diff --git a/packages/client/src/daemon-client.test.ts b/packages/client/src/daemon-client.test.ts
index dc264c4f46..1d6da7fb45 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/daemon-client.test.ts
+++ b/packages/client/src/daemon-client.test.ts
@@ -8607,3 +8607,60 @@ test("RPC deadlines remain active while a preceding frame waits for drain", asyn
     await first;
   }
 });
+
+test.each([false, true])(
+  "event listener errors do not close the transport (chunked=%s)",
+  async (chunked) => {
+    const mock = createMockTransport();
+    const closed = vi.fn();
+    mock.transport.close = closed;
+    const client = new DaemonClient({
+      url: "ws://test",
+      clientId: "listener-error",
+      transportFactory: () => mock.transport,
+      reconnect: { enabled: false },
+    });
+    clients.push(client);
+    const connecting = client.connect();
+    mock.triggerOpen({ features: { binaryChunkingV1: chunked } });
+    await connecting;
+    const unsubscribe = client.subscribe(() => {
+      throw new Error("listener failed");
+    });
+    const text = wrapSessionMessage({
+      type: "agent_deleted",
+      payload: { agentId: "agent-test", requestId: "listener-test" },
+    });
+    const payload = new TextEncoder().encode(text);
+    const frame = chunked ? new Uint8Array([0x31, 1, 0, 3, ...payload]) : text;
+    expect(() => mock.triggerMessage(frame)).toThrow("listener failed");
+    expect(closed).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    unsubscribe();
+    const events: string[] = [];
+    client.subscribe((event) => {
+      events.push(event.type);
+    });
+    mock.triggerMessage(frame);
+    expect(events).toEqual(["agent_deleted"]);
+    await client.sendHostFrame("route", "still connected");
+    expect(client.isConnected).toBe(true);
+  },
+);
+
+test("malformed chunk metadata still closes the client transport", async () => {
+  const mock = createMockTransport();
+  const closed = vi.fn();
+  mock.transport.close = closed;
+  const client = new DaemonClient({
+    url: "ws://test",
+    clientId: "malformed-chunk",
+    transportFactory: () => mock.transport,
+    reconnect: { enabled: false },
+  });
+  clients.push(client);
+  const connecting = client.connect();
+  mock.triggerOpen({ features: { binaryChunkingV1: true } });
+  await connecting;
+  mock.triggerMessage(new Uint8Array([0x31, 2, 0, 3, 65]));
+  expect(closed).toHaveBeenCalledWith(4003, "Invalid chunked transport");
+});
diff --git a/packages/client/src/daemon-client.ts b/packages/client/src/daemon-client.ts
index 9a2965130b..a83b3b89b8 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/daemon-client.ts
+++ b/packages/client/src/daemon-client.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-import { ChunkedTransport } from "@getpaseo/protocol/chunked-transport";
+import {
+  ChunkedTransport,
+  ChunkedTransportProtocolError,
+} from "@getpaseo/protocol/chunked-transport";
 import {
   HOST_ROUTE_OPCODE,
   encodeHostRouteFrame,
@@ -1682,7 +1685,8 @@ export class DaemonClient {
             if (typeof data === "string" || bytes)
               this.chunkedTransport!.receive(typeof data === "string" ? data : bytes!);
             else this.handleTransportMessage(data);
-          } catch {
+          } catch (error) {
+            if (!(error instanceof ChunkedTransportProtocolError)) throw error;
             transport.close(4003, "Invalid chunked transport");
           }
         }),
diff --git a/packages/protocol/src/chunked-transport.test.ts b/packages/protocol/src/chunked-transport.test.ts
index 18ea469521..696c0507a0 100644
--- a/packages/protocol/src/chunked-transport.test.ts
+++ b/packages/protocol/src/chunked-transport.test.ts
@@ -348,3 +348,23 @@ it("a queued pre-write rejection does not poison the next logical send", async (
   expect(delivered).toEqual(["sibling"]);
   expect(failures).toEqual([]);
 });
+
+it.each([false, true])("delivery errors leave framing usable (chunked=%s)", async (chunked) => {
+  let fail = true;
+  const delivered: (string | Uint8Array)[] = [];
+  const transport = new ChunkedTransport({
+    frameBytes: 64,
+    send: () => {},
+    deliver: (frame) => {
+      if (fail) throw new Error("listener failed");
+      delivered.push(frame);
+    },
+  });
+  transport.enabled = chunked;
+  const frame = chunked ? new Uint8Array([0x31, 1, 0, 3, 65]) : "A";
+  expect(() => transport.receive(frame)).toThrow("listener failed");
+  fail = false;
+  transport.receive(frame);
+  expect(delivered).toEqual(["A"]);
+  await transport.send("still connected");
+});
diff --git a/packages/protocol/src/chunked-transport.ts b/packages/protocol/src/chunked-transport.ts
index 536c7f1f49..6bfc8aabfc 100644
--- a/packages/protocol/src/chunked-transport.ts
+++ b/packages/protocol/src/chunked-transport.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 import { MAX_WEBSOCKET_MESSAGE_BYTES } from "./websocket-message-limit.js";
 
 type Frame = string | Uint8Array;
+
+/** A malformed wire frame, distinct from a consumer delivery failure. */
+export class ChunkedTransportProtocolError extends Error {}
 // Reserved outside the application binary opcode space. Version, kind, flags follow.
 const OPCODE = 0x31;
 const HEADER = 4;
@@ -119,53 +122,59 @@ export class ChunkedTransport {
 
   receive(frame: Frame): void {
     if (this.closed) return;
+    let message: Frame | undefined;
     try {
-      if (typeof frame === "string" || frame[0] !== OPCODE) {
-        if (this.assembly) throw new Error("Interrupted chunked message");
-        this.io.deliver(frame);
-        return;
-      }
-      if (
-        !this.enabled ||
-        frame.length <= HEADER ||
-        frame[1] !== 1 ||
-        frame[2]! > 1 ||
-        (frame[3]! & ~3) !== 0
-      )
-        throw new Error("Invalid chunk header");
-      const start = (frame[3]! & 1) !== 0;
-      const end = (frame[3]! & 2) !== 0;
-      if (start === !!this.assembly) throw new Error("Invalid chunk sequence");
-      if (start) {
-        this.assembly = new Uint8Array(0);
-        this.kind = frame[2]!;
-        this.size = 0;
-      }
-      if (frame[2] !== this.kind) throw new Error("Chunk kind changed");
-      this.size += frame.length - HEADER;
-      if (this.size > MAX_WEBSOCKET_MESSAGE_BYTES) throw new Error("Logical message too large");
-      const payload = frame.subarray(HEADER);
-      if (this.assembly!.byteLength < this.size) {
-        const capacity = Math.min(
-          MAX_WEBSOCKET_MESSAGE_BYTES,
-          Math.max(this.size, this.assembly!.byteLength * 2, 16384),
-        );
-        const grown = new Uint8Array(capacity);
-        grown.set(this.assembly!.subarray(0, this.size - payload.byteLength));
-        this.assembly = grown;
-      }
-      this.assembly!.set(payload, this.size - payload.byteLength);
-      if (!end) return;
-      const data = this.assembly!.subarray(0, this.size);
-      this.assembly = undefined;
-      this.size = 0;
-      this.io.deliver(
-        this.kind === 0 ? new TextDecoder("utf-8", { fatal: true }).decode(data) : data.slice(),
-      );
+      message = this.assemble(frame);
     } catch (error) {
       this.close();
-      throw error;
+      throw new ChunkedTransportProtocolError(
+        error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error),
+        { cause: error },
+      );
     }
+    if (message !== undefined) this.io.deliver(message);
+  }
+
+  private assemble(frame: Frame): Frame | undefined {
+    if (typeof frame === "string" || frame[0] !== OPCODE) {
+      if (this.assembly) throw new Error("Interrupted chunked message");
+      return frame;
+    }
+    if (
+      !this.enabled ||
+      frame.length <= HEADER ||
+      frame[1] !== 1 ||
+      frame[2]! > 1 ||
+      (frame[3]! & ~3) !== 0
+    )
+      throw new Error("Invalid chunk header");
+    const start = (frame[3]! & 1) !== 0;
+    const end = (frame[3]! & 2) !== 0;
+    if (start === !!this.assembly) throw new Error("Invalid chunk sequence");
+    if (start) {
+      this.assembly = new Uint8Array(0);
+      this.kind = frame[2]!;
+      this.size = 0;
+    }
+    if (frame[2] !== this.kind) throw new Error("Chunk kind changed");
+    this.size += frame.length - HEADER;
+    if (this.size > MAX_WEBSOCKET_MESSAGE_BYTES) throw new Error("Logical message too large");
+    const payload = frame.subarray(HEADER);
+    if (this.assembly!.byteLength < this.size) {
+      const capacity = Math.min(
+        MAX_WEBSOCKET_MESSAGE_BYTES,
+        Math.max(this.size, this.assembly!.byteLength * 2, 16384),
+      );
+      const grown = new Uint8Array(capacity);
+      grown.set(this.assembly!.subarray(0, this.size - payload.byteLength));
+      this.assembly = grown;
+    }
+    this.assembly!.set(payload, this.size - payload.byteLength);
+    if (!end) return;
+    const data = this.assembly!.subarray(0, this.size);
+    this.assembly = undefined;
+    this.size = 0;
+    return this.kind === 0 ? new TextDecoder("utf-8", { fatal: true }).decode(data) : data.slice();
   }
 
   private fail(error: unknown): void {
diff --git a/packages/server/src/server/websocket-server.file-transfer.e2e.test.ts b/packages/server/src/server/websocket-server.file-transfer.e2e.test.ts
index b708ebb149..abce664ffd 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/server/websocket-server.file-transfer.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/server/websocket-server.file-transfer.e2e.test.ts
@@ -255,3 +255,12 @@ test("an awaited timeline framing overflow closes the actual daemon socket", asy
     await client.close();
   }
 }, 60000);
+
+test("malformed chunk metadata closes the daemon socket with a protocol error", async () => {
+  daemon = await createTestPaseoDaemon();
+  const source = await connectSocket(daemon.port, "invalid-framing", { binary_chunking_v1: true });
+  sockets.push(source);
+  const closed = new Promise<number>((resolve) => source.once("close", (code) => resolve(code)));
+  source.send(new Uint8Array([0x31, 2, 0, 3, 65]));
+  expect(await closed).toBe(1002);
+});
diff --git a/packages/server/src/server/websocket-server.ts b/packages/server/src/server/websocket-server.ts
index 7c246a4ba8..7bfc4d5a0f 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/server/websocket-server.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/server/websocket-server.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-import { ChunkedTransport } from "@getpaseo/protocol/chunked-transport";
+import {
+  ChunkedTransport,
+  ChunkedTransportProtocolError,
+} from "@getpaseo/protocol/chunked-transport";
 import { type WorkspaceRuntimeStore } from "./workspace-runtime-store/index.js";
 import {
   createAgentMessageDelivery,
@@ -2220,7 +2223,8 @@ export class VoiceAssistantWebSocketServer {
       const data = args[0] as Buffer | ArrayBuffer | Buffer[] | string;
       try {
         this.chunkedSocket(ws).receive(typeof data === "string" ? data : bufferFromWsData(data));
-      } catch {
+      } catch (error) {
+        if (!(error instanceof ChunkedTransportProtocolError)) throw error;
         ws.close(1002, "Invalid chunked transport");
       }
     });