diff --git a/ui/src/components/IssueChatThread.test.tsx b/ui/src/components/IssueChatThread.test.tsx
index e9d8cab3a53..0d8c4a35198 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/IssueChatThread.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/components/IssueChatThread.test.tsx
@@ -940,6 +940,104 @@ describe("IssueChatThread", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("shows only the outer composer drop overlay when dragging over the reply editor", () => {
+    const root = createRoot(container);
+
+    act(() => {
+      root.render(
+        <MemoryRouter>
+          <IssueChatThread
+            comments={[]}
+            linkedRuns={[]}
+            timelineEvents={[]}
+            liveRuns={[]}
+            onAdd={async () => {}}
+            imageUploadHandler={async () => "/api/attachments/image/content"}
+            onAttachImage={async () => undefined}
+            enableLiveTranscriptPolling={false}
+          />
+        </MemoryRouter>,
+      );
+    });
+
+    const composer = container.querySelector('[data-testid="issue-chat-composer"]') as HTMLDivElement | null;
+    const editor = container.querySelector('textarea[aria-label="Issue chat editor"]') as HTMLTextAreaElement | null;
+    expect(composer).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(editor).not.toBeNull();
+
+    act(() => {
+      editor?.dispatchEvent(createFileDragEvent("dragenter", [
+        new File(["hello"], "notes.txt", { type: "text/plain" }),
+      ]));
+    });
+
+    expect(container.querySelector('[data-testid="issue-chat-composer-drop-overlay"]')).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(container.textContent).toContain("Drop to upload");
+    expect(container.textContent).not.toContain("Drop image to upload");
+    expect(composer?.className).toContain("border-primary/45");
+
+    const fileInput = container.querySelector('input[type="file"]') as HTMLInputElement | null;
+    expect(fileInput?.getAttribute("accept")).toBeNull();
+
+    act(() => {
+      root.unmount();
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("shows non-image attachment upload state in the composer after a drop from the editor", async () => {
+    const root = createRoot(container);
+    const onAttachImage = vi.fn(async (file: File) => ({
+      id: "attachment-1",
+      companyId: "company-1",
+      issueId: "issue-1",
+      issueCommentId: null,
+      assetId: "asset-1",
+      provider: "local_disk",
+      objectKey: "issues/issue-1/report.pdf",
+      contentPath: "/api/attachments/attachment-1/content",
+      originalFilename: file.name,
+      contentType: file.type,
+      byteSize: file.size,
+      sha256: "abc123",
+      createdByAgentId: null,
+      createdByUserId: "user-1",
+      createdAt: new Date("2026-04-24T12:00:00.000Z"),
+      updatedAt: new Date("2026-04-24T12:00:00.000Z"),
+    }));
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      root.render(
+        <MemoryRouter>
+          <IssueChatThread
+            comments={[]}
+            linkedRuns={[]}
+            timelineEvents={[]}
+            liveRuns={[]}
+            onAdd={async () => {}}
+            onAttachImage={onAttachImage}
+            enableLiveTranscriptPolling={false}
+          />
+        </MemoryRouter>,
+      );
+    });
+
+    const editor = container.querySelector('textarea[aria-label="Issue chat editor"]') as HTMLTextAreaElement | null;
+    const file = new File(["report body"], "report.pdf", { type: "application/pdf" });
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      editor?.dispatchEvent(createFileDragEvent("drop", [file]));
+    });
+
+    expect(onAttachImage).toHaveBeenCalledWith(file);
+    expect(container.querySelector('[data-testid="issue-chat-composer-attachments"]')).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(container.textContent).toContain("report.pdf");
+    expect(container.textContent).toContain("Attached to issue");
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      root.unmount();
+    });
+  });
+
   it("renders the bottom spacer with zero height until the user has submitted", () => {
     const root = createRoot(container);
 
diff --git a/ui/src/components/IssueChatThread.tsx b/ui/src/components/IssueChatThread.tsx
index ac461fc0ac2..ca1b6d83940 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/IssueChatThread.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/components/IssueChatThread.tsx
@@ -2268,6 +2268,37 @@ const IssueChatComposer = forwardRef<IssueChatComposerHandle, IssueChatComposerP
     setIsDragOver(false);
   }
 
+  function handleFileDragEnter(evt: ReactDragEvent<HTMLDivElement>) {
+    if (!canAcceptFiles || !hasFilePayload(evt)) return;
+    evt.preventDefault();
+    evt.stopPropagation();
+    dragDepthRef.current += 1;
+    setIsDragOver(true);
+  }
+
+  function handleFileDragOver(evt: ReactDragEvent<HTMLDivElement>) {
+    if (!canAcceptFiles || !hasFilePayload(evt)) return;
+    evt.preventDefault();
+    evt.stopPropagation();
+    evt.dataTransfer.dropEffect = "copy";
+  }
+
+  function handleFileDragLeave(evt: ReactDragEvent<HTMLDivElement>) {
+    if (!canAcceptFiles || !hasFilePayload(evt)) return;
+    evt.preventDefault();
+    evt.stopPropagation();
+    dragDepthRef.current = Math.max(0, dragDepthRef.current - 1);
+    if (dragDepthRef.current === 0) setIsDragOver(false);
+  }
+
+  function handleFileDrop(evt: ReactDragEvent<HTMLDivElement>) {
+    if (!canAcceptFiles || !hasFilePayload(evt)) return;
+    evt.preventDefault();
+    evt.stopPropagation();
+    resetDragState();
+    void handleDroppedFiles(evt.dataTransfer?.files);
+  }
+
   const canSubmit = !submitting && !!body.trim();
 
   if (composerDisabledReason) {
@@ -2284,33 +2315,12 @@ const IssueChatComposer = forwardRef<IssueChatComposerHandle, IssueChatComposerP
       data-testid="issue-chat-composer"
       className={cn(
         "relative rounded-md border border-border/70 bg-background/95 p-[15px] shadow-[0_-12px_28px_rgba(15,23,42,0.08)] backdrop-blur transition-[border-color,background-color,box-shadow] duration-150 supports-[backdrop-filter]:bg-background/85 dark:shadow-[0_-12px_28px_rgba(0,0,0,0.28)]",
-        isDragOver && "border-primary/45 bg-background shadow-[0_-12px_28px_rgba(15,23,42,0.08),0_0_0_1px_hsl(var(--primary)/0.18)]",
+        isDragOver && "border-primary/45 bg-background shadow-[0_-12px_28px_rgba(15,23,42,0.08),0_0_0_1px_hsl(var(--primary)/0.16)]",
       )}
-      onDragEnter={(evt) => {
-        if (!canAcceptFiles || !hasFilePayload(evt)) return;
-        dragDepthRef.current += 1;
-        setIsDragOver(true);
-      }}
-      onDragOver={(evt) => {
-        if (!canAcceptFiles || !hasFilePayload(evt)) return;
-        evt.preventDefault();
-        evt.dataTransfer.dropEffect = "copy";
-      }}
-      onDragLeave={() => {
-        if (!canAcceptFiles) return;
-        dragDepthRef.current = Math.max(0, dragDepthRef.current - 1);
-        if (dragDepthRef.current === 0) setIsDragOver(false);
-      }}
-      onDrop={(evt) => {
-        if (!canAcceptFiles) return;
-        if (evt.defaultPrevented) {
-          resetDragState();
-          return;
-        }
-        evt.preventDefault();
-        resetDragState();
-        void handleDroppedFiles(evt.dataTransfer?.files);
-      }}
+      onDragEnterCapture={handleFileDragEnter}
+      onDragOverCapture={handleFileDragOver}
+      onDragLeaveCapture={handleFileDragLeave}
+      onDropCapture={handleFileDrop}
     >
       {isDragOver && canAcceptFiles ? (
         <div
@@ -2322,7 +2332,7 @@ const IssueChatComposer = forwardRef<IssueChatComposerHandle, IssueChatComposerP
               <Paperclip className="h-4 w-4" />
             </span>
             <div className="min-w-0">
-              <div className="text-sm font-medium text-foreground">Drop files to attach</div>
+              <div className="text-sm font-medium text-foreground">Drop to upload</div>
               <div className="mt-0.5 text-xs leading-5 text-muted-foreground">
                 Images insert into the reply. Other files are added to this issue.
               </div>