diff --git a/backend/lib/express/rate-limit.js b/backend/lib/express/rate-limit.js
index baa34493d..a8754a826 100644
--- a/backend/lib/express/rate-limit.js
+++ b/backend/lib/express/rate-limit.js
@@ -4,24 +4,57 @@ import { isCI } from "../config.js";
  * In-memory sliding window rate limiter for authentication endpoints
  */
 
-const ipRequests = new Map();
+// One store per limiter, so separate endpoints never share buckets
+const stores = new Set();
 
 // Clean up old entries every 2 minutes
 const cleanupTimer = setInterval(() => {
 	const now = Date.now();
-	for (const [ip, record] of ipRequests.entries()) {
-		if (now - record.startTime > record.windowMs * 2) {
-			ipRequests.delete(ip);
+	for (const store of stores) {
+		for (const [key, record] of store.entries()) {
+			if (now - record.startTime > record.windowMs * 2) {
+				store.delete(key);
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }, 120000);
 cleanupTimer.unref();
 
+/**
+ * The client IP as seen by the backend. X-Forwarded-For is only honoured when the socket is
+ * loopback, which is the admin nginx in this container; it sets the header to its own
+ * $remote_addr after realip processing, so the first entry is the resolved client.
+ *
+ * @param   {Object} req
+ * @returns {String}
+ */
+export const getClientIp = (req) => {
+	const socketAddr = req.socket?.remoteAddress || "unknown";
+	const isTrustedLocalProxy = socketAddr === "127.0.0.1" || socketAddr === "::1" || socketAddr === "::ffff:127.0.0.1";
+	const forwardedFor = isTrustedLocalProxy ? req.headers["x-forwarded-for"]?.split(",")[0].trim() : null;
+	return forwardedFor || socketAddr;
+};
+
+/**
+ * @param {Object}   [options]
+ * @param {Number}   [options.windowMs]
+ * @param {Number}   [options.max]
+ * @param {String}   [options.message]
+ * @param {Boolean}  [options.skipSuccessfulRequests]
+ * @param {Function} [options.keyGenerator]  (req, clientIp) => String. Defaults to the client IP.
+ *                                           Including the target account in the key stops every
+ *                                           user being locked out when many clients share an IP
+ *                                           (e.g. the admin UI behind another reverse proxy).
+ */
 export default function createRateLimiter(options = {}) {
 	const windowMs = options.windowMs || 60 * 1000; // 1 minute default
 	const max = options.max || 10; // 10 requests default
 	const message = options.message || "Too many attempts from this IP, please try again later.";
 	const skipSuccessfulRequests = options.skipSuccessfulRequests !== false;
+	const keyGenerator = options.keyGenerator || ((_req, clientIp) => clientIp);
+
+	const store = new Map();
+	stores.add(store);
 
 	return (req, res, next) => {
 		// Bypass rate limiting in CI, test environments, or when explicitly disabled
@@ -34,14 +67,10 @@ export default function createRateLimiter(options = {}) {
 			return next();
 		}
 
-		const socketAddr = req.socket?.remoteAddress || "unknown";
-		const isTrustedLocalProxy =
-			socketAddr === "127.0.0.1" || socketAddr === "::1" || socketAddr === "::ffff:127.0.0.1";
-		const forwardedFor = isTrustedLocalProxy ? req.headers["x-forwarded-for"]?.split(",")[0].trim() : null;
-		const clientIp = forwardedFor || socketAddr;
+		const key = keyGenerator(req, getClientIp(req));
 
 		const now = Date.now();
-		let record = ipRequests.get(clientIp);
+		let record = store.get(key);
 
 		if (!record || now - record.startTime > windowMs) {
 			record = {
@@ -49,7 +78,7 @@ export default function createRateLimiter(options = {}) {
 				startTime: now,
 				windowMs,
 			};
-			ipRequests.set(clientIp, record);
+			store.set(key, record);
 
 			if (skipSuccessfulRequests) {
 				const currentRecord = record;
diff --git a/backend/routes/tokens.js b/backend/routes/tokens.js
index b5f25890c..012bb95ca 100644
--- a/backend/routes/tokens.js
+++ b/backend/routes/tokens.js
@@ -6,11 +6,40 @@ import apiValidator from "../lib/validator/api.js";
 import { debug, express as logger } from "../logger.js";
 import { getValidationSchema } from "../schema/index.js";
 
+// Keyed on IP + target account rather than IP alone: when the admin UI sits behind another
+// proxy every client can resolve to the same IP, and an IP-only bucket would let anyone lock
+// out every user with a handful of bad logins. Brute force against one account is still
+// capped per IP.
 const tokenRateLimiter = createRateLimiter({
 	windowMs: 60 * 1000,
 	max: 10,
 	message: "Too many login attempts. Please try again in 1 minute.",
 	skipSuccessfulRequests: true,
+	keyGenerator: (req, clientIp) => {
+		const identity = typeof req.body?.identity === "string" ? req.body.identity.trim().toLowerCase() : "";
+		return `${clientIp}|${identity}`;
+	},
+});
+
+// Keyed on the user the challenge belongs to, not the challenge token itself, so fetching
+// fresh challenge tokens doesn't reset the code-guessing budget. The payload is read without
+// verifying the signature; verify2FA does that. A forged token only affects buckets for the
+// sender's own IP.
+const challengeUserId = (token) => {
+	try {
+		const payload = JSON.parse(Buffer.from(String(token).split(".")[1], "base64url").toString());
+		return String(payload?.attrs?.id ?? "");
+	} catch {
+		return "";
+	}
+};
+
+const twoFactorRateLimiter = createRateLimiter({
+	windowMs: 60 * 1000,
+	max: 10,
+	message: "Too many login attempts. Please try again in 1 minute.",
+	skipSuccessfulRequests: true,
+	keyGenerator: (req, clientIp) => `${clientIp}|${challengeUserId(req.body?.challenge_token)}`,
 });
 
 const router = express.Router({
@@ -72,7 +101,7 @@ router
 	 *
 	 * Verify 2FA code and get full token
 	 */
-	.post(tokenRateLimiter, async (req, res, next) => {
+	.post(twoFactorRateLimiter, async (req, res, next) => {
 		try {
 			const { challenge_token, code } = await apiValidator(getValidationSchema("/tokens/2fa", "post"), req.body);
 			const result = await internalToken.verify2FA(challenge_token, code);
diff --git a/docker/rootfs/etc/nginx/nginx.conf b/docker/rootfs/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
index 471d22536..2184049c4 100644
--- a/docker/rootfs/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
+++ b/docker/rootfs/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
@@ -77,6 +77,10 @@ http {
 
 	# Real IP Determination
 
+	# Loopback: lets an NPM proxy host forwarding to 127.0.0.1 (e.g. the admin UI on :81)
+	# pass the real client IP through instead of every request appearing as 127.0.0.1
+	set_real_ip_from 127.0.0.1;
+	set_real_ip_from ::1;
 	# Local subnets:
 	set_real_ip_from 10.0.0.0/8;
 	set_real_ip_from 172.16.0.0/12; # Includes Docker subnet