diff --git a/pkg/api/error.go b/pkg/api/error.go
index 0cee0487a..e8ba7a535 100644
--- a/pkg/api/error.go
+++ b/pkg/api/error.go
@@ -16,12 +16,15 @@
 package api
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 	"regexp"
 
 	"github.com/go-openapi/runtime/middleware"
 	"github.com/go-openapi/strfmt"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/status"
 
 	"github.com/sigstore/rekor/pkg/generated/models"
 	"github.com/sigstore/rekor/pkg/generated/restapi/operations/entries"
@@ -31,6 +34,29 @@ import (
 	"github.com/sigstore/rekor/pkg/log"
 )
 
+func mapGRPCToHTTP(code int, err error) int {
+	// Only try to be smart if current code is a generic 500
+	if code != http.StatusInternalServerError {
+		return code
+	}
+
+	// Look for a GRPC error (even a wrapped one) to resolve a more useful HTTP code.
+	// The list of handled codes is intentionally limited to specific cases
+	for currErr := err; currErr != nil; currErr = errors.Unwrap(currErr) {
+		if st, ok := status.FromError(currErr); ok {
+			switch st.Code() {
+			case codes.Canceled:
+				return 499 // Client Closed Request
+			case codes.DeadlineExceeded:
+				return http.StatusGatewayTimeout
+			default:
+				return code
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return code
+}
+
 const (
 	trillianCommunicationError     = "unexpected error communicating with transparency log"
 	trillianUnexpectedResult       = "unexpected result from transparency log"
@@ -60,6 +86,8 @@ func errorMsg(message string, code int) *models.Error {
 var re = regexp.MustCompile("^(.*)Params$")
 
 func handleRekorAPIError(params interface{}, code int, err error, message string, fields ...interface{}) middleware.Responder {
+	code = mapGRPCToHTTP(code, err)
+
 	if message == "" {
 		message = http.StatusText(code)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/api/error_test.go b/pkg/api/error_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c5e3b2425
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/api/error_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+// Copyright 2026 The Sigstore Authors.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package api
+
+import (
+	"net/http"
+	"testing"
+
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/status"
+)
+
+func TestMapGRPCToHTTP(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		code int
+		err  error
+		want int
+	}{
+		{http.StatusOK, status.Error(codes.Canceled, "context canceled"), http.StatusOK},
+		{http.StatusInternalServerError, status.Error(codes.Canceled, "context canceled"), 499},
+		{http.StatusInternalServerError, status.Error(codes.DeadlineExceeded, "deadline exceeded"), http.StatusGatewayTimeout},
+		{http.StatusInternalServerError, status.Error(codes.DataLoss, "dataloss"), http.StatusInternalServerError},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		if got := mapGRPCToHTTP(tt.code, tt.err); got != tt.want {
+			t.Errorf("mapGRPCToHTTP(%v, %e) = %v, want %v", tt.code, tt.err, got, tt.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/generated/restapi/configure_rekor_server.go b/pkg/generated/restapi/configure_rekor_server.go
index e72a36364..985f0a9e3 100644
--- a/pkg/generated/restapi/configure_rekor_server.go
+++ b/pkg/generated/restapi/configure_rekor_server.go
@@ -22,9 +22,12 @@ import (
 	"crypto/tls"
 	go_errors "errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"net"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httputil"
 	"strconv"
+	"syscall"
 	"time"
 
 	// using embed to add the static html page duing build time
@@ -397,7 +400,22 @@ func recoverer(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
 					fields = append(fields, zap.ByteString("request_headers", request))
 				}
 
-				log.ContextLogger(ctx).With(fields...).Errorf("panic detected: %v", rvr)
+				// Check if the panic is due to a connection issue: Don't log these
+				// cases as serious errors
+				isNetworkError := false
+				if err, ok := rvr.(error); ok {
+					if go_errors.Is(err, io.EOF) || go_errors.Is(err, syscall.EPIPE) || go_errors.Is(err, syscall.ECONNRESET) {
+						isNetworkError = true
+					} else if netErr, ok := err.(net.Error); ok && netErr.Timeout() {
+						isNetworkError = true
+					}
+				}
+
+				if isNetworkError {
+					log.ContextLogger(ctx).With(fields...).Debugf("client connection closed: %v", rvr)
+				} else {
+					log.ContextLogger(ctx).With(fields...).Errorf("panic detected: %v", rvr)
+				}
 
 				errors.ServeError(w, r, nil)
 			}