README.md

@@ -323,8 +323,9 @@ first `/`, the size and format after the last `/`, and between them the source
 path up to the first `?` and the source query after it. So the `?` before the
 query, any `?` in the query, and every `%` in the source path or query must be
 percent-encoded, as `%3F` and `%25`. Any other character may be written as
-itself or percent-encoded: `/`, `;`, `,`, `=` and `&` work either way. For
-example,
+itself or percent-encoded: `/`, `;`, `,`, `=` and `&` work either way. Neither
+the source path nor the source query may hold a `#`, and an image URL that
+writes one as `%23` is refused with 400. For example,
 `https://cdn.example.com/img?url=https://origin.example.com/my%20cat.jpg` at
 800x600 WebP is
 `/v1/image/cdn.example.com/img%3Furl=https://origin.example.com/my%2520cat.jpg/800x600.webp`,

TODO.md

@@ -30,6 +30,11 @@ P2: security: per-origin rate limiting
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-15 a `/v1/image/` URL whose source path or source query holds a `#`,
+  written as `%23`, is refused with 400 (closes #286): the source URL built from
+  it ended at the `#` when fetched, so each text after it fetched the same
+  upstream image, without a signature for an allowlisted host, and cached it
+  under keys of its own. `README.md` says neither may hold a `#`.
 - 2026-10-15 the host of a `/v1/image/` URL must be a host name or an IPv4
   address (letters, digits, hyphens, underscores and dots) or an IPv6 address in
   brackets, either one optionally followed by `:` and a port, and any other host

internal/imgcache/urlparser.go

@@ -171,6 +171,14 @@ func parseImageComponents(remainder string) (*ParsedURL, error) {
 	// host
 	host = strings.ToLower(host)
 
+	// Go's URL parser, which the fetcher uses, reads a "#" as the start of a
+	// fragment and drops the rest, so each text after it would be another
+	// spelling, cached under its own keys, of one upstream request
+	if strings.Contains(path, "#") {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf(
+			`%w: the source path or query holds a "#"`, ErrInvalidPath)
+	}
+
 	// Extract query string if present in path
 	if qIndex := strings.Index(path, "?"); qIndex != -1 {
 		query = path[qIndex+1:]