diff --git a/internal/engine/engine.go b/internal/engine/engine.go
index 92227d8..c6d409c 100644
--- a/internal/engine/engine.go
+++ b/internal/engine/engine.go
@@ -207,19 +207,31 @@ func ExtractCDPrefix(command string) string {
 // heredocStartRe matches heredoc markers: <<EOF, <<'EOF', <<"EOF", <<-EOF, etc.
 var heredocStartRe = regexp.MustCompile(`<<-?\s*(?:'(\w+)'|"(\w+)"|(\w+))`)
 
+// shellHeredocRe matches a shell interpreter receiving a heredoc as stdin.
+// This detects patterns like: bash <<'EOF', sh <<EOF, python <<'EOF', etc.
+// These heredocs contain executable code and must NOT be stripped.
+var shellHeredocRe = regexp.MustCompile(`(?:^|[;&|]\s*)(?:bash|sh|dash|zsh|ksh|fish|python[23]?|ruby|perl|node|php)\s+<<`)
+
 // StripHeredocs removes heredoc bodies from a Bash command string.
 // This prevents deny rules from matching against data content such as
 // commit messages or PR descriptions that happen to contain denied patterns.
+// However, heredocs fed as stdin to shell interpreters (bash, sh, python, etc.)
+// are preserved because they contain executable code that deny rules must check.
 func StripHeredocs(command string) string {
 	lines := strings.Split(command, "\n")
 	var result []string
 	var delim string
+	keepBody := false
 
 	for _, line := range lines {
 		if delim != "" {
-			// Inside a heredoc body — skip lines until closing delimiter.
+			if keepBody {
+				result = append(result, line)
+			}
+			// Inside a heredoc body — skip/keep lines until closing delimiter.
 			if strings.TrimSpace(line) == delim {
 				delim = ""
+				keepBody = false
 			}
 			continue
 		}
@@ -233,6 +245,10 @@ func StripHeredocs(command string) string {
 					break
 				}
 			}
+			// If a shell interpreter is receiving this heredoc, keep the body.
+			if delim != "" && shellHeredocRe.MatchString(line) {
+				keepBody = true
+			}
 		}
 
 		result = append(result, line)
diff --git a/internal/engine/engine_test.go b/internal/engine/engine_test.go
index 3fee25f..1636628 100644
--- a/internal/engine/engine_test.go
+++ b/internal/engine/engine_test.go
@@ -273,6 +273,31 @@ func TestStripHeredocs(t *testing.T) {
 			command: "cat <<EOF\nheredoc body\nEOF\necho after",
 			want:    "cat <<EOF\necho after",
 		},
+		{
+			name:    "bash heredoc preserved",
+			command: "bash <<'EOF'\nrm -rf /\nEOF",
+			want:    "bash <<'EOF'\nrm -rf /\nEOF",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "sh heredoc preserved",
+			command: "sh <<EOF\nrm -rf /tmp/stuff\nEOF",
+			want:    "sh <<EOF\nrm -rf /tmp/stuff\nEOF",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "python heredoc preserved",
+			command: "python3 <<'SCRIPT'\nimport os; os.system('rm -rf /')\nSCRIPT",
+			want:    "python3 <<'SCRIPT'\nimport os; os.system('rm -rf /')\nSCRIPT",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "pipe to bash heredoc preserved",
+			command: "echo something; bash <<'EOF'\nrm -rf /\nEOF",
+			want:    "echo something; bash <<'EOF'\nrm -rf /\nEOF",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "cat heredoc still stripped",
+			command: "cat <<'EOF'\nrm -rf /\nEOF",
+			want:    "cat <<'EOF'",
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tt := range tests {
@@ -319,6 +344,21 @@ func TestHeredocContentDoesNotTriggerDeny(t *testing.T) {
 			cmd:  "rm -rf /tmp/stuff",
 			want: ptr(protocol.Deny),
 		},
+		{
+			name: "bash heredoc with rm -rf denied",
+			cmd:  "bash <<'EOF'\nrm -rf /\nEOF",
+			want: ptr(protocol.Deny),
+		},
+		{
+			name: "sh heredoc with git reset --hard denied",
+			cmd:  "sh <<'EOF'\ngit reset --hard\nEOF",
+			want: ptr(protocol.Deny),
+		},
+		{
+			name: "python heredoc with DROP TABLE denied",
+			cmd:  "python3 <<'EOF'\nDROP TABLE users\nEOF",
+			want: ptr(protocol.Deny),
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tt := range tests {