Object.assign({}, process.env, {
+      NODE_OPTIONS: `--http-parser=${parser} --max-http-header-size=1024`
+    });
+
+    test(function(cb) {
+      console.log('running subtest expecting failure');
+
+      // Validate that the test fails if the max header size is too small.
+      const args = ['--expose-internals', testName];
+      const cp = spawn(process.execPath, args, { env, stdio: 'inherit' });
+
+      cp.on('close', common.mustCall((code, signal) => {
+        assert.strictEqual(code, 1);
+        assert.strictEqual(signal, null);
+        cb();
+      }));
+    });
+
+    test(function(cb) {
+      // Validate that the test now passes if the same limit
+      // becomes large enough.
+      const args = ['--expose-internals', testName, '1024'];
+      const cp = spawn(process.execPath, args, { env, stdio: 'inherit' });
+
+      cp.on('close', common.mustCall((code, signal) => {
+        assert.strictEqual(code, 0);
+        assert.strictEqual(signal, null);
+        cb();
+      }));
+    });
+  }
+});
+
+function runTest() {
+  const fn = tests.shift();
+
+  if (!fn) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  fn(() => {
+    setTimeout(runTest, timeout);
+  });
+}
+
+runTest();