diff --git a/fable-mcp/fable_mcp/server.py b/fable-mcp/fable_mcp/server.py
index 87ad547..2db77c0 100644
--- a/fable-mcp/fable_mcp/server.py
+++ b/fable-mcp/fable_mcp/server.py
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ async def fable_update_task(
 
 
 @mcp.tool()
-async def fable_add_task_log(task_id: int, body: str) -> dict:
+async def fable_add_task_log(task_id: int, content: str) -> dict:
     """Append a timestamped progress log entry to a Fable task.
 
     Use this to record work sessions, decisions, or status updates over time without
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ async def fable_add_task_log(task_id: int, body: str) -> dict:
     chronologically in the task view.
     """
     async with FableClient() as client:
-        return await tasks.add_task_log(client, task_id=task_id, body=body)
+        return await tasks.add_task_log(client, task_id=task_id, content=content)
 
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/fable-mcp/fable_mcp/tools/tasks.py b/fable-mcp/fable_mcp/tools/tasks.py
index d9bb4c2..d2f6167 100644
--- a/fable-mcp/fable_mcp/tools/tasks.py
+++ b/fable-mcp/fable_mcp/tools/tasks.py
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ async def add_task_log(
     client: FableClient,
     *,
     task_id: int,
-    body: str,
+    content: str,
 ) -> dict[str, Any]:
     """Append a log entry to a task."""
-    return await client.post(f"/api/tasks/{task_id}/logs", json={"body": body})
+    return await client.post(f"/api/tasks/{task_id}/logs", json={"content": content})
diff --git a/fable-mcp/tests/test_tools_tasks.py b/fable-mcp/tests/test_tools_tasks.py
index 12246d6..17976b6 100644
--- a/fable-mcp/tests/test_tools_tasks.py
+++ b/fable-mcp/tests/test_tools_tasks.py
@@ -46,9 +46,9 @@ async def test_update_task_patches(client):
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_add_task_log_posts_to_logs_endpoint(client):
     from fable_mcp.tools.tasks import add_task_log
-    client.post = AsyncMock(return_value={"id": 1, "body": "progress"})
-    await add_task_log(client, task_id=9, body="progress")
+    client.post = AsyncMock(return_value={"id": 1, "content": "progress"})
+    await add_task_log(client, task_id=9, content="progress")
     client.post.assert_called_once()
     path = client.post.call_args[0][0]
     assert path == "/api/tasks/9/logs"
-    assert client.post.call_args[1]["json"]["body"] == "progress"
+    assert client.post.call_args[1]["json"]["content"] == "progress"
diff --git a/frontend/src/api/client.ts b/frontend/src/api/client.ts
index 112d63c..8af972c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/api/client.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/api/client.ts
@@ -123,7 +123,6 @@ export interface NotificationEntry {
 export interface UserSearchResult {
   id: number
   username: string
-  email: string | null
 }
 
 // --- User search ---
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ShareDialog.vue b/frontend/src/components/ShareDialog.vue
index b266f03..78ebf92 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ShareDialog.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ShareDialog.vue
@@ -138,7 +138,6 @@ onMounted(async () => {
               <ul v-if="userResults.length" class="user-results">
                 <li v-for="u in userResults" :key="u.id" @click="selectUser(u)" class="user-result-item">
                   <span class="user-result-name">{{ u.username }}</span>
-                  <span class="user-result-email">{{ u.email }}</span>
                 </li>
               </ul>
             </div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/utils/markdown.ts b/frontend/src/utils/markdown.ts
index 44672d9..98ac45e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/utils/markdown.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/utils/markdown.ts
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ const headingRenderer = {
 marked.use({ renderer: headingRenderer });
 
 const PURIFY_OPTS_FULL = {
-  ADD_ATTR: ["data-tag", "data-title", "src", "alt"],
+  ADD_ATTR: ["data-tag", "data-title"],
   FORCE_BODY: true,
 };
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue b/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue
index 60f338d..6ebe438 100644
--- a/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue
@@ -2263,7 +2263,6 @@ FABLE_API_KEY=&lt;your-api-key&gt;</pre>
                   <ul v-if="groupMemberResults.length" class="member-results">
                     <li v-for="u in groupMemberResults" :key="u.id" class="member-result-item" @click="addMemberToGroup(g.id, u)">
                       <span class="member-result-name">{{ u.username }}</span>
-                      <span class="member-result-email">{{ u.email }}</span>
                     </li>
                   </ul>
                 </div>
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/app.py b/src/fabledassistant/app.py
index 735bcb1..4bac5db 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/app.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/app.py
@@ -62,6 +62,13 @@ def create_app() -> Quart:
             "Set SECRET_KEY or SECRET_KEY_FILE for production use."
         )
 
+    if not Config.TRUST_PROXY_HEADERS:
+        logger.warning(
+            "TRUST_PROXY_HEADERS is not set. If this instance is behind a reverse proxy "
+            "(nginx, Caddy, Traefik) set TRUST_PROXY_HEADERS=true so rate limiting uses "
+            "real client IPs rather than the proxy IP."
+        )
+
     app.register_blueprint(admin_bp)
     app.register_blueprint(api)
     app.register_blueprint(auth_bp)
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/config.py b/src/fabledassistant/config.py
index a898db7..f8b08b4 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/config.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/config.py
@@ -88,5 +88,10 @@ class Config:
             errors.append(f"SMTP_PORT={cls.SMTP_PORT} must be between 1 and 65535")
         if cls.oidc_enabled() and not cls.BASE_URL.startswith(("http://", "https://")):
             errors.append(f"BASE_URL='{cls.BASE_URL}' must start with http:// or https:// when OIDC is enabled")
+        if cls.SECRET_KEY == "dev-secret-change-me" and cls.SECURE_COOKIES:
+            errors.append(
+                "SECRET_KEY is set to the insecure default but SECURE_COOKIES=true indicates "
+                "a production deployment. Set SECRET_KEY or SECRET_KEY_FILE before starting."
+            )
         if errors:
             raise ValueError("Configuration errors:\n" + "\n".join(f"  - {e}" for e in errors))
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/rate_limit.py b/src/fabledassistant/rate_limit.py
index a9c9b71..91e0c62 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/rate_limit.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/rate_limit.py
@@ -1,3 +1,12 @@
+"""In-process sliding-window rate limiter.
+
+IMPORTANT — deployment note:
+  Rate limit counters are stored in memory and are lost on process restart.
+  When deployed behind a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy, Traefik) you MUST set
+  TRUST_PROXY_HEADERS=true so that the real client IP is used as the bucket key
+  rather than the proxy's IP (which would cause all users to share one bucket).
+"""
+
 import asyncio
 import time
 from collections import defaultdict
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/routes/auth.py b/src/fabledassistant/routes/auth.py
index 8d4c040..061eeee 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/routes/auth.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/routes/auth.py
@@ -359,7 +359,10 @@ async def oauth_callback():
         return redirect("/login?error=oauth")
 
     sub = claims.get("sub", "")
-    email = claims.get("email", "")
+    # Only trust the email claim for account linking if the provider has verified it.
+    # An unverified email could be used to hijack an existing local account.
+    email_verified = claims.get("email_verified", False)
+    email = claims.get("email", "") if email_verified else ""
     preferred_username = claims.get("preferred_username", "")
 
     if not sub:
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/routes/briefing.py b/src/fabledassistant/routes/briefing.py
index f6f0bca..5df7f8c 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/routes/briefing.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/routes/briefing.py
@@ -71,6 +71,12 @@ async def add_feed():
     url = (data.get("url") or "").strip()
     if not url:
         return jsonify({"error": "url required"}), 400
+    scheme = url.split("://")[0].lower() if "://" in url else ""
+    if scheme not in ("http", "https"):
+        return jsonify({"error": "Feed URL must use http or https"}), 400
+    from fabledassistant.services.llm import _is_private_url
+    if _is_private_url(url):
+        return jsonify({"error": "Feed URL must not point to an internal address"}), 400
     category = data.get("category") or None
 
     async with async_session() as session:
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/routes/chat.py b/src/fabledassistant/routes/chat.py
index 8c69c41..7883d60 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/routes/chat.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/routes/chat.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import logging
 import httpx
 from quart import Blueprint, Response, jsonify, request
 
-from fabledassistant.auth import login_required, get_current_user_id
+from fabledassistant.auth import admin_required, login_required, get_current_user_id
 from fabledassistant.routes.utils import not_found, parse_pagination
 from fabledassistant.config import Config
 from fabledassistant.services.chat import (
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ async def list_models_route():
 
 
 @chat_bp.route("/models/pull", methods=["POST"])
-@login_required
+@admin_required
 async def pull_model_route():
     """Pull a model from Ollama, streaming progress via SSE."""
     data = await request.get_json()
@@ -478,7 +478,7 @@ async def pull_model_route():
 
 
 @chat_bp.route("/models/delete", methods=["POST"])
-@login_required
+@admin_required
 async def delete_model_route():
     """Delete a model from Ollama."""
     data = await request.get_json()
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/routes/images.py b/src/fabledassistant/routes/images.py
index a4aec81..3519d28 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/routes/images.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/routes/images.py
@@ -1,14 +1,10 @@
-"""Serve locally-cached images.
-
-No authentication required — image IDs are opaque and unguessable (based
-on the SHA-256 of the original URL).  Images are served with a 1-day
-Cache-Control header so the browser doesn't re-request on every page load.
-"""
+"""Serve locally-cached images."""
 
 import logging
 
 from quart import Blueprint, jsonify, send_file
 
+from fabledassistant.auth import login_required
 from fabledassistant.services.images import get_image_path, get_image_record
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -17,6 +13,7 @@ images_bp = Blueprint("images", __name__, url_prefix="/api/images")
 
 
 @images_bp.route("/<int:image_id>", methods=["GET"])
+@login_required
 async def serve_image(image_id: int):
     """Serve a locally-cached image by its DB ID."""
     record = await get_image_record(image_id)
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/routes/milestones.py b/src/fabledassistant/routes/milestones.py
index 565a0e8..d50ddfe 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/routes/milestones.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/routes/milestones.py
@@ -50,12 +50,16 @@ async def create_milestone_route(project_id: int):
     data = await request.get_json()
     if not data.get("title"):
         return jsonify({"error": "title is required"}), 400
+    status = data.get("status", "active")
+    if status not in ("active", "done"):
+        return jsonify({"error": "status must be 'active' or 'done'"}), 400
     milestone = await create_milestone(
         uid,
         project_id,
         title=data["title"],
         description=data.get("description"),
         order_index=data.get("order_index", 0),
+        status=status,
     )
     return jsonify(await _milestone_dict(milestone)), 201
 
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/routes/projects.py b/src/fabledassistant/routes/projects.py
index 60dd547..7bc77e1 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/routes/projects.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/routes/projects.py
@@ -38,12 +38,16 @@ async def create_project_route():
     data = await request.get_json()
     if not data.get("title"):
         return jsonify({"error": "title is required"}), 400
+    status = data.get("status", "active")
+    if status not in ("active", "archived"):
+        return jsonify({"error": "status must be 'active' or 'archived'"}), 400
     project = await create_project(
         uid,
         title=data["title"],
         description=data.get("description", ""),
         goal=data.get("goal", ""),
         color=data.get("color"),
+        status=status,
     )
     return jsonify(project.to_dict()), 201
 
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/routes/settings.py b/src/fabledassistant/routes/settings.py
index e51a471..1d3e429 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/routes/settings.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/routes/settings.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ from quart import Blueprint, jsonify, request
 from fabledassistant.auth import login_required, get_current_user_id
 from fabledassistant.config import Config
 from fabledassistant.services.caldav import CALDAV_SETTING_KEYS, get_caldav_config, test_connection
-from fabledassistant.services.llm import get_installed_models
+from fabledassistant.services.llm import get_installed_models, _is_private_url
 from fabledassistant.services.settings import delete_setting, get_all_settings, set_settings_batch
 
 settings_bp = Blueprint("settings", __name__, url_prefix="/api/settings")
@@ -77,6 +77,16 @@ async def update_caldav():
     uid = get_current_user_id()
     data = await request.get_json()
 
+    # Validate CalDAV URL before saving — block internal/private addresses
+    if "caldav_url" in data:
+        url = str(data.get("caldav_url") or "").strip()
+        if url:
+            parsed_scheme = url.split("://")[0].lower() if "://" in url else ""
+            if parsed_scheme not in ("http", "https"):
+                return jsonify({"error": "CalDAV URL must use http or https"}), 400
+            if _is_private_url(url):
+                return jsonify({"error": "CalDAV URL must not point to an internal or private address"}), 400
+
     settings_to_save = {}
     for key in CALDAV_SETTING_KEYS:
         if key in data:
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/routes/users.py b/src/fabledassistant/routes/users.py
index a7d6b13..a56f2f4 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/routes/users.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/routes/users.py
@@ -24,6 +24,6 @@ async def search_users():
             ).limit(10)
         )).scalars().all()
     return jsonify({"users": [
-        {"id": u.id, "username": u.username, "email": u.email}
+        {"id": u.id, "username": u.username}
         for u in users
     ]})
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/services/images.py b/src/fabledassistant/services/images.py
index 820840b..6e1c8b6 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/services/images.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/services/images.py
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@ twice shares one file and one DB row.
 """
 
 import hashlib
+import ipaddress
 import logging
+import socket
 from pathlib import Path
 from urllib.parse import urlparse
 
@@ -21,6 +23,27 @@ from fabledassistant.models.image_cache import ImageCache
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+
+def _is_safe_image_url(url: str) -> bool:
+    """Return True only if the URL is a public http/https address (SSRF guard)."""
+    try:
+        parsed = urlparse(url)
+        if parsed.scheme not in ("http", "https"):
+            return False
+        host = parsed.hostname
+        if not host:
+            return False
+        if host.lower() in ("localhost", "::1"):
+            return False
+        addr_info = socket.getaddrinfo(host, None, proto=socket.IPPROTO_TCP)
+        for entry in addr_info:
+            ip = ipaddress.ip_address(entry[4][0])
+            if ip.is_private or ip.is_loopback or ip.is_link_local or ip.is_reserved or ip.is_multicast:
+                return False
+        return True
+    except Exception:
+        return False  # Block on resolution failure
+
 _ALLOWED_TYPES = {
     "image/jpeg",
     "image/png",
@@ -59,6 +82,10 @@ async def fetch_and_store_image(
     Returns None if the URL is unreachable, not a valid image type, or
     exceeds IMAGE_MAX_BYTES.
     """
+    if not _is_safe_image_url(url):
+        logger.warning("Blocked image fetch of private/internal URL: %s", url[:80])
+        return None
+
     url_hash = _url_hash(url)
 
     # Return existing record if already cached
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/services/milestones.py b/src/fabledassistant/services/milestones.py
index f4d2ebf..59b469c 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/services/milestones.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/services/milestones.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ async def create_milestone(
     title: str,
     description: str | None = None,
     order_index: int = 0,
+    status: str = "active",
 ) -> Milestone:
     async with async_session() as session:
         milestone = Milestone(
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ async def create_milestone(
             project_id=project_id,
             title=title,
             description=description,
-            status="active",
+            status=status,
             order_index=order_index,
         )
         session.add(milestone)
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/services/projects.py b/src/fabledassistant/services/projects.py
index 8bc1e2c..4e50655 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/services/projects.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/services/projects.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ async def create_project(
     description: str = "",
     goal: str = "",
     color: str | None = None,
+    status: str = "active",
 ) -> Project:
     async with async_session() as session:
         project = Project(
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@ async def create_project(
             description=description,
             goal=goal,
             color=color,
-            status="active",
+            status=status,
         )
         session.add(project)
         await session.commit()
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/services/rss.py b/src/fabledassistant/services/rss.py
index d85b510..7efa56d 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/services/rss.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/services/rss.py
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ async def fetch_and_cache_feed(feed_id: int, url: str) -> int:
     Fetch a feed URL, parse it, and upsert new items into rss_items.
     Returns the number of new items stored.
     """
+    scheme = url.split("://")[0].lower() if "://" in url else ""
+    if scheme not in ("http", "https"):
+        logger.warning("Blocked RSS fetch with non-http(s) scheme: %s", url[:80])
+        return 0
     try:
         parsed = await _parse_feed(url)
     except Exception: