diff --git a/src/app/WriteClient.cpp b/src/app/WriteClient.cpp
index 36501ee780d35f..ce1df1a0b2e633 100644
--- a/src/app/WriteClient.cpp
+++ b/src/app/WriteClient.cpp
@@ -248,14 +248,20 @@ CHIP_ERROR WriteClient::SendWriteRequest(SessionHandle session, System::Clock::T
         ChipLogError(DataManagement, "Write client failed to SendWriteRequest");
         ClearExistingExchangeContext();
     }
-
-    if (session.IsGroupSession())
+    else
     {
-        // Always shutdown on Group communication
-        ChipLogDetail(DataManagement, "Closing on group Communication ");
+        // TODO: Ideally this would happen async, but to make sure that we
+        // handle this object dying (e.g. due to IM enging shutdown) while the
+        // async bits are pending we'd need to malloc some state bit that we can
+        // twiddle if we die.  For now just do the OnDone callback sync.
+        if (session.IsGroupSession())
+        {
+            // Always shutdown on Group communication
+            ChipLogDetail(DataManagement, "Closing on group Communication ");
 
-        // onDone is called
-        ShutdownInternal();
+            // onDone is called
+            ShutdownInternal();
+        }
     }
 
     return err;
diff --git a/src/app/WriteClient.h b/src/app/WriteClient.h
index 1a9a93dae7ffd3..5151c2732aaa2b 100644
--- a/src/app/WriteClient.h
+++ b/src/app/WriteClient.h
@@ -248,6 +248,9 @@ class WriteClientHandle
     /**
      *  Finalize the message and send it to the desired node. The underlying write object will always be released, and the user
      * should not use this object after calling this function.
+     *
+     * Note: In failure cases this will _synchronously_ invoke OnDone on the
+     * WriteClient::Callback before returning.
      */
     CHIP_ERROR SendWriteRequest(SessionHandle session, System::Clock::Timeout timeout = kImMessageTimeout);
 
diff --git a/src/controller/WriteInteraction.h b/src/controller/WriteInteraction.h
index 59c49761484135..037158e8b2cd53 100644
--- a/src/controller/WriteInteraction.h
+++ b/src/controller/WriteInteraction.h
@@ -106,6 +106,11 @@ CHIP_ERROR WriteAttribute(SessionHandle sessionHandle, chip::EndpointId endpoint
     VerifyOrReturnError(callback != nullptr, CHIP_ERROR_NO_MEMORY);
 
     ReturnErrorOnFailure(app::InteractionModelEngine::GetInstance()->NewWriteClient(handle, callback.get(), aTimedWriteTimeoutMs));
+
+    // At this point the handle will ensure our callback's OnDone is always
+    // called.
+    callback.release();
+
     if (sessionHandle.IsGroupSession())
     {
         ReturnErrorOnFailure(
@@ -119,7 +124,6 @@ CHIP_ERROR WriteAttribute(SessionHandle sessionHandle, chip::EndpointId endpoint
 
     ReturnErrorOnFailure(handle.SendWriteRequest(sessionHandle));
 
-    callback.release();
     return CHIP_NO_ERROR;
 }