diff --git a/src/core/Akka.Remote.Tests/Transport/DotNettyTlsHandshakeFailureSpec.cs b/src/core/Akka.Remote.Tests/Transport/DotNettyTlsHandshakeFailureSpec.cs
index 8f1616bed56..43abf7e29f6 100644
--- a/src/core/Akka.Remote.Tests/Transport/DotNettyTlsHandshakeFailureSpec.cs
+++ b/src/core/Akka.Remote.Tests/Transport/DotNettyTlsHandshakeFailureSpec.cs
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
 
 using System;
 using System.IO;
+using System.Net.Sockets;
 using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;
+using System.Text;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Akka.Actor;
 using Akka.Configuration;
@@ -28,13 +30,13 @@ public DotNettyTlsHandshakeFailureSpec(ITestOutputHelper output) : base(Configur
         {
         }
 
-        private static Config CreateConfig(bool enableSsl, string certPath, string certPassword, bool suppressValidation = true)
+        private static Config CreateConfig(bool enableSsl, string certPath, string certPassword, bool suppressValidation = true, int port = 0)
         {
             var baseConfig = ConfigurationFactory.ParseString(@"akka {
                 loglevel = DEBUG
                 actor.provider = ""Akka.Remote.RemoteActorRefProvider,Akka.Remote""
                 remote.dot-netty.tcp {
-                    port = 0
+                    port = " + port + @"
                     hostname = ""127.0.0.1""
                     enable-ssl = " + (enableSsl ? "on" : "off") + @"
                     log-transport = off
@@ -147,7 +149,66 @@ await AwaitAssertAsync(async () =>
             }
         }
 
+        [Fact(DisplayName = "Server should NOT shutdown when invalid traffic (like HTTP) hits TLS port")]
+        public async Task Server_side_invalid_traffic_should_not_shutdown_server()
+        {
+            // This test addresses issue https://github.com/akkadotnet/akka.net/issues/7938
+            // When invalid traffic (like HTTP requests) hits a TLS-enabled port,
+            // the server should reject the connection but NOT shut down
+            ActorSystem server = null;
+
+            try
+            {
+                // Start server with TLS enabled on a specific port
+                var port = 15557; // Use a fixed port for this test
+                var serverConfig = CreateConfig(true, ValidCertPath, Password, suppressValidation: true, port: port);
+                server = ActorSystem.Create("ServerSystem", serverConfig);
+
+                var serverEcho = server.ActorOf(Props.Create(() => new EchoActor()), "echo");
+
+                // Ensure the server is ready by waiting for the remote transport to be bound
+                var serverAddress = RARP.For(server).Provider.DefaultAddress;
+                Assert.NotNull(serverAddress);
+                Assert.Equal(port, serverAddress.Port.Value);
+
+                // Send invalid HTTP traffic to the TLS port (simulating the issue)
+                try
+                {
+                    using var tcpClient = new TcpClient();
+                    await tcpClient.ConnectAsync("127.0.0.1", port);
+
+                    // Send an HTTP OPTIONS request (as described in the bug report)
+                    var httpRequest = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("OPTIONS / HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: 127.0.0.1\r\n\r\n");
+                    await tcpClient.GetStream().WriteAsync(httpRequest, 0, httpRequest.Length);
+                    await tcpClient.GetStream().FlushAsync();
 
+                    // Connection should be closed by server after rejecting invalid TLS
+                    tcpClient.Close();
+                }
+                catch
+                {
+                    // Connection might be closed by server, that's expected
+                }
+
+                // Verify the server hasn't initiated shutdown
+                // If it was going to shut down due to TLS failure, it would have done so immediately
+                await AwaitConditionAsync(() => !server.WhenTerminated.IsCompleted,
+                    TimeSpan.FromSeconds(3), TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(100));
+
+                // CRITICAL ASSERTION: Server should NOT have shut down
+                Assert.False(server.WhenTerminated.IsCompleted,
+                    "Server should NOT shut down after receiving invalid HTTP traffic on TLS port");
+
+                // Also verify the system is still functional
+                var testActor = server.ActorOf(Props.Empty, "test-actor");
+                Assert.NotNull(testActor);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                if (server != null)
+                    Shutdown(server, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
+            }
+        }
 
         private sealed class EchoActor : ReceiveActor
         {
diff --git a/src/core/Akka.Remote/Transport/DotNetty/TcpTransport.cs b/src/core/Akka.Remote/Transport/DotNetty/TcpTransport.cs
index b3833e6a387..11568123f58 100644
--- a/src/core/Akka.Remote/Transport/DotNetty/TcpTransport.cs
+++ b/src/core/Akka.Remote/Transport/DotNetty/TcpTransport.cs
@@ -92,9 +92,20 @@ public override void UserEventTriggered(IChannelHandlerContext context, object e
                     context.Channel.LocalAddress, context.Channel.RemoteAddress,
                     context.Channel.Id, detailedError);
 
-                // Shutdown the ActorSystem on TLS handshake failure
-                var cs = CoordinatedShutdown.Get(Transport.System);
-                cs.Run(new TlsHandshakeFailureReason($"TLS handshake failed on channel [{context.Channel.LocalAddress}->{context.Channel.RemoteAddress}](Id={context.Channel.Id})"));
+                // Only shutdown the ActorSystem if this is a client-side failure
+                // Server-side failures (incoming connections) should just reject the connection
+                if (isClient)
+                {
+                    // Client-side: We initiated the connection and TLS failed - this is critical
+                    var cs = CoordinatedShutdown.Get(Transport.System);
+                    cs.Run(new TlsHandshakeFailureReason($"TLS handshake failed on outbound connection to [{context.Channel.RemoteAddress}]"));
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    // Server-side: Someone connected to us with invalid TLS - just reject them
+                    Log.Warning("Rejected incoming connection from [{0}] due to TLS handshake failure. This is likely invalid or malicious traffic.",
+                        context.Channel.RemoteAddress);
+                }
 
                 context.CloseAsync();
                 return; // don't pass to next handlers