diff --git a/src/Testcontainers/Containers/ExecFailedException.cs b/src/Testcontainers/Containers/ExecFailedException.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aed316606
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Testcontainers/Containers/ExecFailedException.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+namespace DotNet.Testcontainers.Containers
+{
+  using System;
+  using System.Linq;
+  using System.Text;
+  using JetBrains.Annotations;
+
+  /// <summary>
+  /// Represents an exception that is thrown when executing a command inside a
+  /// running container fails.
+  /// </summary>
+  [PublicAPI]
+  public sealed class ExecFailedException : Exception
+  {
+    private static readonly string[] LineEndings = new[] { "\r\n", "\n" };
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="ExecFailedException" /> class.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="execResult">The result of the failed command execution.</param>
+    public ExecFailedException(ExecResult execResult)
+      : base(CreateMessage(execResult))
+    {
+      ExecResult = execResult;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets the result of the failed command execution inside the container.
+    /// </summary>
+    public ExecResult ExecResult { get; }
+
+    private static string CreateMessage(ExecResult execResult)
+    {
+      var exceptionInfo = new StringBuilder(256);
+      exceptionInfo.Append($"Process exited with code {execResult.ExitCode}.");
+
+      if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(execResult.Stdout))
+      {
+        var stdoutLines = execResult.Stdout
+          .Split(LineEndings, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries)
+          .Select(line => "    " + line);
+
+        exceptionInfo.AppendLine();
+        exceptionInfo.AppendLine("  Stdout: ");
+        exceptionInfo.Append(string.Join(Environment.NewLine, stdoutLines));
+      }
+
+      if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(execResult.Stderr))
+      {
+        var stderrLines = execResult.Stderr
+          .Split(LineEndings, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries)
+          .Select(line => "    " + line);
+
+        exceptionInfo.AppendLine();
+        exceptionInfo.AppendLine("  Stderr: ");
+        exceptionInfo.Append(string.Join(Environment.NewLine, stderrLines));
+      }
+
+      return exceptionInfo.ToString();
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/Testcontainers/Containers/ExecResultExtensions.cs b/src/Testcontainers/Containers/ExecResultExtensions.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f51e04bf2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Testcontainers/Containers/ExecResultExtensions.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+namespace DotNet.Testcontainers.Containers
+{
+  using System;
+  using System.Threading.Tasks;
+
+  /// <summary>
+  /// Extension methods for working with <see cref="ExecResult" /> instances.
+  /// </summary>
+  public static class ExecResultExtensions
+  {
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Awaits the <see cref="Task{ExecResult}" /> and throws an exception if the result's exit code is not successful.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="execTask">The task returning an <see cref="ExecResult" />.</param>
+    /// <param name="successExitCodes">A list of exit codes that should be treated as successful. If none are provided, only exit code <c>0</c> is treated as successful.</param>
+    /// <returns>The <see cref="ExecResult" /> if the exit code is in the list of success exit codes.</returns>
+    /// <exception cref="ExecFailedException">Thrown if the exit code is not in the list of success exit codes.</exception>
+    public static async Task<ExecResult> ThrowOnFailure(this Task<ExecResult> execTask, params long[] successExitCodes)
+    {
+      successExitCodes = successExitCodes == null || successExitCodes.Length == 0 ? new long[] { 0 } : successExitCodes;
+
+      var execResult = await execTask
+        .ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+      if (Array.IndexOf(successExitCodes, execResult.ExitCode) < 0)
+      {
+        throw new ExecFailedException(execResult);
+      }
+
+      return execResult;
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/tests/Testcontainers.Platform.Linux.Tests/ExecFailedExceptionTest.cs b/tests/Testcontainers.Platform.Linux.Tests/ExecFailedExceptionTest.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..152038618
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Testcontainers.Platform.Linux.Tests/ExecFailedExceptionTest.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+namespace Testcontainers.Tests;
+
+public sealed class ExecFailedExceptionTest
+{
+    public static readonly List<TheoryDataRow<ExecResult, string>> ExecResultTestData
+        = new List<TheoryDataRow<ExecResult, string>>
+        {
+            new TheoryDataRow<ExecResult, string>
+            (
+                new ExecResult("Stdout\nStdout", "Stderr\nStderr", 1),
+                "Process exited with code 1." + Environment.NewLine +
+                "  Stdout: " + Environment.NewLine +
+                "    Stdout" + Environment.NewLine +
+                "    Stdout" + Environment.NewLine +
+                "  Stderr: " + Environment.NewLine +
+                "    Stderr" + Environment.NewLine +
+                "    Stderr"
+            ),
+            new TheoryDataRow<ExecResult, string>
+            (
+                new ExecResult("Stdout\nStdout", string.Empty, 1),
+                "Process exited with code 1." + Environment.NewLine +
+                "  Stdout: " + Environment.NewLine +
+                "    Stdout" + Environment.NewLine +
+                "    Stdout"
+            ),
+            new TheoryDataRow<ExecResult, string>
+            (
+                new ExecResult(string.Empty, "Stderr\nStderr", 1),
+                "Process exited with code 1." + Environment.NewLine +
+                "  Stderr: " + Environment.NewLine +
+                "    Stderr" + Environment.NewLine +
+                "    Stderr"
+            ),
+            new TheoryDataRow<ExecResult, string>
+            (
+                new ExecResult(string.Empty, string.Empty, 1),
+                "Process exited with code 1."
+            ),
+        };
+
+    [Theory]
+    [MemberData(nameof(ExecResultTestData))]
+    public void ExecFailedExceptionCreatesExpectedMessage(ExecResult execResult, string message)
+    {
+        var exception = new ExecFailedException(execResult);
+        Assert.Equal(execResult, exception.ExecResult);
+        Assert.Equal(message, exception.Message);
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/Testcontainers.Platform.Linux.Tests/ExecResultExtensionsTest.cs b/tests/Testcontainers.Platform.Linux.Tests/ExecResultExtensionsTest.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c5a1baba3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Testcontainers.Platform.Linux.Tests/ExecResultExtensionsTest.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+namespace Testcontainers.Tests;
+
+public sealed class ExecResultExtensionsTest : IAsyncLifetime
+{
+    private readonly IContainer _container = new ContainerBuilder()
+        .WithImage(CommonImages.Alpine)
+        .WithCommand(CommonCommands.SleepInfinity)
+        .Build();
+
+    public async ValueTask InitializeAsync()
+    {
+        await _container.StartAsync()
+            .ConfigureAwait(false);
+    }
+
+    public ValueTask DisposeAsync()
+    {
+        return _container.DisposeAsync();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task ExecAsyncShouldSucceedWhenCommandReturnsZeroExitCode()
+    {
+        // Given
+        var command = new[] { "true" };
+
+        // When
+        var exception = await Record.ExceptionAsync(() => _container.ExecAsync(command, TestContext.Current.CancellationToken).ThrowOnFailure())
+            .ConfigureAwait(true);
+
+        // Then
+        Assert.Null(exception);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task ExecAsyncShouldThrowExecFailedExceptionWhenCommandFails()
+    {
+        // Given
+        var command = new[] { "/bin/sh", "-c", "echo out; echo err >&2; exit 1" };
+
+        // When
+        var exception = await Assert.ThrowsAsync<ExecFailedException>(() => _container.ExecAsync(command, TestContext.Current.CancellationToken).ThrowOnFailure())
+            .ConfigureAwait(true);
+
+        // Then
+        Assert.Equal(1, exception.ExecResult.ExitCode);
+        Assert.Equal("out", exception.ExecResult.Stdout.Trim());
+        Assert.Equal("err", exception.ExecResult.Stderr.Trim());
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file