diff --git a/app/emu_svc.py b/app/emu_svc.py
index b1b8c61..10736a9 100644
--- a/app/emu_svc.py
+++ b/app/emu_svc.py
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ async def handle_forwarded_beacon(self, request):
         except Exception as e:
             error_msg = 'Server error when processing forwarded beacon: %s' % e
             self.log.error(error_msg)
-            raise web.HTTPBadRequest(error_msg)
+            raise web.HTTPBadRequest(reason=error_msg)
 
     async def clone_repo(self, repo_url=None):
         """
diff --git a/tests/test_emu_svc.py b/tests/test_emu_svc.py
index d02bb2c..a2fd725 100644
--- a/tests/test_emu_svc.py
+++ b/tests/test_emu_svc.py
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@
 import pytest
 
 from pathlib import Path, PosixPath
-from unittest.mock import patch, call
+from unittest.mock import patch, call, AsyncMock
+
+from aiohttp import web
 
 from app.utility.base_world import BaseWorld
 from plugins.emu.app.emu_svc import EmuService
@@ -242,3 +244,15 @@ def test_register_required_payloads(self, emu_svc):
         want = {'payload1', 'payload2', 'payload3'}
         emu_svc._register_required_payloads(payloads)
         assert emu_svc.required_payloads == want
+
+    async def test_handle_forwarded_beacon_bad_json_raises_http_bad_request(self, emu_svc):
+        """Regression test: handle_forwarded_beacon must raise HTTPBadRequest with a reason=
+        keyword argument when the request body is not valid JSON."""
+        mock_request = AsyncMock()
+        mock_request.read.return_value = b'not-valid-json'
+
+        with pytest.raises(web.HTTPBadRequest) as exc_info:
+            await emu_svc.handle_forwarded_beacon(mock_request)
+
+        assert exc_info.value.reason is not None
+        assert len(exc_info.value.reason) > 0