diff --git a/src/selfhost/trusted-client-ip.ts b/src/selfhost/trusted-client-ip.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7ac9b5bc14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/selfhost/trusted-client-ip.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+// Resolve the real client IP for self-host rate limiting (#477).
+export function resolveTrustedClientIp(
+  peerAddress: string | undefined,
+  headers: Headers,
+): string {
+  const peer = normalizeIpAddress(stripIpv4MappedPrefix(peerAddress));
+  const xReal = normalizeIpAddress(headers.get("x-real-ip") ?? undefined);
+  const xff = normalizeIpAddress(headers.get("x-forwarded-for")?.split(",")[0]?.trim());
+
+  if (peer && isPrivateOrLinkLocal(peer)) {
+    return xReal ?? xff ?? peer;
+  }
+  return peer ?? "unknown-ip";
+}
+
+export function peerRemoteAddress(nodeEnv: unknown): string | undefined {
+  if (!nodeEnv || typeof nodeEnv !== "object") return undefined;
+  const incoming = (nodeEnv as { incoming?: unknown }).incoming;
+  if (!incoming || typeof incoming !== "object") return undefined;
+  const socket = (incoming as { socket?: unknown }).socket;
+  if (!socket || typeof socket !== "object") return undefined;
+  const remote = (socket as { remoteAddress?: unknown }).remoteAddress;
+  return typeof remote === "string" ? remote : undefined;
+}
+
+export function withTrustedClientIp(request: Request, peerAddress: string | undefined): Request {
+  const headers = new Headers(request.headers);
+  headers.delete("cf-connecting-ip");
+  const clientIp = resolveTrustedClientIp(peerAddress, headers);
+  if (clientIp !== "unknown-ip") headers.set("cf-connecting-ip", clientIp);
+  return new Request(request, { headers });
+}
+
+export function applySelfHostFetchTrustedClientIp(request: Request, nodeEnv: unknown): Request {
+  return withTrustedClientIp(request, peerRemoteAddress(nodeEnv));
+}
+
+function stripIpv4MappedPrefix(value: string | undefined): string | undefined {
+  if (!value) return undefined;
+  return value.startsWith("::ffff:") ? value.slice("::ffff:".length) : value;
+}
+
+function normalizeIpAddress(value: string | undefined): string | undefined {
+  const trimmed = value?.trim();
+  if (!trimmed || !isValidIpAddress(trimmed)) return undefined;
+  if (trimmed.startsWith("[") && trimmed.endsWith("]")) return trimmed.slice(1, -1);
+  return trimmed;
+}
+
+function isValidIpAddress(value: string): boolean {
+  return isValidIpv4(value) || isValidIpv6(value);
+}
+
+function isValidIpv4(value: string): boolean {
+  const parts = value.split(".");
+  if (parts.length !== 4) return false;
+  for (const part of parts) {
+    if (!/^\d{1,3}$/.test(part)) return false;
+    const octet = Number(part);
+    if (octet < 0 || octet > 255) return false;
+  }
+  return true;
+}
+
+function isValidIpv6(value: string): boolean {
+  let candidate = value;
+  if (candidate.startsWith("[") && candidate.endsWith("]")) candidate = candidate.slice(1, -1);
+  if (!candidate.includes(":") || !/^[0-9a-fA-F:.]+$/.test(candidate)) return false;
+  if (candidate.split("::").length > 2) return false;
+  const segments = candidate.split(":");
+  if (segments.length > 8) return false;
+  let hasHexSegment = false;
+  for (const segment of segments) {
+    if (segment === "") continue;
+    if (!/^[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$/.test(segment)) return false;
+    hasHexSegment = true;
+  }
+  return hasHexSegment;
+}
+
+export function isPrivateOrLinkLocal(ip: string): boolean {
+  if (ip === "::1" || ip === "0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1") return true;
+  if (ip.startsWith("fe80:") || ip.startsWith("FE80:")) return true;
+  if (/^[fF][cCdD]/.test(ip)) return true;
+
+  const parts = ip.split(".").map(Number);
+  if (parts.length !== 4 || parts.some((n) => !Number.isInteger(n))) return false;
+  const [a, b] = parts as [number, number, number, number];
+  if (a === 10) return true;
+  if (a === 127) return true;
+  if (a === 192 && b === 168) return true;
+  if (a === 172 && b >= 16 && b <= 31) return true;
+  if (a === 169 && b === 254) return true;
+  return false;
+}
diff --git a/src/server.ts b/src/server.ts
index 47461d93c2..9d7a3eaef4 100644
--- a/src/server.ts
+++ b/src/server.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import { existsSync, readdirSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { delimiter, join } from "node:path";
 import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
 import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
-import { serve } from "@hono/node-server";
+import { serve, type Http2Bindings, type HttpBindings } from "@hono/node-server";
 import packageJson from "../package.json";
 import worker from "./index";
 import { githubRestRateLimitRemainingSamples } from "./github/client";
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ import { createOrbRelayRegistrationState, isOrbBrokerMode, registerOrbRelayTarge
 import { exportOrbBatch } from "./selfhost/orb-collector";
 import { createD1Adapter, nodeSqliteDriver } from "./selfhost/d1-adapter";
 import { loadFileSecrets } from "./selfhost/load-file-secrets";
+import { applySelfHostFetchTrustedClientIp } from "./selfhost/trusted-client-ip";
 import {
   backupAcknowledgedGaugeValue,
   buildHealthBody,
@@ -893,7 +894,14 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
   const port = Number(process.env.PORT ?? 8787);
   const server = serve(
     {
-      fetch: async (request: Request) => {
+      fetch: async (request: Request, nodeEnv: HttpBindings | Http2Bindings) => {
+        // Self-host rate limiting keys off cf-connecting-ip (auth/rate-limit.ts). On Workers that header is
+        // edge-set; on Node it is attacker-controlled unless we overwrite it from the TCP peer / Caddy hop
+        // here (see trusted-client-ip.ts). Health/ready/metrics below still see the rewritten request.
+        // peerRemoteAddress reads the documented @hono/node-server HttpBindings/Http2Bindings shape
+        // (`incoming.socket.remoteAddress`) — covered by unit tests so a wrong field path cannot silently
+        // collapse every client into unknown-ip.
+        request = applySelfHostFetchTrustedClientIp(request, nodeEnv);
         const path = new URL(request.url).pathname;
         if (path === "/health")
           return new Response(
diff --git a/test/unit/trusted-client-ip.test.ts b/test/unit/trusted-client-ip.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f84da36b42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/trusted-client-ip.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import {
+  applySelfHostFetchTrustedClientIp,
+  isPrivateOrLinkLocal,
+  peerRemoteAddress,
+  resolveTrustedClientIp,
+  withTrustedClientIp,
+} from "../../src/selfhost/trusted-client-ip";
+
+describe("trusted-client-ip (self-host rate-limit identity)", () => {
+  it("REGRESSION: ignores client-spoofed cf-connecting-ip when the TCP peer is public (direct expose)", () => {
+    const headers = new Headers({
+      "cf-connecting-ip": "203.0.113.1",
+      "x-real-ip": "198.51.100.9",
+      "x-forwarded-for": "198.51.100.9",
+    });
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("203.0.113.50", headers)).toBe("203.0.113.50");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("203.0.113.51", headers)).toBe("203.0.113.51");
+  });
+
+  it("REGRESSION: behind a private proxy hop (Caddy), prefers X-Real-IP over a spoofed cf-connecting-ip", () => {
+    const headers = new Headers({
+      "cf-connecting-ip": "203.0.113.1",
+      "x-real-ip": "198.51.100.20",
+      "x-forwarded-for": "198.51.100.20",
+    });
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("10.0.0.2", headers)).toBe("198.51.100.20");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("172.16.5.1", headers)).toBe("198.51.100.20");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("192.168.1.1", headers)).toBe("198.51.100.20");
+  });
+
+  it("falls back to leftmost X-Forwarded-For when X-Real-IP is absent behind a private hop", () => {
+    const headers = new Headers({
+      "cf-connecting-ip": "203.0.113.9",
+      "x-forwarded-for": "198.51.100.30, 10.0.0.2",
+    });
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("10.0.0.2", headers)).toBe("198.51.100.30");
+  });
+
+  it("uses the private peer itself when Caddy headers are missing", () => {
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("10.0.0.2", new Headers({ "cf-connecting-ip": "1.2.3.4" }))).toBe("10.0.0.2");
+  });
+
+  it("returns unknown-ip when no usable peer or proxy header is present", () => {
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp(undefined, new Headers({ "cf-connecting-ip": "203.0.113.1" }))).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("not-an-ip", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+  });
+
+  it("strips IPv4-mapped IPv6 peer prefixes", () => {
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("::ffff:203.0.113.50", new Headers())).toBe("203.0.113.50");
+    expect(
+      resolveTrustedClientIp("::ffff:10.0.0.2", new Headers({ "x-real-ip": "198.51.100.40" })),
+    ).toBe("198.51.100.40");
+  });
+
+  it("withTrustedClientIp deletes spoofed cf-connecting-ip and sets the trusted value", () => {
+    const original = new Request("https://orb.example/v1/auth/github/session", {
+      headers: {
+        "cf-connecting-ip": "203.0.113.1",
+        "x-real-ip": "198.51.100.55",
+      },
+    });
+    const trusted = withTrustedClientIp(original, "10.0.0.5");
+    expect(trusted.headers.get("cf-connecting-ip")).toBe("198.51.100.55");
+    expect(original.headers.get("cf-connecting-ip")).toBe("203.0.113.1");
+  });
+
+  it("withTrustedClientIp omits cf-connecting-ip when identity is unknown-ip", () => {
+    const trusted = withTrustedClientIp(
+      new Request("https://orb.example/health", { headers: { "cf-connecting-ip": "203.0.113.1" } }),
+      undefined,
+    );
+    expect(trusted.headers.get("cf-connecting-ip")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("applySelfHostFetchTrustedClientIp mirrors the server.ts serve({ fetch }) edge wiring", () => {
+    const original = new Request("https://orb.example/v1/auth/github/session", {
+      headers: {
+        "cf-connecting-ip": "203.0.113.1",
+        "x-real-ip": "198.51.100.88",
+      },
+    });
+    const trusted = applySelfHostFetchTrustedClientIp(original, {
+      incoming: { socket: { remoteAddress: "10.0.0.5" } },
+    });
+    expect(trusted.headers.get("cf-connecting-ip")).toBe("198.51.100.88");
+  });
+
+  it("peerRemoteAddress reads the documented HttpBindings/Http2Bindings socket path", () => {
+    expect(peerRemoteAddress({ incoming: { socket: { remoteAddress: "10.0.0.2" } } })).toBe("10.0.0.2");
+    expect(peerRemoteAddress({ incoming: { socket: { remoteAddress: "203.0.113.9" } } })).toBe("203.0.113.9");
+    expect(peerRemoteAddress({ incoming: { socket: null } })).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(peerRemoteAddress({ incoming: null })).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(peerRemoteAddress({})).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(peerRemoteAddress(null)).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(peerRemoteAddress(undefined)).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(peerRemoteAddress({ incoming: { socket: { remoteAddress: 123 } } })).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it("accepts bracketed IPv6 peers/headers and rejects malformed IPv4/IPv6", () => {
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("[2001:db8::1]", new Headers())).toBe("2001:db8::1");
+    expect(
+      resolveTrustedClientIp("10.0.0.2", new Headers({ "x-real-ip": "[2001:db8::abcd]" })),
+    ).toBe("2001:db8::abcd");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("1.2.3", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("1.2.3.4.5", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("1.2.3.999", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("1.2.3.a", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("gggg::1", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("2001:db8::1::2", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8:9", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("2001:db8::zzzz", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("2001:db8::12345", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("2001:db8::1.2", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("notaip", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("[2001:db8::1", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("  ", new Headers())).toBe("unknown-ip");
+    expect(resolveTrustedClientIp("  203.0.113.50  ", new Headers())).toBe("203.0.113.50");
+  });
+
+  it("classifies expanded loopback and unique-local IPv6 peers", () => {
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("FE80::1")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("fd12::1")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("not.an.ip.addr")).toBe(false);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("8.8.8.8")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("falls through XFF when X-Real-IP is present but invalid behind a private hop", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveTrustedClientIp(
+        "10.0.0.2",
+        new Headers({ "x-real-ip": "not-an-ip", "x-forwarded-for": "198.51.100.77, 10.0.0.2" }),
+      ),
+    ).toBe("198.51.100.77");
+  });
+
+  it("classifies private / link-local / loopback peers", () => {
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("10.1.2.3")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("192.168.0.1")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("172.16.0.1")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("172.31.255.255")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("127.0.0.1")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("169.254.1.1")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("::1")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("fe80::1")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("fc00::1")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("203.0.113.1")).toBe(false);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("172.15.0.1")).toBe(false);
+    expect(isPrivateOrLinkLocal("172.32.0.1")).toBe(false);
+  });
+});