diff --git a/attachments/kong/plugins/open-appsec-waf-kong-plugin/handler.lua b/attachments/kong/plugins/open-appsec-waf-kong-plugin/handler.lua
index 4f641e6..27457d7 100755
--- a/attachments/kong/plugins/open-appsec-waf-kong-plugin/handler.lua
+++ b/attachments/kong/plugins/open-appsec-waf-kong-plugin/handler.lua
@@ -51,7 +51,6 @@ function NanoHandler.access(conf)
 
     local verdict, response = nano.send_data(session_id, session_data, meta_data, req_headers, contains_body, nano.HttpChunkType.HTTP_REQUEST_FILTER)
     if verdict ~= nano.AttachmentVerdict.INSPECT then
-        kong.log.err("Failed to send request headers to C module - failing open")
         ctx.cleanup_needed = true
         if verdict == nano.AttachmentVerdict.DROP then
             return nano.handle_custom_response(session_data, response)
@@ -62,7 +61,7 @@ function NanoHandler.access(conf)
     if contains_body == 1 then
         local body = kong.request.get_raw_body()
         if body and #body > 0 then
-            kong.log.debug("Request body found in memory, size: ", #body)
+            kong.log.err("Request body found in memory, size: ", #body)
             verdict, response = nano.send_body(session_id, session_data, body, nano.HttpChunkType.HTTP_REQUEST_BODY)
             if verdict ~= nano.AttachmentVerdict.INSPECT then
                 ctx.cleanup_needed = true
@@ -72,7 +71,7 @@ function NanoHandler.access(conf)
                 return
             end
         else
-            kong.log.debug("Request body not in memory, attempting to read from buffer/file")
+            kong.log.err("Request body not in memory, attempting to read from buffer/file")
             local body_data = ngx.var.request_body
             if body_data and #body_data > 0 then
                 kong.log.debug("Found request body in nginx var, size: ", #body_data)
@@ -85,17 +84,21 @@ function NanoHandler.access(conf)
                     return
                 end
             else
+                kong.log.err("reading request body from file as last resort")
+        
                 local body_file = ngx.var.request_body_file
                 if body_file then
-                    kong.log.debug("Reading request body from file: ", body_file)
+                    kong.log.err("Reading request body from file: ", body_file)
                     local file = io.open(body_file, "rb")
                     if file then
                         local chunk_size = 8192
                         local chunk_count = 0
                         
                         while true do
+                            kong.log.err("Reading next chunk from request body file")
                             local chunk = file:read(chunk_size)
                             if not chunk or #chunk == 0 then
+                                kong .log.err("End of request body file reached")
                                 break
                             end
                             
@@ -113,10 +116,10 @@ function NanoHandler.access(conf)
                             end
                         end
                         file:close()
-                        kong.log.debug("Sent ", chunk_count, " chunks from request body file")
+                        kong.log.err("Sent ", chunk_count, " chunks from request body file")
                     end
                 else
-                    kong.log.debug("Request body expected but no body data or file available")
+                    kong.log.err("Request body expected but no body data or file available")
                 end
             end
         end
@@ -172,7 +175,9 @@ function NanoHandler.header_filter(conf)
     if verdict ~= nano.AttachmentVerdict.INSPECT then
         ctx.cleanup_needed = true
         if verdict == nano.AttachmentVerdict.DROP then
-            return nano.handle_custom_response(session_data, response)
+            kong.log.warn("DROP verdict in header_filter - will replace response in body_filter")
+            ctx.blocked = true
+            ctx.block_response = response
         end
         return
     end
@@ -184,7 +189,40 @@ function NanoHandler.body_filter(conf)
     local ctx = kong.ctx.plugin
     local chunk = ngx.arg[1]
     local eof = ngx.arg[2]
-    if nano.is_session_finalized(ctx.session_data) then
+
+    
+    local session_id = ctx.session_id
+    local session_data = ctx.session_data
+    
+    if ctx.blocked then
+        if ctx.block_response then
+            local code, body, headers = nano.get_custom_response_data(session_data, ctx.block_response)
+            kong.log.info("Replacing response with custom response, code: ", code)
+            ngx.status = code
+            
+            -- Set custom headers
+            for header_name, header_value in pairs(headers) do
+                ngx.header[header_name] = header_value
+            end
+            
+            if body and #body > 0 then
+                ngx.header["Content-Length"] = #body
+                ngx.arg[1] = body
+            else
+                ngx.header["Content-Length"] = 0
+                ngx.arg[1] = ""
+            end
+        else
+            kong.log.err("Missing session_data or block_response, sending empty response")
+            ngx.status = 403
+            ngx.arg[1] = ""
+        end
+        ngx.arg[2] = true
+        ctx.cleanup_needed = true
+        return
+    end
+
+    if nano.is_session_finalized(session_data) then
         kong.log.info("Session has already been inspected, no need for further inspection")
         return
     end
@@ -194,13 +232,6 @@ function NanoHandler.body_filter(conf)
         return
     end
 
-    local session_id = ctx.session_id
-    local session_data = ctx.session_data
-    if not session_id or not session_data then
-        kong.log.debug("No session data found in body_filter")
-        return
-    end
-
     if not ctx.body_filter_start_time then
         ctx.body_filter_start_time = ngx.now()
     end
@@ -227,9 +258,20 @@ function NanoHandler.body_filter(conf)
             kong.log.debug("Final verdict for response body chunk: ", verdict)
             ctx.cleanup_needed = true
             if verdict == nano.AttachmentVerdict.DROP then
-                ngx.arg[1] = ""
+                kong.log.warn("DROP verdict in body_filter - replacing response immediately")
+                local code, body, headers = nano.get_custom_response_data(session_data, response)
+                ngx.status = code
+                for header_name, header_value in pairs(headers) do
+                    ngx.header[header_name] = header_value
+                end
+                if body and #body > 0 then
+                    ngx.header["Content-Length"] = #body
+                    ngx.arg[1] = body
+                else
+                    ngx.header["Content-Length"] = 0
+                    ngx.arg[1] = ""
+                end
                 ngx.arg[2] = true
-                return nano.handle_custom_response(session_data, response)
             end
             return
         end
@@ -243,9 +285,20 @@ function NanoHandler.body_filter(conf)
                 kong.log.debug("Final verdict after end_inspection: ", verdict)
                 ctx.cleanup_needed = true
                 if verdict == nano.AttachmentVerdict.DROP then
-                    ngx.arg[1] = ""
+                    kong.log.warn("DROP verdict at EOF - replacing response immediately")
+                    local code, body, headers = nano.get_custom_response_data(session_data, response)
+                    ngx.status = code
+                    for header_name, header_value in pairs(headers) do
+                        ngx.header[header_name] = header_value
+                    end
+                    if body and #body > 0 then
+                        ngx.header["Content-Length"] = #body
+                        ngx.arg[1] = body
+                    else
+                        ngx.header["Content-Length"] = 0
+                        ngx.arg[1] = ""
+                    end
                     ngx.arg[2] = true
-                    return nano.handle_custom_response(session_data, response)
                 end
                 return
             end
diff --git a/attachments/kong/plugins/open-appsec-waf-kong-plugin/nano_ffi.lua b/attachments/kong/plugins/open-appsec-waf-kong-plugin/nano_ffi.lua
index 0fa2ee2..a688b1c 100755
--- a/attachments/kong/plugins/open-appsec-waf-kong-plugin/nano_ffi.lua
+++ b/attachments/kong/plugins/open-appsec-waf-kong-plugin/nano_ffi.lua
@@ -81,13 +81,14 @@ function nano.generate_session_id()
     return tonumber(string.format("%d%05d", worker_id, nano.session_counter))
 end
 
-function nano.handle_custom_response(session_data, response)
+-- Returns: status_code, body, headers
+function nano.get_custom_response_data(session_data, response)
     local worker_id = ngx.worker.id()
     local attachment = nano.attachments[worker_id]
 
     if not attachment then
         kong.log.warn("Cannot handle custom response: Attachment not available for worker ", worker_id, " - failing open")
-        return kong.response.exit(200, "Request allowed due to attachment unavailability")
+        return 200, "Request allowed due to attachment unavailability", {}
     end
 
     local response_type = nano_attachment.get_web_response_type(attachment, session_data, response)
@@ -99,18 +100,19 @@ function nano.handle_custom_response(session_data, response)
             code = 403
         end
         kong.log.debug("Response code only: ", code)
-        return kong.response.exit(code, "")
+        return code, "", {}
     end
 
     if response_type == nano.WebResponseType.REDIRECT_WEB_RESPONSE then
         local location = nano_attachment.get_redirect_page(attachment, session_data, response)
-        return kong.response.exit(307, "", { ["Location"] = location })
+        local code = nano_attachment.get_response_code(response) or 307
+        return code, "", { ["Location"] = location }
     end
 
     local block_page = nano_attachment.get_block_page(attachment, session_data, response)
     if not block_page then
         kong.log.err("Failed to retrieve custom block page for session ", session_data)
-        return kong.response.exit(500, { message = "Internal Server Error" })
+        return 403, "", {}
     end
     local code = nano_attachment.get_response_code(response)
     if not code or code < 100 or code > 599 then
@@ -118,8 +120,13 @@ function nano.handle_custom_response(session_data, response)
         code = 403
     end
     kong.log.debug("Block page response with code: ", code)
-    return kong.response.exit(code, block_page, { ["Content-Type"] = "text/html" })
+    return code, block_page, { ["Content-Type"] = "text/html" }
+end
 
+-- Wrapper for backward compatibility - calls kong.response.exit() in access phase
+function nano.handle_custom_response(session_data, response)
+    local code, body, headers = nano.get_custom_response_data(session_data, response)
+    return kong.response.exit(code, body, headers)
 end