diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/AbstractQueryBuilder.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/AbstractQueryBuilder.java
index 3a5e2b3b7e989..1ef974850fede 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/AbstractQueryBuilder.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/AbstractQueryBuilder.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.StreamInput;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.StreamOutput;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.lucene.BytesRefs;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.SuggestingErrorOnUnknown;
 import org.elasticsearch.xcontent.AbstractObjectParser;
 import org.elasticsearch.xcontent.FilterXContentParser;
@@ -49,8 +50,8 @@ public abstract class AbstractQueryBuilder<QB extends AbstractQueryBuilder<QB>>
     public static final float DEFAULT_BOOST = 1.0f;
     public static final ParseField NAME_FIELD = new ParseField("_name");
     public static final ParseField BOOST_FIELD = new ParseField("boost");
-
-    private static int maxNestedDepth = 20;
+    // We set the default value for tests that don't go through SearchModule
+    private static int maxNestedDepth = INDICES_MAX_NESTED_DEPTH_SETTING.getDefault(Settings.EMPTY);
 
     protected String queryName;
     protected float boost = DEFAULT_BOOST;
@@ -427,6 +428,10 @@ public static void setMaxNestedDepth(int maxNestedDepth) {
         AbstractQueryBuilder.maxNestedDepth = maxNestedDepth;
     }
 
+    public static int getMaxNestedDepth() {
+        return maxNestedDepth;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public final String toString() {
         return Strings.toString(this, true, true);
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModuleTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModuleTests.java
index 9fe6829861ba1..fa3bd155a001e 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModuleTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModuleTests.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.LoggingDeprecationHandler;
 import org.elasticsearch.core.RestApiVersion;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.query.AbstractQueryBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.query.CommonTermsQueryBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.query.QueryBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.query.QueryRewriteContext;
@@ -779,4 +780,19 @@ public List<SearchPlugin.QuerySpec<?>> getQueries() {
         assertTrue(RestApiVersion.minimumSupported().matches(compatEntry.get(0).restApiCompatibility));
         assertFalse(RestApiVersion.current().matches(compatEntry.get(0).restApiCompatibility));
     }
+
+    public void testDefaultMaxNestedDepth() {
+        new SearchModule(Settings.EMPTY, emptyList());
+        assertEquals(
+            SearchModule.INDICES_MAX_NESTED_DEPTH_SETTING.getDefault(Settings.EMPTY).intValue(),
+            AbstractQueryBuilder.getMaxNestedDepth()
+        );
+    }
+
+    public void testCustomMaxNestedDepth() {
+        int customValue = randomIntBetween(1, 100);
+        Settings settings = Settings.builder().put(SearchModule.INDICES_MAX_NESTED_DEPTH_SETTING.getKey(), customValue).build();
+        new SearchModule(settings, emptyList());
+        assertEquals(customValue, AbstractQueryBuilder.getMaxNestedDepth());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/AbstractQueryTestCase.java b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/AbstractQueryTestCase.java
index 666cfc457763c..9172857dd3e71 100644
--- a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/AbstractQueryTestCase.java
+++ b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/AbstractQueryTestCase.java
@@ -99,7 +99,6 @@ protected QB createQueryWithInnerQuery(QueryBuilder queryBuilder) {
         throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
     }
 
-    @AwaitsFix(bugUrl = "https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/issues/90984")
     public void testMaxNestedDepth() throws IOException {
         QB query = null;
         try {
@@ -107,13 +106,8 @@ public void testMaxNestedDepth() throws IOException {
         } catch (UnsupportedOperationException e) {
             assumeNoException("Runs only for queries that support nesting", e);
         }
-        int maxDepth;
-        if (frequently()) {
-            maxDepth = randomIntBetween(3, 5);
-            AbstractQueryBuilder.setMaxNestedDepth(maxDepth);
-        } else {
-            maxDepth = INDICES_MAX_NESTED_DEPTH_SETTING.getDefault(Settings.EMPTY);
-        }
+        int maxDepth = randomIntBetween(3, 5);
+        AbstractQueryBuilder.setMaxNestedDepth(maxDepth);
         try {
             for (int i = 1; i < maxDepth - 1; i++) {
                 query = createQueryWithInnerQuery(query);