diff --git a/bundles/org.eclipse.ui.workbench/eclipseui/org/eclipse/ui/statushandlers/StatusManager.java b/bundles/org.eclipse.ui.workbench/eclipseui/org/eclipse/ui/statushandlers/StatusManager.java
index ce14d1684a2..b83c036524f 100644
--- a/bundles/org.eclipse.ui.workbench/eclipseui/org/eclipse/ui/statushandlers/StatusManager.java
+++ b/bundles/org.eclipse.ui.workbench/eclipseui/org/eclipse/ui/statushandlers/StatusManager.java
@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@
 
 package org.eclipse.ui.statushandlers;
 
-import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Vector;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.WeakHashMap;
 import org.eclipse.core.runtime.CoreException;
 import org.eclipse.core.runtime.ILogListener;
 import org.eclipse.core.runtime.IStatus;
@@ -116,7 +117,9 @@ public class StatusManager {
 
 	private volatile AbstractStatusHandler statusHandler;
 
-	private final List<IStatus> loggedStatuses = new Vector<>();
+	// Weakly held so that a status which never reaches the log listener cannot accumulate.
+	private final Set<IStatus> loggedStatuses = Collections
+			.newSetFromMap(Collections.synchronizedMap(new WeakHashMap<IStatus, Boolean>()));
 
 	private final ListenerList<INotificationListener> listeners = new ListenerList<>();
 
diff --git a/tests/org.eclipse.ui.tests/Eclipse UI Tests/org/eclipse/ui/tests/statushandlers/StatusHandlingTestSuite.java b/tests/org.eclipse.ui.tests/Eclipse UI Tests/org/eclipse/ui/tests/statushandlers/StatusHandlingTestSuite.java
index bd29e7a6a5a..e283865322e 100644
--- a/tests/org.eclipse.ui.tests/Eclipse UI Tests/org/eclipse/ui/tests/statushandlers/StatusHandlingTestSuite.java	
+++ b/tests/org.eclipse.ui.tests/Eclipse UI Tests/org/eclipse/ui/tests/statushandlers/StatusHandlingTestSuite.java	
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 	SupportTrayTest.class,
 	WorkbenchStatusDialogManagerImplTest.class,
 	WizardsStatusHandlingTestCase.class,
+	StatusManagerTest.class,
 })
 public class StatusHandlingTestSuite {
 	//
diff --git a/tests/org.eclipse.ui.tests/Eclipse UI Tests/org/eclipse/ui/tests/statushandlers/StatusManagerTest.java b/tests/org.eclipse.ui.tests/Eclipse UI Tests/org/eclipse/ui/tests/statushandlers/StatusManagerTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6666abf81e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/org.eclipse.ui.tests/Eclipse UI Tests/org/eclipse/ui/tests/statushandlers/StatusManagerTest.java	
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2026 vogella GmbH and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials
+ * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License 2.0
+ * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0/
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0
+ *
+ * Contributors:
+ *     Lars Vogel <Lars.Vogel@vogella.com> - initial API and implementation
+ ******************************************************************************/
+
+package org.eclipse.ui.tests.statushandlers;
+
+import java.lang.ref.ReferenceQueue;
+import java.lang.ref.WeakReference;
+
+import org.eclipse.core.runtime.IStatus;
+import org.eclipse.core.runtime.Status;
+import org.eclipse.ui.statushandlers.StatusManager;
+import org.eclipse.ui.tests.leaks.LeakTests;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+/**
+ * Tests that the {@link StatusManager} singleton does not retain the statuses it
+ * is told about.
+ */
+public class StatusManagerTest {
+
+	/**
+	 * The entry is only dropped again once the very same instance comes back
+	 * through the log listener, which does not happen for every caller.
+	 */
+	@Test
+	public void testStatusNeverReachingTheLogListenerIsNotRetained() throws Exception {
+		ReferenceQueue<IStatus> queue = new ReferenceQueue<>();
+		IStatus status = new Status(IStatus.ERROR, "org.eclipse.ui.tests", "never logged"); //$NON-NLS-1$ //$NON-NLS-2$
+		WeakReference<IStatus> ref = new WeakReference<>(status, queue);
+
+		StatusManager.getManager().addLoggedStatus(status);
+		status = null; // drop the only strong reference
+
+		LeakTests.checkRef(queue, ref);
+	}
+}