diff --git a/ocr-service/preprocessing.py b/ocr-service/preprocessing.py
index c6f77b87..791d666e 100644
--- a/ocr-service/preprocessing.py
+++ b/ocr-service/preprocessing.py
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ CLAHE_TILE_SIZE = int(os.environ.get("OCR_CLAHE_TILE_SIZE", "8"))
 def preprocess_page(image: Image.Image) -> Image.Image:
     """Apply CLAHE + grayscale + Gaussian blur to improve OCR quality on aged documents.
 
-    Falls back silently to the original image if any step fails.
+    Falls back silently to the original image if cv2, numpy, or memory errors occur.
+    Unexpected exceptions (programming errors) are allowed to propagate.
     """
     try:
         img_array = np.array(image)
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ def preprocess_page(image: Image.Image) -> Image.Image:
         del blurred
 
         return result
-    except Exception as e:
+    except (cv2.error, ValueError, MemoryError) as e:
         logger.warning(
             "preprocess_page failed (falling back to original): %s: %s",
             type(e).__name__,
diff --git a/ocr-service/test_preprocessing.py b/ocr-service/test_preprocessing.py
index 41ec09bd..6bb0e83f 100644
--- a/ocr-service/test_preprocessing.py
+++ b/ocr-service/test_preprocessing.py
@@ -48,17 +48,35 @@ class TestPreprocessPage:
 
         assert l_mean_after > l_mean_before
 
+    def test_does_not_crash_on_sub_tile_size_image(self):
+        """A 1×1 image is smaller than the CLAHE tile (8×8) in both axes.
+        preprocess_page must not raise — it either succeeds or falls back silently."""
+        from preprocessing import preprocess_page
+
+        img = Image.new("RGB", (1, 1), color=(128, 100, 80))
+        result = preprocess_page(img)
+
+        assert isinstance(result, Image.Image)
+
     def test_falls_back_to_pixel_identical_original_on_cv2_error(self):
-        """When cv2 raises, preprocess_page must return the unmodified original image."""
+        """When cv2 raises a known error, preprocess_page returns the unmodified original image."""
         from preprocessing import preprocess_page
 
         img = Image.new("RGB", (80, 60), color=(123, 45, 67))
         original_pixels = list(img.getdata())
 
-        with patch("preprocessing.cv2") as mock_cv2:
-            mock_cv2.cvtColor.side_effect = RuntimeError("cv2 exploded")
-
+        with patch("preprocessing.cv2.cvtColor", side_effect=ValueError("bad input")):
             result = preprocess_page(img)
 
         result_pixels = list(result.getdata())
         assert result_pixels == original_pixels
+
+    def test_unexpected_exception_propagates(self):
+        """A RuntimeError (programming error) must propagate — not be swallowed by the cv2 fallback."""
+        from preprocessing import preprocess_page
+
+        img = Image.new("RGB", (80, 60))
+
+        with patch("preprocessing.cv2.cvtColor", side_effect=RuntimeError("unexpected")):
+            with pytest.raises(RuntimeError, match="unexpected"):
+                preprocess_page(img)