diff --git a/manifests/dist_upgrade.pp b/manifests/dist_upgrade.pp
index 19c031e..e5475fc 100644
--- a/manifests/dist_upgrade.pp
+++ b/manifests/dist_upgrade.pp
@@ -1,8 +1,13 @@
-class apt::dist_upgrade {
+# Parameters:
+# - timeout: specified in seconds
+class apt::dist_upgrade (
+  $timeout = 300,
+) {
 
   exec { 'apt_dist-upgrade':
     command     => '/usr/bin/apt-get -q -y -o \'DPkg::Options::=--force-confold\' dist-upgrade',
     refreshonly => true,
+    timeout     => $timeout,
     before      => Exec['apt_updated']
   }