diff --git a/src/lib/testsuite/test_ctrlstatus.c b/src/lib/testsuite/test_ctrlstatus.c
index c8c1390..ba4d1b0 100644
--- a/src/lib/testsuite/test_ctrlstatus.c
+++ b/src/lib/testsuite/test_ctrlstatus.c
@@ -446,10 +446,46 @@ static void test_handle_reply_ctrlstatus_does_not_free_foreign_slot(void)
     printf("test_handle_reply_ctrlstatus_does_not_free_foreign_slot: PASS\n");
 }
 
+/* bug-15xx (job peek 501 "nil reply"): a fire-and-forget nop/heartbeat reply
+ * must NOT wake the shared single-slot wbuf — xce_handle_reply returning 0 here
+ * is what keeps vtask_entry from calling xce_wakeup, so the stale nop status can
+ * never be consumed by the next blocking request as its own reply. Also proves a
+ * foreign (poisoned) union slot is left untouched, mirroring the bug-1077
+ * ctrlstatus assertion. */
+static void test_handle_reply_nop_does_not_wake(void)
+{
+    xce_ctx_t ctx;
+    memset(&ctx, 0, sizeof(ctx));
+
+    /* A foreign occupant in the shared reply union must survive a nop reply
+     * untouched (no free, no deref) — same discipline as bug-1077. */
+    xce_fetchfile_reply_t* sentinel = (xce_fetchfile_reply_t*)calloc(1, sizeof(*sentinel));
+    TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL(sentinel);
+    ctx.reply.u.fetchfilereply = sentinel; /* same 8 bytes as any other slot */
+
+    xce_reply_t reply;
+    memset(&reply, 0, sizeof(reply));
+    reply.opcode     = OPCode_nop;
+    reply.status     = 0;
+    reply.data_which = RequestReply_data_nodata;
+
+    int rc = xce_handle_reply(&ctx, &reply);
+
+    /* rc==0 is the contract vtask_entry relies on to skip xce_wakeup: the nop
+     * reply must not become a pending status in wbuf. */
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_INT(0, rc);
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_PTR(sentinel, ctx.reply.u.fetchfilereply);
+
+    free(sentinel);
+
+    printf("test_handle_reply_nop_does_not_wake: PASS\n");
+}
+
 /* ── Suite entry point ──────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 void test_ctrlstatus(void)
 {
+    RUN_TEST(test_handle_reply_nop_does_not_wake);
     RUN_TEST(test_handle_reply_ctrlstatus_does_not_free_foreign_slot);
     RUN_TEST(test_ctrlstatus_roundtrip_all_fields);
     RUN_TEST(test_ctrlstatus_roundtrip_unknown_primary);
diff --git a/src/lib/xcectx.c b/src/lib/xcectx.c
index e750429..f8d0e47 100644
--- a/src/lib/xcectx.c
+++ b/src/lib/xcectx.c
@@ -69,6 +69,20 @@ int xce_handle_reply(xce_ctx_t* ctx, xce_reply_t* reply)
     xce_ctx_capture_redirect_hint(ctx, reply->redirect_host,
                                   reply->redirect_port);
 
+    /* bug-15xx (job peek 501 "nil reply"): a nop/heartbeat reply is fire-and-
+     * forget on the send side — xce_nop/xce_heartbeat sends it and never waits
+     * for the reply. Waking the shared single-slot wbuf here therefore leaves a
+     * stale status sitting in the buffer that the NEXT blocking request
+     * (xce_fetchfile / xce_jobsub / xce_jobctrl ...) consumes as its own reply:
+     * the fetchfile waiter wakes with status=0 but ctx->reply.u.fetchfilereply
+     * still NULL -> "nil reply" -> 501. Swallow nop replies entirely so they
+     * never touch wbuf; the reply itself is freed by the caller's free_Request.
+     * (The control-op replies -- jobctrl/queuectrl/hostctrl -- legitimately hit
+     * the default case below and MUST wake: their callers block on wbuf.) */
+    if (reply->opcode == OPCode_nop) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     if (reply->status < 0) {
         return reply->status;
     }