diff --git a/.lychee.toml b/.lychee.toml
index d66ebd182..d98cc6471 100644
--- a/.lychee.toml
+++ b/.lychee.toml
@@ -8,11 +8,15 @@ exclude = [
     "^https://github.com/open-telemetry/semantic-conventions/(pull|issues)/\\d+$",
     "^https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/(pull|issues)/\\d+$",
     # TODO (lmolkova) treat timeout as not a failure?
-    "^https://www.intersystems.com"
+    "^https://www.intersystems.com",
+    "^https://gcc.gnu.org"
 ]
 
 # better to be safe and avoid failures
 max_retries = 6
 
+# better to be safe and avoid failures
+timeout = 60
+
 # insecure is currently needed for https://osi-model.com
 insecure = true
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 064151b5d..dff3ce217 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -121,9 +121,10 @@ normalized-link-check:
 
 .PHONY: markdown-link-check
 markdown-link-check: normalized-link-check
+    # pinning lychee to 0.18.1
 	$(DOCKER_RUN) --rm \
 		--mount 'type=bind,source=$(PWD),target=/home/repo' \
-		lycheeverse/lychee \
+		lycheeverse/lychee:sha-2aa22f8 \
 		--config home/repo/.lychee.toml \
 		--root-dir /home/repo \
 		--verbose \
@@ -132,9 +133,10 @@ markdown-link-check: normalized-link-check
 
 .PHONY: markdown-link-check-changelog-preview
 markdown-link-check-changelog-preview:
+    # pinning lychee to 0.18.1
 	$(DOCKER_RUN) --rm \
 		--mount 'type=bind,source=$(PWD),target=/home/repo' \
-		lycheeverse/lychee \
+		lycheeverse/lychee:sha-2aa22f8 \
 		--config /home/repo/.lychee.toml \
 		--root-dir /home/repo \
 		--verbose \