One embodiment provides a transport stack updating system that facilitates updating a component of a transport stack of a computer system. During operation, the system sets, by a component of the transport stack, a state of the component as quiesced in response to receiving a pause message. A component in the quiesced state is precluded from processing an interest or a content object. The system determines whether the pause message triggers a rejection passes an acknowledgment message of the pause message up the transport stack. The acknowledgment message indicates that the pause message has been successfully processed by a respective component of the transport stack.