diff --git a/src/services/api/handlers.ts b/src/services/api/handlers.ts
index 36ba050..6cd25e9 100644
--- a/src/services/api/handlers.ts
+++ b/src/services/api/handlers.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import {
   createAdminSession,
   revokeAdminSession,
   getAdminSession,
+  DUMMY_PASSWORD_HASH,
 } from "@/services/auth/index.js";
 import type { Preferences } from "@/contracts/index.js";
 import {
@@ -1853,13 +1854,9 @@ code{background:#f4f4f5;padding:.1rem .35rem;border-radius:4px}</style>
 
     const { identifier, password } = parsed.data;
     const user = await deps.adminUserRepo.findByEmailOrUsername(identifier);
-    if (!user) {
-      sendJson(res, 401, { error: "unauthorized", message: "Invalid credentials" });
-      return;
-    }
-
-    const isValid = await verifyPassword(password, user.passwordHash);
-    if (!isValid) {
+    const targetHash = user ? user.passwordHash : DUMMY_PASSWORD_HASH;
+    const isValid = await verifyPassword(password, targetHash);
+    if (!user || !isValid) {
       sendJson(res, 401, { error: "unauthorized", message: "Invalid credentials" });
       return;
     }
diff --git a/src/services/api/main.ts b/src/services/api/main.ts
index 009a41b..9838862 100644
--- a/src/services/api/main.ts
+++ b/src/services/api/main.ts
@@ -499,6 +499,30 @@ export async function startApiServer() {
       }
     }
 
+    // The login route is unauthenticated and CPU-intensive due to password hashing (scrypt).
+    // Throttle login attempts per IP to prevent credential brute-forcing and CPU exhaustion.
+    if (isPublicAuth) {
+      const clientIp =
+        (req.headers["x-forwarded-for"] as string | undefined)?.split(",")[0]?.trim() ||
+        req.socket.remoteAddress ||
+        "unknown";
+      try {
+        const key = `rate-limit:api:auth:${clientIp}`;
+        const count = await redis.native.incr(key);
+        if (count === 1) await redis.native.expire(key, 60);
+        if (count > 10) {
+          res.setHeader("Retry-After", "60");
+          sendJson(res, 429, {
+            error: "too_many_requests",
+            message: "Too many login attempts. Please try again later.",
+          });
+          return;
+        }
+      } catch (err) {
+        logger.warn({ err }, "auth rate limit unavailable — allowing request");
+      }
+    }
+
     const route = router.match(req.method ?? "GET", url.pathname);
 
     if (!route) {
diff --git a/src/services/auth/index.ts b/src/services/auth/index.ts
index 339b372..4a3b6f3 100644
--- a/src/services/auth/index.ts
+++ b/src/services/auth/index.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,14 @@ const scryptAsync = promisify(scrypt);
 const DEFAULT_SESSION_TTL_SECONDS = 7 * 24 * 60 * 60; // 7 days
 const SESSION_PREFIX = "notif:session:";
 
+/**
+ * Pre-computed dummy hash conforming to salt(16 bytes hex):hash(64 bytes hex).
+ * Used during authentication failure to equalize execution time and prevent
+ * user enumeration via scrypt timing side-channels.
+ */
+export const DUMMY_PASSWORD_HASH =
+  "00000000000000000000000000000000:00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000";
+
 export interface AdminSession {
   token: string;
   adminId: string;
diff --git a/tests/auth.test.ts b/tests/auth.test.ts
index 5697046..b177f09 100644
--- a/tests/auth.test.ts
+++ b/tests/auth.test.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import {
   createAdminSession,
   getAdminSession,
   revokeAdminSession,
+  DUMMY_PASSWORD_HASH,
 } from "@/services/auth/index.js";
 import { createHandlers } from "@/services/api/handlers.js";
 
@@ -55,6 +56,10 @@ describe("Password Hashing & Verification", () => {
   it("fails verification on malformed hash", async () => {
     expect(await verifyPassword("password", "invalid_hash_string")).toBe(false);
   });
+
+  it("fails verification on dummy hash without throwing", async () => {
+    expect(await verifyPassword("password", DUMMY_PASSWORD_HASH)).toBe(false);
+  });
 });
 
 describe("Admin Session Management", () => {