Add an egress CIDR allowlist to the SSRF guard (closes #204 )

The SSRF blocklist had no escape hatch, so the thing webhooker is mostly for — taking a public webhook and forwarding it to something on your own network — could not be configured at all. Every private address, Docker sibling and loopback service was permanently unreachable as a delivery destination. ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS (default empty) names blocks that delivery targets may reach despite the default blocklist. It is an allowlist and only ever adds destinations: there is no boolean, and no value disables SSRF protection wholesale. Empty, the guard behaves exactly as before. A fixed set of addresses is refused before the allowlist is consulted, so no supplied CIDR opens one — not the exact address, not a supernet, not 0.0.0.0/0 or ::/0. It is the two link-local blocks (169.254.0.0/16, fe80::/10) plus host routes for the cloud metadata endpoints that sit outside them: AWS's IPv6 IMDS at fd00:ec2::254, which lives in ordinary ULA space, and Alibaba's 100.100.100.200, which lives in CGNAT. Allowlisting fd00::/8 or 100.64.0.0/10 (Tailscale's range) is an ordinary thing for an operator to do and must not reopen instance-credential theft. The IPv4-compatible (::a9fe:a9fe) and NAT64 (64:ff9b::a9fe:a9fe) spellings of 169.254.169.254 are listed too, because To4() does not normalise them into the link-local block the way it does the IPv4-mapped form. Reaching any of these is credential theft rather than delivery to an internal service. The policy now lives in one function, Guard.checkIP, which both target-creation validation and the delivery dialer call. The two paths previously decided separately, which is how they came to disagree about a destination. The guard is built once from config and injected via fx into both the handlers and the delivery engine, so there is a single instance and a single answer. A set-but-unparseable value aborts startup naming the variable, reusing the existing envPrefixList parser. A non-empty list is logged at startup with the blocks spelled out, not counted, so the hole is visible in the log of any deployment that has one. Tests: an allowlisted loopback CIDR both validates and delivers to a live server (and the same URL still fails without the allowlist); a private address outside the listed block stays refused on both paths; every unconditionally blocked address stays refused on both paths under an allowlist that covers it, and the set itself is pinned entry by entry; public addresses are unaffected either way; and config coverage for parsing, startup abort, and the warning's contents.
Shut down the app when the listener fails (closes #200 ) (#218 )
2026-08-20 04:55:00 +00:00 · 2026-08-20 06:42:36 +02:00 · 2026-08-20 06:30:23 +02:00
20 changed files with 1549 additions and 93 deletions
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -107,13 +107,105 @@ TTY detection, and security headers are always applied.
 | `DATA_DIR`              | Directory for all SQLite databases  | `/var/lib/webhooker` |
 | `DEBUG`                 | Enable debug logging                | `false`  |
 | `MAINTENANCE_MODE`      | Report `maintenanceMode: true` in the healthcheck JSON. It does not change how any request is served — no maintenance page exists | `false`  |
-| `METRICS_USERNAME`      | Basic auth username for `/metrics`  | `""`     |
-| `METRICS_PASSWORD`      | Basic auth password for `/metrics`  | `""`     |
+| `METRICS_USERNAME`      | Basic auth username for `/metrics`. Must be set together with `METRICS_PASSWORD`; one without the other fails startup | `""`     |
+| `METRICS_PASSWORD`      | Basic auth password for `/metrics`. Must be set together with `METRICS_USERNAME`; one without the other fails startup | `""`     |
 | `SENTRY_DSN`            | Sentry error reporting DSN          | `""`     |
 | `RETENTION_SWEEP_INTERVAL` | How often the retention reaper and archive sweeper run (Go duration, must be positive) | `1h` |
 | `SESSION_IDLE_TIMEOUT`  | Idle session timeout (Go duration)  | `24h`    |
 | `RECEIVER_RATE_LIMIT`   | Receiver requests/minute per IP per entrypoint (10x that per IP across the route) | `120` |
 | `TRUSTED_PROXIES`       | CIDRs whose forwarded headers are trusted (unset: all clients behind a proxy share one rate-limit bucket; a correct login password is never throttled either way) | `""` (none) |
+| `ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS`  | CIDRs that delivery targets may reach despite the SSRF blocklist. Read [Allowing egress to your own network](#allowing-egress-to-your-own-network) before setting it | `""` (none) |
+
+#### Allowing egress to your own network
+
+By default every delivery target must resolve to a public address.
+The private and reserved ranges — RFC 1918, loopback, CGNAT,
+link-local and the rest — are refused, which stops a target from being
+used to make webhooker probe the network it sits in.
+
+That default is also inconvenient for the thing webhooker is mostly
+for: taking a public webhook and forwarding it to something on your own
+network. A container on the same Docker network, a box on `10.x`, a
+service on `127.0.0.1` — all refused, until you name them.
+
+`ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS` is a comma-separated list of CIDR blocks (a bare
+address such as `10.0.0.7` is accepted and treated as a single host),
+for example `10.0.0.0/8, 172.17.0.0/16`. Addresses inside those blocks
+become valid delivery destinations. Everything outside them keeps the
+default answer, so this only ever adds destinations — it never removes
+any, and it cannot narrow what was already reachable.
+
+**The risk, plainly.** Each block you list is a network that anyone who
+can create a delivery target can now make this process issue requests
+into, and read the response body back out of via the delivery log. That
+is server-side request forgery, deliberately enabled and scoped by you.
+A webhooker admin account is therefore as trusted as the narrowest
+thing on those networks: an unauthenticated admin panel, a database
+listening without a password, or an internal API that trusts its
+network position is reachable through it. List the smallest blocks that
+cover the destinations you actually deliver to — prefer
+`10.1.2.3/32` over `10.0.0.0/8` — and never list a block wider than the
+network you are willing to expose.
+
+Listing `0.0.0.0/0` or `::/0` opens **every** other private and
+reserved range at once — loopback, RFC 1918, CGNAT, ULA, the lot. It is
+a functional off switch for everything except the addresses listed as
+unconditionally blocked below, and it makes any delivery target a probe
+into your entire network and this host's own loopback services. Do not
+list it.
+
+Two things this setting cannot do:
+
+- **It cannot turn the guard off.** There is no boolean, and no value
+  that disables SSRF protection wholesale. The guard is always on and
+  the list is always an allowlist; an empty list (the default) means
+  every private and reserved range stays refused. Note that
+  `0.0.0.0/0` gets you most of the way there anyway, per above.
+- **It cannot open link-local or a known cloud metadata endpoint.**
+  These stay blocked no matter what you list, including when you list
+  them outright or list a supernet such as `0.0.0.0/0`, `::/0`,
+  `fd00::/8` or `100.64.0.0/10`:
+
+  | Blocked unconditionally | What it is |
+  | ----------------------- | ---------- |
+  | `169.254.0.0/16` | IPv4 link-local, carrying `169.254.169.254` (AWS, GCP, Azure and others) |
+  | `fe80::/10` | IPv6 link-local |
+  | `fd00:ec2::254/128` | AWS IPv6 IMDS, a host route inside ULA space |
+  | `100.100.100.200/32` | Alibaba Cloud metadata, a host route inside CGNAT |
+  | `::a9fe:a9fe/128` | `169.254.169.254` as an IPv4-compatible IPv6 address |
+  | `64:ff9b::a9fe:a9fe/128` | `169.254.169.254` behind the NAT64 well-known prefix |
+
+  The IPv4-mapped form `::ffff:169.254.169.254` is covered by the
+  `169.254.0.0/16` entry. Reaching any of these is credential theft
+  rather than delivery to an internal service. The two host routes are
+  single addresses, so blocking them costs you nothing else on the ULA
+  or CGNAT networks around them. This list is not exhaustive of every
+  cloud's metadata address — if yours is not here, do not allowlist the
+  block that contains it.
+
+The list is applied at one place in the code, which both target
+creation and delivery consult, so a URL that the target form accepts is
+one that delivery will actually attempt — the two cannot disagree.
+Delivery re-resolves and re-checks the destination at dial time, so a
+hostname that resolves to an allowed address during validation and a
+different one later (DNS rebinding) is still refused unless the new
+address is also allowed.
+
+A set but unparseable value aborts startup. When the list is non-empty
+webhooker logs it at startup, blocks and all, so the hole is visible in
+the log of any deployment that has one.
+
+#### Metrics credentials
+
+`METRICS_USERNAME` and `METRICS_PASSWORD` are set together or not at
+all. With both set, `/metrics` is served behind basic auth. With
+neither set, the route is not registered and returns 404. With one set
+and the other empty or unset, the process refuses to start and exits
+non-zero with an error naming both variables — mounting the endpoint
+on the username alone would publish it behind a password that is the
+empty string, and quietly withholding it would deny an endpoint that
+was asked for. The `hasMetricsAuth` field in the startup log and the
+existence of the route are the same value, so they cannot disagree.

 #### Trusted proxies

@@ -226,8 +318,9 @@ additionally be a number in the range 1–65535,
 `RECEIVER_RATE_LIMIT` must be at least 1,
 `RETENTION_SWEEP_INTERVAL` must be greater than zero (it is a ticker
 period, so `0s` or a negative value would crash the reaper after
-startup), and every entry in `TRUSTED_PROXIES` must be a CIDR block or
-a bare IP address. `SESSION_IDLE_TIMEOUT` is the exception: a
+startup), and every entry in `TRUSTED_PROXIES` and
+`ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS` must be a CIDR block or a bare IP address.
+`SESSION_IDLE_TIMEOUT` is the exception: a
 non-positive value there means idle expiry is disabled, not invalid.

 Boolean variables (`DEBUG`, `MAINTENANCE_MODE`) accept exactly the
@@ -1682,7 +1775,7 @@ abuse limit later; they are tracked as future work.

 | Method | Path       | Description |
 | ------ | ---------- | ----------- |
-| `GET`  | `/metrics` | Prometheus metrics, behind basic auth. The route is registered only when `METRICS_USERNAME` is set; otherwise it does not exist and returns 404 |
+| `GET`  | `/metrics` | Prometheus metrics, behind basic auth. The route is registered only when `METRICS_USERNAME` and `METRICS_PASSWORD` are both set; with neither set it does not exist and returns 404, and with only one set the process refuses to start |

 #### API (Planned)

@@ -1837,7 +1930,8 @@ Applied to all routes in this order:
   Permissions-Policy)
 3. **Logging** — Structured request logging (method, URL, status,
   latency, remote IP, user agent, request ID)
-4. **Metrics** — Prometheus HTTP metrics (if `METRICS_USERNAME` is set)
+4. **Metrics** — Prometheus HTTP metrics (if `METRICS_USERNAME` and
+   `METRICS_PASSWORD` are both set)
 5. **CORS** — Cross-origin resource sharing headers
 6. **Timeout** — 60-second request timeout
 7. **Recoverer** — Panic recovery: one `ERROR` record through
@@ -1869,8 +1963,9 @@ being read and without reaching CSRF, the route group's remaining
 middleware, or the handler. It is not rejected before *any* other
 middleware, though: the global entries listed above all run first, so
 such a request is still logged and given the security headers — and
-counted in the metrics, on a deployment where `METRICS_USERNAME` is
-set and the Metrics middleware is therefore registered at all. The
+counted in the metrics, on a deployment where the `/metrics`
+credentials are set and the Metrics middleware is therefore registered
+at all. The
 rejection itself is logged at `WARN` with the method, path and
 declared length. A chunked request, or
 one that lies about its length, is hard-capped by
@@ -1920,7 +2015,13 @@ check, see [The login endpoint](#the-login-endpoint).
  ranges (RFC 1918, loopback, link-local, cloud metadata) are blocked
  both at target creation time (URL validation) and at delivery time
  (custom HTTP transport with SSRF-safe dialer that validates resolved
-  IPs before connecting, preventing DNS rebinding attacks)
+  IPs before connecting, preventing DNS rebinding attacks). Both paths
+  route through a single decision function, so they cannot disagree
+  about a destination. An operator can permit specific blocks with
+  [`ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS`](#allowing-egress-to-your-own-network); the
+  guard cannot be switched off, and link-local plus the known cloud
+  metadata endpoints stay blocked whatever is listed — though listing
+  `0.0.0.0/0` or `::/0` does open every other private range
 - **Login limiting is inverted, deliberately.** The login `POST` has
  no pre-emptive rate limiter in front of it. Credentials are
  verified first and only a _failed_ attempt spends budget, so a
--- a/cmd/webhooker/main.go
+++ b/cmd/webhooker/main.go
@@ -75,6 +75,10 @@ func newApp() *fx.App {
 			session.New,
 			handlers.New,
 			middleware.New,
+			// The one SSRF guard both target-creation validation
+			// and the delivery dialer consult, so they cannot
+			// disagree about a destination.
+			delivery.NewGuard,
 			delivery.New,
 			delivery.NewArchiveSweeper,
 			// Wire *delivery.Engine as delivery.Notifier so the
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -71,6 +71,16 @@ var ErrInvalidPort = errors.New("invalid port")
 // nor a bare IP address.
 var ErrInvalidCIDR = errors.New("invalid CIDR")

+// ErrIncompleteMetricsAuth is returned when exactly one of
+// METRICS_USERNAME and METRICS_PASSWORD carries a value. Neither
+// fallback is acceptable: serving /metrics on the username alone
+// publishes an endpoint whose password is the empty string, and
+// silently leaving it unmounted withholds an endpoint the operator
+// asked for. Half-set is a configuration error, so startup fails.
+var ErrIncompleteMetricsAuth = errors.New(
+	"incomplete metrics credentials",
+)
+
 //nolint:revive // ConfigParams is a standard fx naming convention.
 type ConfigParams struct {
 	fx.In
@@ -114,6 +124,17 @@ type Config struct {
 	// clients.
 	TrustedProxies []netip.Prefix

+	// AllowedEgressCIDRs is the set of networks a delivery target
+	// may reach even though the SSRF guard's default blocklist
+	// covers them. It is empty unless ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS is set,
+	// and empty means every private/reserved range stays refused.
+	//
+	// This only ever adds destinations to what the guard would
+	// otherwise refuse. The guard itself is always on: there is no
+	// setting that disables SSRF protection, and link-local stays
+	// blocked no matter what is listed here.
+	AllowedEgressCIDRs []netip.Prefix
+
 	params *ConfigParams
 	log    *slog.Logger
 }
@@ -128,6 +149,21 @@ func (c *Config) IsProd() bool {
 	return c.Environment == EnvironmentProd
 }

+// MetricsAuthEnabled reports whether /metrics is served behind basic
+// auth. It is the only answer to that question in the codebase: the
+// route mount, the Prometheus recording middleware and the startup
+// log's hasMetricsAuth field all read this one method, so the log
+// cannot report auth as off while the route is mounted.
+//
+// It requires both credentials rather than the username alone.
+// loadFromEnv already rejects a half-set pair, but a Config built in
+// code bypasses that, and the failure mode this guards is an endpoint
+// mounted with a credential map whose only password is the empty
+// string.
+func (c *Config) MetricsAuthEnabled() bool {
+	return c.MetricsUsername != "" && c.MetricsPassword != ""
+}
+
 // envString returns the value of the named environment variable,
 // or an empty string if not set.
 func envString(key string) string {
@@ -329,6 +365,30 @@ func envPrefixList(key string) ([]netip.Prefix, error) {
 	return prefixes, nil
 }

+// resolveMetricsAuth reads the /metrics basic-auth credentials and
+// rejects a half-set pair, naming both variables either way. The
+// error carries neither value: the password is a secret.
+func resolveMetricsAuth() (string, string, error) {
+	username := envString("METRICS_USERNAME")
+	password := envString("METRICS_PASSWORD")
+
+	if (username == "") == (password == "") {
+		return username, password, nil
+	}
+
+	set, empty := "METRICS_USERNAME", "METRICS_PASSWORD"
+	if username == "" {
+		set, empty = empty, set
+	}
+
+	return "", "", fmt.Errorf(
+		"%w: %s is set but %s is empty; METRICS_USERNAME and "+
+			"METRICS_PASSWORD must both be set to serve /metrics, "+
+			"or both be empty to leave it unmounted",
+		ErrIncompleteMetricsAuth, set, empty,
+	)
+}
+
 // resolveEnvironment reads WEBHOOKER_ENVIRONMENT, defaulting to
 // dev, and rejects unrecognised values.
 func resolveEnvironment() (string, error) {
@@ -406,22 +466,71 @@ func loadFromEnv() (*Config, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}

+	allowedEgressCIDRs, err := envPrefixList("ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	metricsUsername, metricsPassword, err := resolveMetricsAuth()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	return &Config{
 		DataDir:                envString("DATA_DIR"),
 		Debug:                  debug,
 		MaintenanceMode:        maintenanceMode,
 		Environment:            environment,
-		MetricsUsername:        envString("METRICS_USERNAME"),
-		MetricsPassword:        envString("METRICS_PASSWORD"),
+		MetricsUsername:        metricsUsername,
+		MetricsPassword:        metricsPassword,
 		Port:                   port,
 		SentryDSN:              envString("SENTRY_DSN"),
 		RetentionSweepInterval: retentionSweepInterval,
 		SessionIdleTimeout:     sessionIdleTimeout,
 		ReceiverRateLimit:      receiverRateLimit,
 		TrustedProxies:         trustedProxies,
+		AllowedEgressCIDRs:     allowedEgressCIDRs,
 	}, nil
 }

+// PrefixStrings renders a prefix list as its CIDR strings, for
+// logging a list an operator has to be able to read back.
+func PrefixStrings(prefixes []netip.Prefix) []string {
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(prefixes))
+
+	for _, prefix := range prefixes {
+		out = append(out, prefix.String())
+	}
+
+	return out
+}
+
+// warnEgressAllowlist logs the effective ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS
+// whenever it is non-empty.
+//
+// It prints the blocks themselves rather than a count, because
+// this is the one setting that lets a delivery target reach the
+// host's own network: an operator reading the startup log has to
+// be able to see exactly which hole is open. Silence means the
+// list is empty and the SSRF guard is refusing every
+// private/reserved range, which is the default.
+func (c *Config) warnEgressAllowlist(log *slog.Logger) {
+	if len(c.AllowedEgressCIDRs) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+
+	log.Warn(
+		"ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS lets delivery targets reach these "+
+			"otherwise-blocked private/reserved networks. Anyone "+
+			"who can create a delivery target can now make this "+
+			"process issue requests into them, and read back the "+
+			"response. Link-local (cloud instance metadata) stays "+
+			"blocked regardless.",
+		"allowedEgressCIDRs",
+		strings.Join(PrefixStrings(c.AllowedEgressCIDRs), ","),
+	)
+}
+
 // warnSharedRateLimitBucket logs a startup warning whenever
 // TRUSTED_PROXIES is empty, in any environment.
 //
@@ -511,12 +620,13 @@ func New(lc fx.Lifecycle, params ConfigParams) (*Config, error) {
 		"sessionIdleTimeout", s.SessionIdleTimeout.String(),
 		"receiverRateLimit", s.ReceiverRateLimit,
 		"trustedProxies", len(s.TrustedProxies),
+		"allowedEgressCIDRs", len(s.AllowedEgressCIDRs),
 		"hasSentryDSN", s.SentryDSN != "",
-		"hasMetricsAuth",
-		s.MetricsUsername != "" && s.MetricsPassword != "",
+		"hasMetricsAuth", s.MetricsAuthEnabled(),
 	)

 	s.warnSharedRateLimitBucket(log)
+	s.warnEgressAllowlist(log)

 	return s, nil
 }
--- a/internal/config/config_test.go
+++ b/internal/config/config_test.go
@@ -26,6 +26,12 @@ const (
 	// cidrPrivateV4 is the sample trusted-proxy block the
 	// TRUSTED_PROXIES cases are built from.
 	cidrPrivateV4 = "10.0.0.0/8"
+
+	// metricsAuthValue is the sample METRICS_PASSWORD the metrics
+	// credential cases are built from. It is asserted absent from
+	// the startup error, so it must not be a substring of either
+	// variable name that error prints.
+	metricsAuthValue = "s3cret"
 )

 func TestEnvironmentConfig(t *testing.T) {
@@ -627,6 +633,183 @@ func testTrustedProxiesSuccess(
 	assert.Equal(t, expected, got)
 }

+// TestAllowedEgressCIDRs covers ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS, the escape
+// hatch that lets a self-hosted deployment forward to its own
+// network. Unset it must stay empty, so the SSRF guard keeps
+// refusing every private/reserved range; a set-but-unparseable
+// value must abort startup naming the variable rather than
+// silently running with a list the operator did not write.
+func TestAllowedEgressCIDRs(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name        string
+		set         bool
+		value       string
+		expected    []string
+		expectError bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:     caseUnsetUsesDefault,
+			set:      false,
+			expected: []string{},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "empty value yields empty list",
+			set:      true,
+			value:    "",
+			expected: []string{},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     caseValidValueParsed,
+			set:      true,
+			value:    cidrPrivateV4,
+			expected: []string{cidrPrivateV4},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "multiple blocks with whitespace",
+			set:      true,
+			value:    " 10.0.0.0/8 , 127.0.0.0/8 ",
+			expected: []string{cidrPrivateV4, "127.0.0.0/8"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "bare address becomes a single host",
+			set:      true,
+			value:    "172.17.0.5",
+			expected: []string{"172.17.0.5/32"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:        caseUnparseableFails,
+			set:         true,
+			value:       cidrPrivateV4 + ",not-an-address",
+			expectError: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "out-of-range prefix length fails startup",
+			set:         true,
+			value:       "10.0.0.0/33",
+			expectError: true,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			// Cannot use t.Parallel() here because t.Setenv
+			// is incompatible with parallel subtests.
+			t.Setenv("WEBHOOKER_ENVIRONMENT", "dev")
+
+			if tt.set {
+				t.Setenv("ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS", tt.value)
+			} else {
+				require.NoError(
+					t, os.Unsetenv("ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS"),
+				)
+			}
+
+			if tt.expectError {
+				expectStartupErrorFor(
+					t, "ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS", config.ErrInvalidCIDR,
+				)
+			} else {
+				testAllowedEgressCIDRsSuccess(t, tt.expected)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func testAllowedEgressCIDRsSuccess(
+	t *testing.T,
+	expected []string,
+) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	var cfg *config.Config
+
+	app := fxtest.New(
+		t,
+		fx.Provide(
+			globals.New,
+			logger.New,
+			config.New,
+		),
+		fx.Populate(&cfg),
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, app.Err())
+
+	app.RequireStart()
+
+	defer app.RequireStop()
+
+	assert.Equal(
+		t, expected, config.PrefixStrings(cfg.AllowedEgressCIDRs),
+	)
+}
+
+// TestEgressAllowlistWarning covers the startup log that shows an
+// operator the hole ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS opened. It must stay
+// silent on the default (empty) list and, when set, print the
+// blocks themselves rather than a count.
+func TestEgressAllowlistWarning(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name          string
+		allowed       string
+		expectWarning bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:          "empty allowlist is quiet",
+			expectWarning: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "non-empty allowlist warns",
+			allowed:       "10.0.0.0/8,127.0.0.0/8",
+			expectWarning: true,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			// Cannot use t.Parallel() here because t.Setenv
+			// is incompatible with parallel subtests.
+			t.Setenv("WEBHOOKER_ENVIRONMENT", config.EnvironmentDev)
+
+			if tt.allowed == "" {
+				require.NoError(
+					t, os.Unsetenv("ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS"),
+				)
+			} else {
+				t.Setenv("ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS", tt.allowed)
+			}
+
+			var buf bytes.Buffer
+
+			log := slog.New(slog.NewJSONHandler(
+				&buf, &slog.HandlerOptions{
+					Level: slog.LevelDebug,
+				},
+			))
+
+			require.NoError(
+				t, config.WarnEgressAllowlistForTest(log),
+			)
+
+			if !tt.expectWarning {
+				assert.Empty(t, buf.String())
+
+				return
+			}
+
+			logged := buf.String()
+
+			assert.Contains(t, logged, `"level":"WARN"`)
+			assert.Contains(t, logged, "ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS")
+			// The blocks themselves, not a count: the operator has
+			// to be able to read back which networks are open.
+			assert.Contains(t, logged, "10.0.0.0/8")
+			assert.Contains(t, logged, "127.0.0.0/8")
+			// The warning must keep saying what stays shut.
+			assert.Contains(t, logged, "Link-local")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 // TestSharedRateLimitBucketWarning covers the startup warning that
 // tells an operator a deployment behind a reverse proxy shares one
 // rate-limit bucket between every client, which turns the receiver
@@ -726,3 +909,168 @@ func TestSharedRateLimitBucketWarning(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+// metricsEnv describes what one subtest below puts in the
+// environment for a single METRICS_ variable. A variable that is
+// set to the empty string and one that is not set at all are
+// distinct inputs here, because the reported bug arrived through
+// the first of them.
+type metricsEnv struct {
+	set   bool
+	value string
+}
+
+// unset leaves the variable out of the environment entirely.
+func unset() metricsEnv {
+	return metricsEnv{set: false, value: ""}
+}
+
+// setTo sets the variable, including to the empty string.
+func setTo(value string) metricsEnv {
+	return metricsEnv{set: true, value: value}
+}
+
+// metricsAuthCase is one row of the table in TestMetricsAuthConfig,
+// named so the table can live in its own function and keep the test
+// itself short.
+type metricsAuthCase struct {
+	name        string
+	username    metricsEnv
+	password    metricsEnv
+	expectError bool
+	expectAuth  bool
+}
+
+// metricsAuthCases enumerates every combination of the two
+// credentials, counting "set to the empty string" and "not set at
+// all" as separate inputs on each side.
+func metricsAuthCases() []metricsAuthCase {
+	return []metricsAuthCase{
+		{
+			name:     "both unset leaves metrics unmounted",
+			username: unset(),
+			password: unset(),
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "both empty leaves metrics unmounted",
+			username: setTo(""),
+			password: setTo(""),
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "both set enables metrics auth",
+			username:   setTo("metrics"),
+			password:   setTo(metricsAuthValue),
+			expectAuth: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "username with unset password fails",
+			username:    setTo("metrics"),
+			password:    unset(),
+			expectError: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "username with empty password fails",
+			username:    setTo("metrics"),
+			password:    setTo(""),
+			expectError: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "password with unset username fails",
+			username:    unset(),
+			password:    setTo(metricsAuthValue),
+			expectError: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "password with empty username fails",
+			username:    setTo(""),
+			password:    setTo(metricsAuthValue),
+			expectError: true,
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMetricsAuthConfig covers every combination of METRICS_USERNAME
+// and METRICS_PASSWORD. Either both carry a value, in which case
+// /metrics is served behind basic auth, or neither does, in which
+// case the route is never mounted. One without the other is a
+// startup error rather than a fallback: mounting on the username
+// alone published /metrics behind a credential map that accepted an
+// empty password, which is the defect this test exists to pin. See
+// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/205.
+func TestMetricsAuthConfig(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tt := range metricsAuthCases() {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			// Cannot use t.Parallel() here because t.Setenv
+			// is incompatible with parallel subtests.
+			if tt.username.set {
+				t.Setenv("METRICS_USERNAME", tt.username.value)
+			} else {
+				require.NoError(
+					t, os.Unsetenv("METRICS_USERNAME"),
+				)
+			}
+
+			if tt.password.set {
+				t.Setenv("METRICS_PASSWORD", tt.password.value)
+			} else {
+				require.NoError(
+					t, os.Unsetenv("METRICS_PASSWORD"),
+				)
+			}
+
+			if tt.expectError {
+				assertMetricsAuthRejected(t)
+
+				return
+			}
+
+			assertMetricsAuthAccepted(t, tt.expectAuth)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// assertMetricsAuthRejected requires that fx refused to build the
+// graph, that the failure is ErrIncompleteMetricsAuth, and that the
+// operator is told both variable names — the point of failing here
+// rather than degrading is that the message says what to fix.
+func assertMetricsAuthRejected(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	var cfg *config.Config
+
+	app := fx.New(
+		fx.NopLogger,
+		fx.Provide(globals.New, logger.New, config.New),
+		fx.Populate(&cfg),
+	)
+
+	err := app.Err()
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.ErrorIs(t, err, config.ErrIncompleteMetricsAuth)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "METRICS_USERNAME")
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "METRICS_PASSWORD")
+	// The password is a secret and must not reach a startup error.
+	assert.NotContains(t, err.Error(), metricsAuthValue)
+}
+
+// assertMetricsAuthAccepted requires that startup succeeded and that
+// MetricsAuthEnabled — the single value the /metrics mount and the
+// startup log both read — reports what the environment asked for.
+func assertMetricsAuthAccepted(t *testing.T, expectAuth bool) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	var cfg *config.Config
+
+	app := fxtest.New(
+		t,
+		fx.Provide(globals.New, logger.New, config.New),
+		fx.Populate(&cfg),
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, app.Err())
+
+	app.RequireStart()
+
+	defer app.RequireStop()
+
+	assert.Equal(t, expectAuth, cfg.MetricsAuthEnabled())
+}
--- a/internal/config/export_test.go
+++ b/internal/config/export_test.go
@@ -21,6 +21,21 @@ func WarnSharedRateLimitBucketForTest(log *slog.Logger) error {
 	return nil
 }

+// WarnEgressAllowlistForTest loads a Config from the current
+// environment and emits its egress-allowlist startup warning to
+// log, so a test can assert both that the warning fires only when
+// the list is non-empty and that it names the blocks it opened.
+func WarnEgressAllowlistForTest(log *slog.Logger) error {
+	c, err := loadFromEnv()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	c.warnEgressAllowlist(log)
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // EnvBoolForTest exposes envBool.
 func EnvBoolForTest(key string, defaultValue bool) (bool, error) {
 	return envBool(key, defaultValue)
--- a/internal/delivery/client_ssrf_test.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/client_ssrf_test.go
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ func newSSRFTestEngine() *delivery.Engine {

 	client := &http.Client{
 		Timeout: 30 * time.Second,
-		Transport: delivery.NewSSRFSafeTransport(),
+		Transport: delivery.NewTestGuard().
+			NewSSRFSafeTransport(),
 	}

 	return delivery.NewTestEngine(log, client, 1)
@@ -36,8 +37,8 @@ func TestClientForConfig_TimeoutKeepsSSRFGuard(t *testing.T) {
 	engine := newSSRFTestEngine()

 	blocked := []string{
-		"http://127.0.0.1/hook",
-		"http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/",
+		loopbackHookURL,
+		metadataURL,
 		"http://[fe80::1]/hook",
 	}

--- a/internal/delivery/engine.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/engine.go
@@ -120,6 +120,7 @@ type EngineParams struct {
 	DB        *database.Database
 	DBManager *database.WebhookDBManager
 	Logger    *logger.Logger
+	SSRFGuard *Guard
 }

 // Engine processes queued deliveries in the background
@@ -168,7 +169,7 @@ func New(

 	e.initTargets(&http.Client{
 		Timeout:   httpClientTimeout,
-		Transport: NewSSRFSafeTransport(),
+		Transport: params.SSRFGuard.NewSSRFSafeTransport(),
 	})

 	e.registerHooks(lc)
--- a/internal/delivery/export_test.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/export_test.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"log/slog"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
+	"net/netip"
 	"time"

 	"go.uber.org/fx"
@@ -31,6 +32,26 @@ func ExportIsBlockedIP(ip net.IP) bool {
 	return isBlockedIP(ip)
 }

+// NewTestGuard builds an SSRF Guard from an explicit egress
+// allowlist, without going through config. Passing no prefixes
+// yields the default guard, which blocks every private/reserved
+// range.
+func NewTestGuard(allowed ...netip.Prefix) *Guard {
+	return &Guard{allowed: allowed}
+}
+
+// ExportCheckIP exposes the guard's single decision point, so a
+// test can assert the policy both the validator and the dialer
+// inherit without needing a live destination.
+func (g *Guard) ExportCheckIP(ip net.IP) error {
+	return g.checkIP(ip)
+}
+
+// ExportAlwaysBlockedNetworks exposes alwaysBlockedNetworks.
+func ExportAlwaysBlockedNetworks() []*net.IPNet {
+	return alwaysBlockedNetworks
+}
+
 // ExportBlockedNetworks exposes blockedNetworks.
 func ExportBlockedNetworks() []*net.IPNet {
 	return blockedNetworks
--- a/internal/delivery/ssrf.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/ssrf.go
@@ -6,8 +6,11 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
+	"net/netip"
 	"net/url"
 	"time"
+
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/config"
 )

 const (
@@ -25,20 +28,41 @@ var (
 	errBlockedIP = errors.New(
 		"blocked private/reserved IP range",
 	)
+	errBlockedMetadata = errors.New(
+		"blocked link-local or cloud instance metadata " +
+			"address: ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS cannot open it",
+	)
 	errInvalidScheme = errors.New(
 		"only http and https are allowed",
 	)
 )

 // blockedNetworks contains all private/reserved IP ranges
-// that should be blocked to prevent SSRF attacks.
+// that should be blocked to prevent SSRF attacks. An operator
+// can permit specific blocks out of this set with
+// ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS; see Guard.
 //
 //nolint:gochecknoglobals // package-level network list is appropriate here
 var blockedNetworks []*net.IPNet

+// alwaysBlockedNetworks are the ranges no configuration can
+// open: the link-local blocks and the cloud instance metadata
+// endpoints that live outside them. Reaching one is credential
+// theft rather than delivery to an internal service, so a
+// supplied CIDR that covers such an address still leaves it
+// blocked.
+//
+// Some of these are also in blockedNetworks and this list is
+// what makes them unconditional; the metadata endpoints outside
+// the link-local range are host routes, so blocking them costs
+// an operator nothing else on the surrounding network.
+//
+//nolint:gochecknoglobals // package-level network list is appropriate here
+var alwaysBlockedNetworks []*net.IPNet
+
 //nolint:gochecknoinits // init is the idiomatic way to parse CIDRs once at startup
 func init() {
-	cidrs := []string{
+	blockedNetworks = mustParseCIDRs([]string{
 		"127.0.0.0/8",
 		"10.0.0.0/8",
 		"172.16.0.0/12",
@@ -56,7 +80,44 @@ func init() {
 		"::1/128",
 		"fc00::/7",
 		"fe80::/10",
-	}
+	})
+
+	// Every entry is named. The set must not grow or shrink
+	// without a matching change to
+	// TestAlwaysBlockedNetworks_PinnedSet.
+	//
+	// The IPv4-mapped form ::ffff:169.254.169.254 needs no
+	// entry: net.IPNet.Contains normalises it via To4() before
+	// comparing, so 169.254.0.0/16 already matches it. To4()
+	// does not normalise the IPv4-compatible or NAT64 forms,
+	// which is why those are listed separately.
+	alwaysBlockedNetworks = mustParseCIDRs([]string{
+		// IPv4 link-local, carrying the 169.254.169.254
+		// metadata service used by AWS, GCP, Azure and others.
+		"169.254.0.0/16",
+		// IPv6 link-local, its IPv6 counterpart.
+		"fe80::/10",
+		// AWS IPv6 IMDS. It sits in fc00::/7, so an operator
+		// allowlisting their own ULA block (fd00::/8 is an
+		// ordinary entry) would otherwise reopen it.
+		"fd00:ec2::254/128",
+		// Alibaba Cloud metadata. It sits in CGNAT
+		// 100.64.0.0/10, which Tailscale also uses, so an
+		// operator allowlisting a Tailscale peer's range would
+		// otherwise reopen it.
+		"100.100.100.200/32",
+		// 169.254.169.254 as an IPv4-compatible IPv6 address.
+		"::a9fe:a9fe/128",
+		// 169.254.169.254 behind the NAT64 well-known prefix.
+		"64:ff9b::a9fe:a9fe/128",
+	})
+}
+
+// mustParseCIDRs parses a list of CIDR literals, panicking on a
+// bad one. The inputs are compile-time constants, so a failure
+// is a programming error rather than a runtime condition.
+func mustParseCIDRs(cidrs []string) []*net.IPNet {
+	networks := make([]*net.IPNet, 0, len(cidrs))

 	for _, cidr := range cidrs {
 		_, network, err := net.ParseCIDR(cidr)
@@ -67,16 +128,15 @@ func init() {
 			))
 		}

-		blockedNetworks = append(
-			blockedNetworks, network,
-		)
+		networks = append(networks, network)
 	}
+
+	return networks
 }

-// isBlockedIP checks whether an IP address falls within
-// any blocked private/reserved network range.
-func isBlockedIP(ip net.IP) bool {
-	for _, network := range blockedNetworks {
+// matchesAny reports whether ip falls inside any of networks.
+func matchesAny(networks []*net.IPNet, ip net.IP) bool {
+	for _, network := range networks {
 		if network.Contains(ip) {
 			return true
 		}
@@ -85,9 +145,40 @@ func isBlockedIP(ip net.IP) bool {
 	return false
 }

+// isBlockedIP checks whether an IP address falls within
+// any blocked private/reserved network range, before any
+// operator allowlist is considered.
+func isBlockedIP(ip net.IP) bool {
+	return matchesAny(blockedNetworks, ip)
+}
+
+// Guard makes every SSRF decision in the process.
+//
+// It holds the operator's ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS allowlist and
+// applies it in exactly one place, checkIP, which both the
+// target-creation validator (ValidateTargetURL) and the delivery
+// dialer call. Routing both through the same function is the
+// point: when the two paths decided separately they drifted and
+// disagreed, which is what made a target creatable but
+// undeliverable.
+//
+// The guard is always on. The allowlist only ever adds specific
+// networks to what the default blocklist refuses, and no
+// configuration turns the guard off wholesale.
+type Guard struct {
+	// allowed is the operator's ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS. Empty
+	// (the default) means the default blocklist stands as-is.
+	allowed []netip.Prefix
+}
+
+// NewGuard builds the process-wide SSRF guard from configuration.
+func NewGuard(cfg *config.Config) *Guard {
+	return &Guard{allowed: cfg.AllowedEgressCIDRs}
+}
+
 // ValidateTargetURL checks that an HTTP delivery target
 // URL is safe from SSRF attacks.
-func ValidateTargetURL(
+func (g *Guard) ValidateTargetURL(
 	ctx context.Context, targetURL string,
 ) error {
 	parsed, err := url.Parse(targetURL)
@@ -111,36 +202,79 @@ func ValidateTargetURL(
 	}

 	if ip := net.ParseIP(host); ip != nil {
-		return checkBlockedIP(ip)
+		return g.checkIP(ip)
 	}

-	return validateHostname(ctx, host)
+	return g.validateHostname(ctx, host)
 }

-func validateScheme(scheme string) error {
-	if scheme != "http" && scheme != "https" {
+// NewSSRFSafeTransport creates an http.Transport with a
+// custom DialContext that refuses connections to any address
+// this guard blocks. It resolves and checks at dial time, so a
+// name that passed validation but now answers with a blocked
+// address (DNS rebinding) is still refused.
+func (g *Guard) NewSSRFSafeTransport() *http.Transport {
+	return &http.Transport{
+		DialContext: g.ssrfDialContext,
+	}
+}
+
+// allows reports whether ip falls inside the operator's
+// configured egress allowlist.
+func (g *Guard) allows(ip net.IP) bool {
+	if len(g.allowed) == 0 {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	addr, ok := netip.AddrFromSlice(ip)
+	if !ok {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	// Config unmaps every parsed prefix, so an IPv4-mapped
+	// address has to be unmapped too or it would never match.
+	addr = addr.Unmap()
+
+	for _, prefix := range g.allowed {
+		if prefix.Contains(addr) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
+// checkIP is the single point at which SSRF policy is decided.
+//
+// The order is the policy:
+//
+//  1. alwaysBlockedNetworks is refused before the allowlist is
+//     consulted, so no configured CIDR reaches link-local or a
+//     cloud instance metadata endpoint.
+//  2. The allowlist is consulted next, so a listed private
+//     network becomes reachable.
+//  3. Everything else keeps the default blocklist's answer.
+func (g *Guard) checkIP(ip net.IP) error {
+	if matchesAny(alwaysBlockedNetworks, ip) {
 		return fmt.Errorf(
-			"unsupported URL scheme %q: %w",
-			scheme, errInvalidScheme,
+			"target IP %s: %w", ip, errBlockedMetadata,
 		)
 	}

+	if g.allows(ip) {
 		return nil
-}
+	}

-func checkBlockedIP(ip net.IP) error {
 	if isBlockedIP(ip) {
 		return fmt.Errorf(
-			"target IP %s is in a blocked "+
-				"private/reserved range: %w",
-			ip, errBlockedIP,
+			"target IP %s: %w", ip, errBlockedIP,
 		)
 	}

 	return nil
 }

-func validateHostname(
+func (g *Guard) validateHostname(
 	ctx context.Context, host string,
 ) error {
 	dnsCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(
@@ -165,11 +299,11 @@ func validateHostname(
 	}

 	for _, ipAddr := range ips {
-		if isBlockedIP(ipAddr.IP) {
+		err = g.checkIP(ipAddr.IP)
+		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf(
-				"hostname %q resolves to blocked "+
-					"IP %s: %w",
-				host, ipAddr.IP, errBlockedIP,
+				"hostname %q resolves to a blocked address: %w",
+				host, err,
 			)
 		}
 	}
@@ -177,16 +311,7 @@ func validateHostname(
 	return nil
 }

-// NewSSRFSafeTransport creates an http.Transport with a
-// custom DialContext that blocks connections to
-// private/reserved IP addresses.
-func NewSSRFSafeTransport() *http.Transport {
-	return &http.Transport{
-		DialContext: ssrfDialContext,
-	}
-}
-
-func ssrfDialContext(
+func (g *Guard) ssrfDialContext(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	network, addr string,
 ) (net.Conn, error) {
@@ -209,11 +334,11 @@ func ssrfDialContext(
 	}

 	for _, ipAddr := range ips {
-		if isBlockedIP(ipAddr.IP) {
+		err = g.checkIP(ipAddr.IP)
+		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf(
-				"ssrf: connection to %s (%s) "+
-					"blocked: %w",
-				host, ipAddr.IP, errBlockedIP,
+				"ssrf: connection to %s blocked: %w",
+				host, err,
 			)
 		}
 	}
@@ -225,3 +350,14 @@ func ssrfDialContext(
 		net.JoinHostPort(ips[0].IP.String(), port),
 	)
 }
+
+func validateScheme(scheme string) error {
+	if scheme != "http" && scheme != "https" {
+		return fmt.Errorf(
+			"unsupported URL scheme %q: %w",
+			scheme, errInvalidScheme,
+		)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
--- a/internal/delivery/ssrf_allowlist_test.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/ssrf_allowlist_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,445 @@
+package delivery_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"net/netip"
+	"net/url"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/delivery"
+)
+
+// Addresses the SSRF tests in this package share.
+const (
+	// metadataIP is the cloud instance metadata address, and
+	// metadataURL an endpoint on it. The guard must never reach
+	// either, whatever an operator lists.
+	metadataIP  = "169.254.169.254"
+	metadataURL = "http://" + metadataIP + "/latest/meta-data/"
+
+	// loopbackHookURL is a target on this host: blocked by
+	// default, reachable only once an operator allowlists
+	// loopback.
+	loopbackHookURL = "http://127.0.0.1/hook"
+
+	// publicIP is an ordinary public address, which the guard
+	// permits with or without an allowlist.
+	publicIP = "93.184.216.34"
+
+	// allowAllIPv4 and allowAllIPv6 are the widest allowlist
+	// entries expressible: the whole internet, in each family.
+	// Nothing unconditionally blocked may be reachable under
+	// them.
+	allowAllIPv4 = "0.0.0.0/0"
+	allowAllIPv6 = "::/0"
+)
+
+// TestGuardAllowlist_PermittedCIDRDelivers proves the escape
+// hatch actually works end to end: with 127.0.0.0/8 allowed, the
+// guard's own transport connects to a loopback server and gets a
+// response back. The default guard, given the identical URL,
+// refuses it — so the delivery succeeds because of the allowlist
+// and nothing else.
+func TestGuardAllowlist_PermittedCIDRDelivers(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(
+		func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNoContent)
+		},
+	))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+
+	// httptest listens on loopback, which the default blocklist
+	// covers: exactly the "forward to a service on this host"
+	// case the allowlist exists for.
+	requireLoopback(t, srv.URL)
+
+	guard := delivery.NewTestGuard(
+		netip.MustParsePrefix("127.0.0.0/8"),
+	)
+
+	require.NoError(t,
+		guard.ValidateTargetURL(context.Background(), srv.URL),
+		"an allowlisted loopback target must pass validation",
+	)
+
+	client := &http.Client{
+		Timeout:   5 * time.Second,
+		Transport: guard.NewSSRFSafeTransport(),
+	}
+
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(
+		context.Background(), http.MethodPost, srv.URL, nil,
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	resp, err := client.Do(req)
+	require.NoError(t,
+		err, "an allowlisted loopback target must be deliverable",
+	)
+
+	defer func() { _ = resp.Body.Close() }()
+
+	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusNoContent, resp.StatusCode)
+
+	// The same URL through the default guard must still fail, or
+	// this test would pass without the allowlist doing anything.
+	assert.Error(t,
+		delivery.NewTestGuard().ValidateTargetURL(
+			context.Background(), srv.URL,
+		),
+		"without the allowlist the same target must be refused",
+	)
+}
+
+// TestGuardAllowlist_UnlistedPrivateStillRefused proves the
+// allowlist grants only what it names. A guard that opens one
+// private block must keep refusing every other one, at both the
+// validation and the delivery entry point.
+func TestGuardAllowlist_UnlistedPrivateStillRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	// Only 10.1.0.0/16 is open — a narrow block inside a much
+	// wider private range, so the test can tell "permits the
+	// listed block" from "permits anything private".
+	guard := delivery.NewTestGuard(
+		netip.MustParsePrefix("10.1.0.0/16"),
+	)
+
+	refused := []string{
+		"http://192.168.1.10/hook",
+		"http://172.16.0.1/hook",
+		loopbackHookURL,
+		"http://[fc00::1]/hook",
+		"http://100.64.0.1/hook",
+		// Private, adjacent to the allowed block, outside it.
+		"http://10.2.0.1/hook",
+	}
+
+	for _, target := range refused {
+		t.Run(target, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			err := guard.ValidateTargetURL(
+				context.Background(), target,
+			)
+			require.Error(t,
+				err, "%s is not allowlisted and must be refused",
+				target,
+			)
+			assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "blocked")
+
+			assertDialRefused(t, guard, target)
+		})
+	}
+
+	// The block that is listed must in fact be permitted, so the
+	// refusals above are selective rather than a guard that
+	// ignores its allowlist entirely.
+	assert.NoError(t,
+		guard.ValidateTargetURL(
+			context.Background(), "http://10.1.2.3/hook",
+		),
+		"the allowlisted block must be permitted",
+	)
+}
+
+// TestGuardAllowlist_MetadataAlwaysRefused is the load-bearing
+// case: cloud instance metadata endpoints are credential theft
+// rather than delivery to an internal service, so no allowlist
+// reaches one. Every guard below names a CIDR that covers its
+// target — including 0.0.0.0/0, ::/0, and the ordinary ULA and
+// CGNAT blocks an operator would really list — and the address
+// must stay refused anyway, on both the validation and the
+// delivery path.
+func TestGuardAllowlist_MetadataAlwaysRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	for _, tt := range metadataAlwaysRefusedCases() {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			guard := delivery.NewTestGuard(
+				netip.MustParsePrefix(tt.allow),
+			)
+
+			err := guard.ValidateTargetURL(
+				context.Background(), tt.target,
+			)
+			require.Error(t,
+				err,
+				"%s must stay blocked even though %s covers it",
+				tt.target, tt.allow,
+			)
+			assert.Contains(t,
+				err.Error(),
+				"ALLOWED_EGRESS_CIDRS cannot open it",
+				"the refusal must say why it cannot be opened",
+			)
+
+			assertDialRefused(t, guard, tt.target)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// metadataAlwaysRefusedCase is one (allowlist, target) pair that
+// must be refused: allow covers target, and target must stay
+// blocked regardless.
+type metadataAlwaysRefusedCase struct {
+	name   string
+	allow  string
+	target string
+}
+
+// metadataAlwaysRefusedCases enumerates every unconditionally
+// blocked address together with an allowlist entry that would
+// otherwise reach it.
+func metadataAlwaysRefusedCases() []metadataAlwaysRefusedCase {
+	return []metadataAlwaysRefusedCase{
+		{
+			name:   "exact metadata host",
+			allow:  "169.254.169.254/32",
+			target: metadataURL,
+		},
+		{
+			name:   "whole link-local block",
+			allow:  "169.254.0.0/16",
+			target: metadataURL,
+		},
+		{
+			name:   "supernet covering link-local",
+			allow:  "169.0.0.0/8",
+			target: metadataURL,
+		},
+		{
+			name:   "the entire IPv4 internet",
+			allow:  allowAllIPv4,
+			target: metadataURL,
+		},
+		{
+			name:   "other link-local address",
+			allow:  allowAllIPv4,
+			target: "http://169.254.1.1/",
+		},
+		{
+			name:   "IPv6 link-local",
+			allow:  allowAllIPv6,
+			target: "http://[fe80::1]/",
+		},
+		{
+			// fd00::/8 is an ordinary block for an operator to
+			// allowlist, and AWS's IPv6 IMDS sits inside it.
+			name:   "AWS IPv6 IMDS under an allowlisted ULA block",
+			allow:  "fd00::/8",
+			target: "http://[fd00:ec2::254]/latest/meta-data/",
+		},
+		{
+			// Tailscale uses 100.64.0.0/10, so an operator
+			// forwarding to a Tailscale peer lists exactly this.
+			name:   "Alibaba metadata under allowlisted CGNAT",
+			allow:  "100.64.0.0/10",
+			target: "http://100.100.100.200/latest/meta-data/",
+		},
+		{
+			// To4() does not normalise the IPv4-compatible form,
+			// so this needs its own always-blocked entry.
+			name:   "IPv4-compatible IPv6 form of the metadata IP",
+			allow:  allowAllIPv6,
+			target: "http://[::a9fe:a9fe]/latest/meta-data/",
+		},
+		{
+			// Nor the NAT64 well-known prefix form.
+			name:   "NAT64 form of the metadata IP",
+			allow:  allowAllIPv6,
+			target: "http://[64:ff9b::a9fe:a9fe]/latest/meta-data/",
+		},
+		{
+			// Already refused before this change: IPNet.Contains
+			// calls To4() first, so the mapped form matches
+			// 169.254.0.0/16. Pinned so it cannot regress.
+			name:   "IPv4-mapped IPv6 form of the metadata IP",
+			allow:  allowAllIPv6,
+			target: "http://[::ffff:169.254.169.254]/latest/meta-data/",
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+// TestGuardAllowlist_PublicUnaffected asserts the allowlist does
+// not narrow anything: public addresses were reachable before it
+// existed and stay reachable, whether or not a list is set.
+func TestGuardAllowlist_PublicUnaffected(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	guards := map[string]*delivery.Guard{
+		"default": delivery.NewTestGuard(),
+		"with allowlist": delivery.NewTestGuard(
+			netip.MustParsePrefix("10.0.0.0/8"),
+		),
+	}
+
+	for name, guard := range guards {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			assert.NoError(t,
+				guard.ValidateTargetURL(
+					context.Background(),
+					"http://"+publicIP+"/webhook",
+				),
+			)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestGuardCheckIP_BothPathsShareOneDecision asserts that the
+// validator and the dialer are not two policies that happen to
+// agree: both are defined in terms of checkIP, so the exported
+// decision function is the whole answer for a given address.
+func TestGuardCheckIP_BothPathsShareOneDecision(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	guard := delivery.NewTestGuard(
+		netip.MustParsePrefix("10.0.0.0/8"),
+	)
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		ip      string
+		allowed bool
+	}{
+		{"10.1.2.3", true},
+		{publicIP, true},
+		{"192.168.1.1", false},
+		{"127.0.0.1", false},
+		{metadataIP, false},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.ip, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			ip := net.ParseIP(tt.ip)
+			require.NotNil(t, ip)
+
+			decision := guard.ExportCheckIP(ip)
+
+			validation := guard.ValidateTargetURL(
+				context.Background(), "http://"+hostFor(tt.ip)+"/x",
+			)
+
+			if tt.allowed {
+				require.NoError(t, decision)
+				require.NoError(t, validation)
+
+				return
+			}
+
+			require.Error(t, decision)
+			require.Error(t, validation,
+				"validation must refuse what checkIP refuses",
+			)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestAlwaysBlockedNetworks_PinnedSet pins the unconditional set
+// exactly, so it cannot quietly grow or shrink.
+//
+// It stays deliberately small. Everything else in the default
+// blocklist is an operator's own network and must remain
+// openable, or the escape hatch would not work — which is why
+// the metadata endpoints outside the link-local range are host
+// routes rather than the blocks that contain them.
+func TestAlwaysBlockedNetworks_PinnedSet(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	nets := delivery.ExportAlwaysBlockedNetworks()
+
+	got := make([]string, 0, len(nets))
+	for _, n := range nets {
+		got = append(got, n.String())
+	}
+
+	want := []string{
+		// IPv4 link-local: the 169.254.169.254 metadata
+		// service on AWS, GCP, Azure and others.
+		"169.254.0.0/16",
+		// IPv6 link-local.
+		"fe80::/10",
+		// AWS IPv6 IMDS, inside the ULA space an operator may
+		// legitimately allowlist.
+		"fd00:ec2::254/128",
+		// Alibaba Cloud metadata, inside CGNAT.
+		"100.100.100.200/32",
+		// 169.254.169.254 as an IPv4-compatible IPv6 address.
+		"::a9fe:a9fe/128",
+		// 169.254.169.254 behind the NAT64 well-known prefix.
+		"64:ff9b::a9fe:a9fe/128",
+	}
+
+	assert.Equal(t, want, got)
+}
+
+// requireLoopback fails the test unless rawURL's host is a
+// loopback address, so the allowlist test cannot silently stop
+// exercising a blocked range.
+func requireLoopback(t *testing.T, rawURL string) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	parsed, err := url.Parse(rawURL)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	ip := net.ParseIP(parsed.Hostname())
+	require.NotNil(t, ip, "test server host must be an IP literal")
+	require.True(t, ip.IsLoopback(),
+		"test server must listen on loopback, got %s", ip,
+	)
+}
+
+// assertDialRefused asserts the guard's transport refuses to
+// connect to target, which is the delivery-time half of the
+// policy. It never reaches the network: the guard checks the
+// resolved address before dialling.
+func assertDialRefused(
+	t *testing.T, guard *delivery.Guard, target string,
+) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	client := &http.Client{
+		Timeout:   5 * time.Second,
+		Transport: guard.NewSSRFSafeTransport(),
+	}
+
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(
+		context.Background(), http.MethodPost, target, nil,
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	resp, err := client.Do(req)
+	if resp != nil {
+		_ = resp.Body.Close()
+	}
+
+	require.Error(t, err,
+		"delivery to %s must be refused by the dialer", target,
+	)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "blocked",
+		"the refusal must come from the SSRF guard",
+	)
+}
+
+// hostFor renders an IP as it appears in a URL host, bracketing
+// IPv6 literals.
+func hostFor(ip string) string {
+	if net.ParseIP(ip).To4() == nil {
+		return "[" + ip + "]"
+	}
+
+	return ip
+}
--- a/internal/delivery/ssrf_test.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/ssrf_test.go
@@ -31,10 +31,10 @@ func TestIsBlockedIP_PrivateRanges(t *testing.T) {
 		{"192.168.0.1", "192.168.0.1", true},
 		{"192.168.255.255", "192.168.255.255", true},
 		{"169.254.0.1", "169.254.0.1", true},
-		{"169.254.169.254", "169.254.169.254", true},
+		{metadataIP, metadataIP, true},
 		{"8.8.8.8", "8.8.8.8", false},
 		{"1.1.1.1", "1.1.1.1", false},
-		{"93.184.216.34", "93.184.216.34", false},
+		{publicIP, publicIP, false},
 		{"::1", "::1", true},
 		{"fd00::1", "fd00::1", true},
 		{"fc00::1", "fc00::1", true},
@@ -72,12 +72,12 @@ func TestValidateTargetURL_Blocked(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()

 	blockedURLs := []string{
-		"http://127.0.0.1/hook",
+		loopbackHookURL,
 		"http://127.0.0.1:8080/hook",
 		"https://10.0.0.1/hook",
 		"http://192.168.1.1/webhook",
 		"http://172.16.0.1/api",
-		"http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/",
+		metadataURL,
 		"http://[::1]/hook",
 		"http://[fc00::1]/hook",
 		"http://[fe80::1]/hook",
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ func TestValidateTargetURL_Blocked(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Run(u, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()

-			err := delivery.ValidateTargetURL(
+			err := delivery.NewTestGuard().ValidateTargetURL(
 				context.Background(), u,
 			)

@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ func TestValidateTargetURL_Allowed(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Run(u, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()

-			err := delivery.ValidateTargetURL(
+			err := delivery.NewTestGuard().ValidateTargetURL(
 				context.Background(), u,
 			)

@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ func TestValidateTargetURL_Allowed(t *testing.T) {
 func TestValidateTargetURL_InvalidScheme(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()

-	err := delivery.ValidateTargetURL(
+	err := delivery.NewTestGuard().ValidateTargetURL(
 		context.Background(), "ftp://example.com/hook",
 	)

@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ func TestValidateTargetURL_InvalidScheme(t *testing.T) {
 func TestValidateTargetURL_EmptyHost(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()

-	err := delivery.ValidateTargetURL(
+	err := delivery.NewTestGuard().ValidateTargetURL(
 		context.Background(), "http:///path",
 	)

@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ func TestValidateTargetURL_EmptyHost(t *testing.T) {
 func TestValidateTargetURL_InvalidURL(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()

-	err := delivery.ValidateTargetURL(
+	err := delivery.NewTestGuard().ValidateTargetURL(
 		context.Background(), "://invalid",
 	)

--- a/internal/delivery/url_mask_test.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/url_mask_test.go
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ func TestDoHTTPRequest_TransportErrorMasksURL(t *testing.T) {
 func TestValidateTargetURL_UnparsableURLIsMasked(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()

-	err := delivery.ValidateTargetURL(
+	err := delivery.NewTestGuard().ValidateTargetURL(
 		context.TODO(),
 		"https://hooks.slack.com"+maskSecretPath+"\n",
 	)
--- a/internal/handlers/handlers.go
+++ b/internal/handlers/handlers.go
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ type HandlersParams struct {
 	Middleware   *middleware.Middleware
 	Notifier     delivery.Notifier
 	Evictor      delivery.WebhookEvictor
+	SSRFGuard    *delivery.Guard
 }

 // Handlers provides HTTP handler methods for all application
@@ -75,6 +76,11 @@ type Handlers struct {
 	evictor   delivery.WebhookEvictor
 	templates map[string]*template.Template

+	// ssrf validates submitted target URLs. It is the same guard
+	// the delivery engine dials through, so a URL accepted here
+	// is one delivery will actually attempt.
+	ssrf *delivery.Guard
+
 	// dummyVerifications counts the equivalent-cost verifications
 	// charged for usernames that do not exist. It exists so a test
 	// can prove that path runs without measuring wall-clock time.
@@ -114,6 +120,7 @@ func New(
 	s.mw = params.Middleware
 	s.notifier = params.Notifier
 	s.evictor = params.Evictor
+	s.ssrf = params.SSRFGuard

 	// Parse all page templates once at startup
 	s.templates = map[string]*template.Template{
--- a/internal/handlers/handlers_test.go
+++ b/internal/handlers/handlers_test.go
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ func newTestApp(
 				return r
 			},
 			middleware.New,
+			delivery.NewGuard,
 			handlers.New,
 		),
 		fx.Populate(targets...),
--- a/internal/handlers/source_management.go
+++ b/internal/handlers/source_management.go
@@ -1160,7 +1160,7 @@ func (h *Handlers) buildURLTargetConfig(
 		return "", errMissingURL
 	}

-	err := delivery.ValidateTargetURL(
+	err := h.ssrf.ValidateTargetURL(
 		r.Context(), targetURL,
 	)
 	if err != nil {
--- a/internal/server/http.go
+++ b/internal/server/http.go
@@ -43,10 +43,7 @@ func (s *Server) serveUntilShutdown() {
 	err := s.httpServer.ListenAndServe()
 	if err != nil && !errors.Is(err, http.ErrServerClosed) {
 		s.log.Error("listen error", "error", err)
-
-		if s.cancelFunc != nil {
-			s.cancelFunc()
-		}
+		s.shutdownOnListenFailure()
 	}
 }

--- a/internal/server/listen_failure_test.go
+++ b/internal/server/listen_failure_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+package server_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"go.uber.org/fx"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/globals"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/server"
+)
+
+// listenFailureDeadline is how long the app gets to give up after a
+// listen it cannot satisfy. The defect this pins left the process
+// reporting RUNNING for 183 seconds with nothing bound; a bind error
+// is known instantly, so anything past a moment here is that defect
+// back.
+const listenFailureDeadline = 2 * time.Second
+
+// lifecycleTimeout bounds the app's start and stop sequences so a
+// wedged hook fails the test instead of hanging it.
+const lifecycleTimeout = 15 * time.Second
+
+// TestListenFailure_ShutsDownTheApp pins that a listener the server
+// cannot bind terminates the application with a non-zero status.
+//
+// The fx OnStart hook returns as soon as the serving goroutine is
+// spawned, so a bind failure is discovered after fx has already
+// reported RUNNING. Nothing else in the graph observes it, and the
+// process used to stay alive with no listener: down, but indis-
+// tinguishable from healthy to systemd's Restart=on-failure and to
+// Docker's restart policies, which is the state this test exists to
+// keep from returning.
+//
+// The port is occupied by a listener this test holds open, on a
+// kernel-chosen port, so the failure is the real EADDRINUSE the
+// operator hits when a second instance starts. Loopback is enough to
+// collide with the server's wildcard bind: a listening socket on a
+// specific address blocks the wildcard from claiming the same port.
+func TestListenFailure_ShutsDownTheApp(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	var listenCfg net.ListenConfig
+
+	occupied, err := listenCfg.Listen(
+		t.Context(), "tcp", "127.0.0.1:0",
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = occupied.Close() })
+
+	addr, ok := occupied.Addr().(*net.TCPAddr)
+	require.True(t, ok, "listener is not TCP")
+
+	// The collaborators come from the wired graph rather than stubs,
+	// so the Server under test is the one that ships. Only the port
+	// is test-specific.
+	env := newTestEnv(t)
+	env.cfg.Port = addr.Port
+
+	app := fx.New(
+		fx.NopLogger,
+		fx.Supply(env.log, env.cfg, env.mw, env.hnd),
+		fx.Provide(globals.New, server.New),
+		fx.Invoke(func(*server.Server) {}),
+	)
+
+	startCtx, cancelStart := context.WithTimeout(
+		context.Background(), lifecycleTimeout,
+	)
+	defer cancelStart()
+
+	require.NoError(t, app.Start(startCtx))
+
+	select {
+	case sig := <-app.Wait():
+		require.Equal(
+			t, server.ListenFailureExitCode, sig.ExitCode,
+			"listen failure must exit non-zero",
+		)
+	case <-time.After(listenFailureDeadline):
+		t.Fatal("listen failure left the app running")
+	}
+
+	// The stop sequence still has to complete: the fix must reach
+	// shutdown through fx rather than around it.
+	stopCtx, cancelStop := context.WithTimeout(
+		context.Background(), lifecycleTimeout,
+	)
+	defer cancelStop()
+
+	require.NoError(t, app.Stop(stopCtx))
+}
--- a/internal/server/routes.go
+++ b/internal/server/routes.go
@@ -55,8 +55,11 @@ func (s *Server) setupGlobalMiddleware() {
 	s.router.Use(s.mw.SecurityHeaders())
 	s.router.Use(s.mw.Logging())

-	// Metrics middleware (only if credentials are configured)
-	if s.params.Config.MetricsUsername != "" {
+	// Metrics recording middleware, registered only when the
+	// endpoint that exposes what it records is served. The
+	// condition is the same MetricsAuthEnabled the /metrics mount
+	// in setupRoutes reads.
+	if s.params.Config.MetricsAuthEnabled() {
 		s.router.Use(s.mw.Metrics())
 	}

@@ -103,8 +106,14 @@ func (s *Server) setupRoutes() {
 		s.h.HandleHealthCheck(),
 	)

-	// set up authenticated /metrics route:
-	if s.params.Config.MetricsUsername != "" {
+	// Authenticated /metrics route. The condition is
+	// Config.MetricsAuthEnabled and never the username alone: a
+	// username with an empty password would otherwise mount the
+	// endpoint behind a credential map that accepts an empty
+	// password. Config rejects that combination at startup, and
+	// this reads the same value the startup log reports, so the
+	// two cannot disagree about whether the route exists.
+	if s.params.Config.MetricsAuthEnabled() {
 		s.router.Group(func(r chi.Router) {
 			r.Use(s.mw.MetricsAuth())
 			r.Get(
--- a/internal/server/routes_test.go
+++ b/internal/server/routes_test.go
@@ -34,6 +34,13 @@ import (
 // the CSRF middleware executed.
 const csrfCookieName = "_gorilla_csrf"

+const (
+	// metricsUser and metricsAuthValue are the /metrics basic-auth
+	// credentials the metrics routing tests below configure.
+	metricsUser      = "metrics"
+	metricsAuthValue = "s3cret"
+)
+
 type noopNotifier struct{}

 func (n *noopNotifier) Notify([]delivery.Task) {}
@@ -69,9 +76,23 @@ type testEnv struct {
 func newTestEnv(t *testing.T) *testEnv {
 	t.Helper()

+	return newTestEnvWithConfig(t, &config.Config{
+		DataDir:     t.TempDir(),
+		Environment: config.EnvironmentDev,
+	})
+}
+
+// newTestEnvWithConfig is newTestEnv over a caller-supplied Config,
+// for the routes whose existence the configuration decides. The same
+// pointer reaches the router and every middleware, so a test cannot
+// accidentally configure one and not the other.
+func newTestEnvWithConfig(
+	t *testing.T, cfg *config.Config,
+) *testEnv {
+	t.Helper()
+
 	var (
 		log   *logger.Logger
-		cfg   *config.Config
 		mw    *middleware.Middleware
 		hnd   *handlers.Handlers
 		sess  *session.Session
@@ -84,12 +105,7 @@ func newTestEnv(t *testing.T) *testEnv {
 		fx.Provide(
 			globals.New,
 			logger.New,
-			func() *config.Config {
-				return &config.Config{
-					DataDir:     t.TempDir(),
-					Environment: config.EnvironmentDev,
-				}
-			},
+			func() *config.Config { return cfg },
 			database.New,
 			database.NewWebhookDBManager,
 			healthcheck.New,
@@ -97,9 +113,10 @@ func newTestEnv(t *testing.T) *testEnv {
 			func() delivery.Notifier { return &noopNotifier{} },
 			func() delivery.WebhookEvictor { return &noopEvictor{} },
 			middleware.New,
+			delivery.NewGuard,
 			handlers.New,
 		),
-		fx.Populate(&log, &cfg, &mw, &hnd, &sess, &db, &dbMgr),
+		fx.Populate(&log, &mw, &hnd, &sess, &db, &dbMgr),
 	)
 	app.RequireStart()
 	t.Cleanup(app.RequireStop)
@@ -657,3 +674,119 @@ func TestSourceLogsBody_OtherUser404s(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusSeeOther, anon.Code)
 	assert.Equal(t, "/pages/login", anon.Header().Get("Location"))
 }
+
+// metricsConfig is a Config differing from the routing default only
+// in the two /metrics credentials.
+func metricsConfig(
+	t *testing.T, username, password string,
+) *config.Config {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	return &config.Config{
+		DataDir:         t.TempDir(),
+		Environment:     config.EnvironmentDev,
+		MetricsUsername: username,
+		MetricsPassword: password,
+	}
+}
+
+// metricsRequest asks the real router for /metrics with the given
+// basic-auth credentials, or with no Authorization header when
+// username is empty.
+func (e *testEnv) metricsRequest(
+	username, password string,
+) *httptest.ResponseRecorder {
+	req := httptest.NewRequestWithContext(
+		context.Background(), http.MethodGet, "/metrics", nil,
+	)
+
+	if username != "" {
+		req.SetBasicAuth(username, password)
+	}
+
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	e.router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	return w
+}
+
+// TestMetricsRouteUnmountedWithoutCredentials pins that with neither
+// credential configured the route does not exist, which is the
+// documented behaviour and the only valid way for /metrics to be
+// absent.
+func TestMetricsRouteUnmountedWithoutCredentials(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	env := newTestEnvWithConfig(t, metricsConfig(t, "", ""))
+
+	assert.Equal(
+		t, http.StatusNotFound,
+		env.metricsRequest("", "").Code,
+	)
+}
+
+// TestMetricsRouteRequiresCredentials pins that with both credentials
+// configured the route exists and every request that does not carry
+// the configured pair is refused — including the empty password that
+// a half-set configuration used to make sufficient.
+func TestMetricsRouteRequiresCredentials(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	env := newTestEnvWithConfig(
+		t, metricsConfig(t, metricsUser, metricsAuthValue),
+	)
+
+	assert.Equal(
+		t, http.StatusUnauthorized,
+		env.metricsRequest("", "").Code,
+		"no credentials must not reach the metrics handler",
+	)
+	assert.Equal(
+		t, http.StatusUnauthorized,
+		env.metricsRequest(metricsUser, "").Code,
+		"an empty password must not reach the metrics handler",
+	)
+	assert.Equal(
+		t, http.StatusUnauthorized,
+		env.metricsRequest(metricsUser, "wrong").Code,
+	)
+
+	ok := env.metricsRequest(metricsUser, metricsAuthValue)
+	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, ok.Code)
+	assert.Contains(t, ok.Body.String(), "go_goroutines")
+}
+
+// TestMetricsRouteUnmountedOnHalfSetConfig pins the defect from
+// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/205 at the routing
+// layer. Config rejects a half-set pair at startup, so this Config
+// cannot be reached from the environment; the assertion is that the
+// route tree does not publish an endpoint accepting an empty
+// password even when handed one anyway, because the mount and the
+// startup log's hasMetricsAuth read the same value.
+func TestMetricsRouteUnmountedOnHalfSetConfig(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		name     string
+		username string
+		password string
+	}{
+		{name: "username only", username: metricsUser},
+		{name: "password only", password: metricsAuthValue},
+	} {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			cfg := metricsConfig(t, tc.username, tc.password)
+			env := newTestEnvWithConfig(t, cfg)
+
+			assert.False(t, cfg.MetricsAuthEnabled())
+			assert.Equal(
+				t, http.StatusNotFound,
+				env.metricsRequest(
+					tc.username, tc.password,
+				).Code,
+			)
+		})
+	}
+}
--- a/internal/server/server.go
+++ b/internal/server/server.go
@@ -50,6 +50,13 @@ const (
 	minSentryFlush = 250 * time.Millisecond
 )

+// ListenFailureExitCode is the status the process exits with when the
+// HTTP listener cannot be established, or dies for a reason other
+// than a requested shutdown. It must stay non-zero: systemd
+// `Restart=on-failure` and Docker's restart policies key off it, and a
+// zero exit would read as a deliberate stop.
+const ListenFailureExitCode = 1
+
 // SentryFlushBudget reports how long the Sentry flush may run when
 // remaining is the time left on the fx stop context after the HTTP
 // drain. sentry.Flush takes a bare duration and honours no context,
@@ -75,13 +82,13 @@ type ServerParams struct {
 	Config     *config.Config
 	Middleware *middleware.Middleware
 	Handlers   *handlers.Handlers
+	Shutdowner fx.Shutdowner
 }

 // Server is the main HTTP server that wires up routes and manages
 // graceful shutdown.
 type Server struct {
 	startupTime   time.Time
-	exitCode      int
 	sentryEnabled bool
 	log           *slog.Logger
 	cancelFunc    context.CancelFunc
@@ -159,7 +166,12 @@ func (s *Server) enableSentry() {
 	s.sentryEnabled = true
 }

-func (s *Server) serve() int {
+// serve installs the signal watcher, starts the listener and blocks
+// until the server's context is cancelled. The process exit status is
+// fx's to decide — from a signal, or from the code
+// shutdownOnListenFailure hands the Shutdowner — so this reports
+// nothing back to its caller.
+func (s *Server) serve() {
 	ctx, cancelFunc := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
 	s.cancelFunc = cancelFunc

@@ -185,7 +197,30 @@ func (s *Server) serve() int {
 	<-ctx.Done()
 	// Shutdown is handled by the fx OnStop hook (cleanShutdown).
 	// Do not call cleanShutdown() here to avoid double invocation.
-	return s.exitCode
+}
+
+// shutdownOnListenFailure ends the application after the HTTP
+// listener failed. The fx OnStart hook returns as soon as the serving
+// goroutine is spawned, so nothing downstream of it ever learns that
+// the listen failed: fx reports RUNNING and the process sits alive
+// with nothing bound, which is invisible to systemd and Docker
+// restart policies. Asking the Shutdowner to stop the app with a
+// non-zero code is what turns that into a visible failure.
+//
+// The context cancel that follows only unwinds serve()'s own wait.
+// The shutdown itself runs through fx's normal stop sequence, so the
+// clean-shutdown drain in cleanShutdown is reached unchanged.
+func (s *Server) shutdownOnListenFailure() {
+	err := s.params.Shutdowner.Shutdown(
+		fx.ExitCode(ListenFailureExitCode),
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		s.log.Error("shutdown request failed", "error", err)
+	}
+
+	if s.cancelFunc != nil {
+		s.cancelFunc()
+	}
 }

 func (s *Server) cleanupForExit() {
@@ -193,9 +228,6 @@ func (s *Server) cleanupForExit() {
 }

 func (s *Server) cleanShutdown(ctx context.Context) {
-	// initiate clean shutdown
-	s.exitCode = 0
-
 	ctxShutdown, shutdownCancel := context.WithTimeout(
 		ctx, ShutdownTimeout,
 	)