diff --git a/src/gateway/server-http.ts b/src/gateway/server-http.ts
index d426e1223c4..1f3e8b9263d 100644
--- a/src/gateway/server-http.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/server-http.ts
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ import {
   type PluginHttpRequestHandler,
   type PluginRoutePathContext,
 } from "./server/plugins-http.js";
+import type { PreauthConnectionBudget } from "./server/preauth-connection-budget.js";
 import type { ReadinessChecker } from "./server/readiness.js";
 import type { GatewayWsClient } from "./server/ws-types.js";
 import { handleSessionKillHttpRequest } from "./session-kill-http.js";
@@ -1008,13 +1009,25 @@ export function attachGatewayUpgradeHandler(opts: {
   wss: WebSocketServer;
   canvasHost: CanvasHostHandler | null;
   clients: Set<GatewayWsClient>;
+  preauthConnectionBudget: PreauthConnectionBudget;
   resolvedAuth: ResolvedGatewayAuth;
   /** Optional rate limiter for auth brute-force protection. */
   rateLimiter?: AuthRateLimiter;
 }) {
-  const { httpServer, wss, canvasHost, clients, resolvedAuth, rateLimiter } = opts;
+  const {
+    httpServer,
+    wss,
+    canvasHost,
+    clients,
+    preauthConnectionBudget,
+    resolvedAuth,
+    rateLimiter,
+  } = opts;
   httpServer.on("upgrade", (req, socket, head) => {
     void (async () => {
+      const configSnapshot = loadConfig();
+      const trustedProxies = configSnapshot.gateway?.trustedProxies ?? [];
+      const allowRealIpFallback = configSnapshot.gateway?.allowRealIpFallback === true;
       const scopedCanvas = normalizeCanvasScopedUrl(req.url ?? "/");
       if (scopedCanvas.malformedScopedPath) {
         writeUpgradeAuthFailure(socket, { ok: false, reason: "unauthorized" });
@@ -1027,9 +1040,6 @@ export function attachGatewayUpgradeHandler(opts: {
       if (canvasHost) {
         const url = new URL(req.url ?? "/", "http://localhost");
         if (url.pathname === CANVAS_WS_PATH) {
-          const configSnapshot = loadConfig();
-          const trustedProxies = configSnapshot.gateway?.trustedProxies ?? [];
-          const allowRealIpFallback = configSnapshot.gateway?.allowRealIpFallback === true;
           const ok = await authorizeCanvasRequest({
             req,
             auth: resolvedAuth,
@@ -1050,9 +1060,68 @@ export function attachGatewayUpgradeHandler(opts: {
           return;
         }
       }
-      wss.handleUpgrade(req, socket, head, (ws) => {
-        wss.emit("connection", ws, req);
-      });
+      const preauthBudgetKey = resolveRequestClientIp(req, trustedProxies, allowRealIpFallback);
+      if (wss.listenerCount("connection") === 0) {
+        const responseBody = "Gateway websocket handlers unavailable";
+        socket.write(
+          "HTTP/1.1 503 Service Unavailable\r\n" +
+            "Connection: close\r\n" +
+            "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8\r\n" +
+            `Content-Length: ${Buffer.byteLength(responseBody, "utf8")}\r\n` +
+            "\r\n" +
+            responseBody,
+        );
+        socket.destroy();
+        return;
+      }
+      if (!preauthConnectionBudget.acquire(preauthBudgetKey)) {
+        const responseBody = "Too many unauthenticated sockets";
+        socket.write(
+          "HTTP/1.1 503 Service Unavailable\r\n" +
+            "Connection: close\r\n" +
+            "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8\r\n" +
+            `Content-Length: ${Buffer.byteLength(responseBody, "utf8")}\r\n` +
+            "\r\n" +
+            responseBody,
+        );
+        socket.destroy();
+        return;
+      }
+      let budgetTransferred = false;
+      const releaseUpgradeBudget = () => {
+        if (budgetTransferred) {
+          return;
+        }
+        budgetTransferred = true;
+        preauthConnectionBudget.release(preauthBudgetKey);
+      };
+      socket.once("close", releaseUpgradeBudget);
+      try {
+        wss.handleUpgrade(req, socket, head, (ws) => {
+          (
+            ws as unknown as import("ws").WebSocket & {
+              __openclawPreauthBudgetClaimed?: boolean;
+              __openclawPreauthBudgetKey?: string;
+            }
+          ).__openclawPreauthBudgetKey = preauthBudgetKey;
+          wss.emit("connection", ws, req);
+          const budgetClaimed = Boolean(
+            (
+              ws as unknown as import("ws").WebSocket & {
+                __openclawPreauthBudgetClaimed?: boolean;
+              }
+            ).__openclawPreauthBudgetClaimed,
+          );
+          if (budgetClaimed) {
+            budgetTransferred = true;
+            socket.off("close", releaseUpgradeBudget);
+          }
+        });
+      } catch {
+        socket.off("close", releaseUpgradeBudget);
+        releaseUpgradeBudget();
+        throw new Error("gateway websocket upgrade failed");
+      }
     })().catch(() => {
       socket.destroy();
     });
diff --git a/src/gateway/server-runtime-state.ts b/src/gateway/server-runtime-state.ts
index 173b45878ff..dc1a20c267f 100644
--- a/src/gateway/server-runtime-state.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/server-runtime-state.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ import {
   shouldEnforceGatewayAuthForPluginPath,
   type PluginRoutePathContext,
 } from "./server/plugins-http.js";
+import {
+  createPreauthConnectionBudget,
+  type PreauthConnectionBudget,
+} from "./server/preauth-connection-budget.js";
 import type { ReadinessChecker } from "./server/readiness.js";
 import type { GatewayTlsRuntime } from "./server/tls.js";
 import type { GatewayWsClient } from "./server/ws-types.js";
@@ -83,6 +87,7 @@ export async function createGatewayRuntimeState(params: {
   httpServers: HttpServer[];
   httpBindHosts: string[];
   wss: WebSocketServer;
+  preauthConnectionBudget: PreauthConnectionBudget;
   clients: Set<GatewayWsClient>;
   broadcast: GatewayBroadcastFn;
   broadcastToConnIds: GatewayBroadcastToConnIdsFn;
@@ -213,12 +218,14 @@ export async function createGatewayRuntimeState(params: {
       noServer: true,
       maxPayload: MAX_PREAUTH_PAYLOAD_BYTES,
     });
+    const preauthConnectionBudget = createPreauthConnectionBudget();
     for (const server of httpServers) {
       attachGatewayUpgradeHandler({
         httpServer: server,
         wss,
         canvasHost,
         clients,
+        preauthConnectionBudget,
         resolvedAuth: params.resolvedAuth,
         rateLimiter: params.rateLimiter,
       });
@@ -251,6 +258,7 @@ export async function createGatewayRuntimeState(params: {
       httpServers,
       httpBindHosts,
       wss,
+      preauthConnectionBudget,
       clients,
       broadcast,
       broadcastToConnIds,
diff --git a/src/gateway/server-ws-runtime.ts b/src/gateway/server-ws-runtime.ts
index 795a162818f..6ffd2559642 100644
--- a/src/gateway/server-ws-runtime.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/server-ws-runtime.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ export function attachGatewayWsHandlers(params: GatewayWsRuntimeParams) {
   attachGatewayWsConnectionHandler({
     wss: params.wss,
     clients: params.clients,
+    preauthConnectionBudget: params.preauthConnectionBudget,
     port: params.port,
     gatewayHost: params.gatewayHost,
     canvasHostEnabled: params.canvasHostEnabled,
diff --git a/src/gateway/server.canvas-auth.test.ts b/src/gateway/server.canvas-auth.test.ts
index 8adfc0ccae5..c0822712ba8 100644
--- a/src/gateway/server.canvas-auth.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/server.canvas-auth.test.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { createAuthRateLimiter } from "./auth-rate-limit.js";
 import type { ResolvedGatewayAuth } from "./auth.js";
 import { CANVAS_CAPABILITY_PATH_PREFIX } from "./canvas-capability.js";
 import { attachGatewayUpgradeHandler, createGatewayHttpServer } from "./server-http.js";
+import { createPreauthConnectionBudget } from "./server/preauth-connection-budget.js";
 import type { GatewayWsClient } from "./server/ws-types.js";
 import { withTempConfig } from "./test-temp-config.js";
 
@@ -158,6 +159,7 @@ async function withCanvasGatewayHarness(params: {
     wss,
     canvasHost,
     clients,
+    preauthConnectionBudget: createPreauthConnectionBudget(8),
     resolvedAuth: params.resolvedAuth,
     rateLimiter: params.rateLimiter,
   });
diff --git a/src/gateway/server.impl.ts b/src/gateway/server.impl.ts
index ac056bb69e7..e2b2e9fe117 100644
--- a/src/gateway/server.impl.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/server.impl.ts
@@ -686,6 +686,7 @@ export async function startGatewayServer(
     httpServers,
     httpBindHosts,
     wss,
+    preauthConnectionBudget,
     clients,
     broadcast,
     broadcastToConnIds,
@@ -1223,6 +1224,7 @@ export async function startGatewayServer(
     attachGatewayWsHandlers({
       wss,
       clients,
+      preauthConnectionBudget,
       port,
       gatewayHost: bindHost ?? undefined,
       canvasHostEnabled: Boolean(canvasHost),
diff --git a/src/gateway/server.preauth-hardening.test.ts b/src/gateway/server.preauth-hardening.test.ts
index df5c312286f..4004eb99a54 100644
--- a/src/gateway/server.preauth-hardening.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/server.preauth-hardening.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,14 @@
+import http from "node:http";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { WebSocketServer } from "ws";
+import type { ResolvedGatewayAuth } from "./auth.js";
 import { MAX_PREAUTH_PAYLOAD_BYTES } from "./server-constants.js";
+import { attachGatewayUpgradeHandler, createGatewayHttpServer } from "./server-http.js";
+import { createPreauthConnectionBudget } from "./server/preauth-connection-budget.js";
+import type { GatewayWsClient } from "./server/ws-types.js";
+import { testState } from "./test-helpers.mocks.js";
 import { createGatewaySuiteHarness, readConnectChallengeNonce } from "./test-helpers.server.js";
+import { withTempConfig } from "./test-temp-config.js";
 
 let cleanupEnv: Array<() => void> = [];
 
@@ -11,6 +19,80 @@ afterEach(async () => {
 });
 
 describe("gateway pre-auth hardening", () => {
+  it("rejects upgrades before websocket handlers attach without consuming pre-auth budget", async () => {
+    const clients = new Set<GatewayWsClient>();
+    const resolvedAuth: ResolvedGatewayAuth = { mode: "none", allowTailscale: false };
+    const httpServer = createGatewayHttpServer({
+      canvasHost: null,
+      clients,
+      controlUiEnabled: false,
+      controlUiBasePath: "/__control__",
+      openAiChatCompletionsEnabled: false,
+      openResponsesEnabled: false,
+      handleHooksRequest: async () => false,
+      resolvedAuth,
+    });
+    const wss = new WebSocketServer({ noServer: true });
+    attachGatewayUpgradeHandler({
+      httpServer,
+      wss,
+      canvasHost: null,
+      clients,
+      preauthConnectionBudget: createPreauthConnectionBudget(1),
+      resolvedAuth,
+    });
+
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve) => httpServer.listen(0, "127.0.0.1", resolve));
+    const address = httpServer.address();
+    const port = typeof address === "object" && address ? address.port : 0;
+    const requestUpgrade = async () =>
+      await new Promise<{ status: number; body: string }>((resolve, reject) => {
+        const req = http.request({
+          host: "127.0.0.1",
+          port,
+          path: "/",
+          headers: {
+            Connection: "Upgrade",
+            Upgrade: "websocket",
+            "Sec-WebSocket-Key": "dGVzdC1rZXktMDEyMzQ1Ng==",
+            "Sec-WebSocket-Version": "13",
+          },
+        });
+        req.once("upgrade", (_res, socket) => {
+          socket.destroy();
+          reject(new Error("expected websocket upgrade to be rejected"));
+        });
+        req.once("response", (res) => {
+          let body = "";
+          res.setEncoding("utf8");
+          res.on("data", (chunk) => {
+            body += chunk;
+          });
+          res.once("end", () => {
+            resolve({ status: res.statusCode ?? 0, body });
+          });
+        });
+        req.once("error", reject);
+        req.end();
+      });
+
+    try {
+      await expect(requestUpgrade()).resolves.toEqual({
+        status: 503,
+        body: "Gateway websocket handlers unavailable",
+      });
+      await expect(requestUpgrade()).resolves.toEqual({
+        status: 503,
+        body: "Gateway websocket handlers unavailable",
+      });
+    } finally {
+      wss.close();
+      await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) =>
+        httpServer.close((err) => (err ? reject(err) : resolve())),
+      );
+    }
+  });
+
   it("closes idle unauthenticated sockets after the handshake timeout", async () => {
     const previous = process.env.OPENCLAW_TEST_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS;
     process.env.OPENCLAW_TEST_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS = "200";
@@ -22,7 +104,9 @@ describe("gateway pre-auth hardening", () => {
       }
     });
 
-    const harness = await createGatewaySuiteHarness();
+    const harness = await createGatewaySuiteHarness({
+      serverOptions: { auth: { mode: "none" } },
+    });
     try {
       const ws = await harness.openWs();
       await readConnectChallengeNonce(ws);
@@ -74,4 +158,129 @@ describe("gateway pre-auth hardening", () => {
       await harness.close();
     }
   });
+
+  it("rejects excess simultaneous unauthenticated sockets from the same client ip", async () => {
+    const previous = process.env.OPENCLAW_TEST_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP;
+    process.env.OPENCLAW_TEST_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP = "1";
+    cleanupEnv.push(() => {
+      if (previous === undefined) {
+        delete process.env.OPENCLAW_TEST_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP;
+      } else {
+        process.env.OPENCLAW_TEST_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP = previous;
+      }
+    });
+    const previousAuth = testState.gatewayAuth;
+    testState.gatewayAuth = { mode: "none" };
+    cleanupEnv.push(() => {
+      testState.gatewayAuth = previousAuth;
+    });
+
+    const harness = await createGatewaySuiteHarness();
+    try {
+      const firstWs = await harness.openWs();
+      await readConnectChallengeNonce(firstWs);
+
+      const rejectedStatus = await new Promise<number>((resolve, reject) => {
+        const req = http.request({
+          host: "127.0.0.1",
+          port: harness.port,
+          path: "/",
+          headers: {
+            Connection: "Upgrade",
+            Upgrade: "websocket",
+            "Sec-WebSocket-Key": "dGVzdC1rZXktMDEyMzQ1Ng==",
+            "Sec-WebSocket-Version": "13",
+          },
+        });
+        req.once("upgrade", (_res, socket) => {
+          socket.destroy();
+          reject(new Error("expected websocket upgrade to be rejected"));
+        });
+        req.once("response", (res) => {
+          res.resume();
+          resolve(res.statusCode ?? 0);
+        });
+        req.once("error", reject);
+        req.end();
+      });
+      expect(rejectedStatus).toBe(503);
+
+      firstWs.close();
+    } finally {
+      await harness.close();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("rejects excess simultaneous unauthenticated sockets when trusted proxy headers are missing", async () => {
+    const previous = process.env.OPENCLAW_TEST_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP;
+    process.env.OPENCLAW_TEST_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP = "1";
+    cleanupEnv.push(() => {
+      if (previous === undefined) {
+        delete process.env.OPENCLAW_TEST_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP;
+      } else {
+        process.env.OPENCLAW_TEST_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP = previous;
+      }
+    });
+    const previousAuth = testState.gatewayAuth;
+    testState.gatewayAuth = { mode: "none" };
+    cleanupEnv.push(() => {
+      testState.gatewayAuth = previousAuth;
+    });
+
+    await withTempConfig({
+      cfg: {
+        gateway: {
+          trustedProxies: ["127.0.0.1"],
+        },
+      },
+      prefix: "openclaw-preauth-proxy-",
+      run: async () => {
+        const harness = await createGatewaySuiteHarness();
+        try {
+          const firstWs = await harness.openWs();
+          await readConnectChallengeNonce(firstWs);
+
+          const rejected = await new Promise<{ status: number; body: string }>(
+            (resolve, reject) => {
+              const req = http.request({
+                host: "127.0.0.1",
+                port: harness.port,
+                path: "/",
+                headers: {
+                  Connection: "Upgrade",
+                  Upgrade: "websocket",
+                  "Sec-WebSocket-Key": "dGVzdC1rZXktMDEyMzQ1Ng==",
+                  "Sec-WebSocket-Version": "13",
+                },
+              });
+              req.once("upgrade", (_res, socket) => {
+                socket.destroy();
+                reject(new Error("expected websocket upgrade to be rejected"));
+              });
+              req.once("response", (res) => {
+                let body = "";
+                res.setEncoding("utf8");
+                res.on("data", (chunk) => {
+                  body += chunk;
+                });
+                res.once("end", () => {
+                  resolve({ status: res.statusCode ?? 0, body });
+                });
+              });
+              req.once("error", reject);
+              req.end();
+            },
+          );
+          expect(rejected).toEqual({
+            status: 503,
+            body: "Too many unauthenticated sockets",
+          });
+
+          firstWs.close();
+        } finally {
+          await harness.close();
+        }
+      },
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/gateway/server/preauth-connection-budget.ts b/src/gateway/server/preauth-connection-budget.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e359338c8da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/gateway/server/preauth-connection-budget.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+const DEFAULT_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP = 32;
+const UNKNOWN_CLIENT_IP_BUDGET_KEY = "__openclaw_unknown_client_ip__";
+
+export function getMaxPreauthConnectionsPerIpFromEnv(env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env): number {
+  const configured =
+    env.OPENCLAW_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP ||
+    (env.VITEST && env.OPENCLAW_TEST_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP);
+  if (!configured) {
+    return DEFAULT_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP;
+  }
+  const parsed = Number(configured);
+  if (!Number.isFinite(parsed) || parsed < 1) {
+    return DEFAULT_MAX_PREAUTH_CONNECTIONS_PER_IP;
+  }
+  return Math.max(1, Math.floor(parsed));
+}
+
+export type PreauthConnectionBudget = {
+  acquire(clientIp: string | undefined): boolean;
+  release(clientIp: string | undefined): void;
+};
+
+export function createPreauthConnectionBudget(
+  limit = getMaxPreauthConnectionsPerIpFromEnv(),
+): PreauthConnectionBudget {
+  const counts = new Map<string, number>();
+  const normalizeBudgetKey = (clientIp: string | undefined) => {
+    const ip = clientIp?.trim();
+    // Trusted-proxy mode can intentionally leave client IP unresolved when
+    // forwarded headers are missing or invalid; keep those upgrades capped
+    // under a shared fallback bucket instead of failing open.
+    return ip || UNKNOWN_CLIENT_IP_BUDGET_KEY;
+  };
+
+  return {
+    acquire(clientIp) {
+      const ip = normalizeBudgetKey(clientIp);
+      const next = (counts.get(ip) ?? 0) + 1;
+      if (next > limit) {
+        return false;
+      }
+      counts.set(ip, next);
+      return true;
+    },
+    release(clientIp) {
+      const ip = normalizeBudgetKey(clientIp);
+      const current = counts.get(ip);
+      if (current === undefined) {
+        return;
+      }
+      if (current <= 1) {
+        counts.delete(ip);
+        return;
+      }
+      counts.set(ip, current - 1);
+    },
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/gateway/server/ws-connection.ts b/src/gateway/server/ws-connection.ts
index 4add43d3cbd..74880180348 100644
--- a/src/gateway/server/ws-connection.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/server/ws-connection.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import type { GatewayRequestContext, GatewayRequestHandlers } from "../server-me
 import { formatError } from "../server-utils.js";
 import { logWs } from "../ws-log.js";
 import { getHealthVersion, incrementPresenceVersion } from "./health-state.js";
+import type { PreauthConnectionBudget } from "./preauth-connection-budget.js";
 import { broadcastPresenceSnapshot } from "./presence-events.js";
 import {
   attachGatewayWsMessageHandler,
@@ -61,6 +62,7 @@ const sanitizeLogValue = (value: string | undefined): string | undefined => {
 export type GatewayWsSharedHandlerParams = {
   wss: WebSocketServer;
   clients: Set<GatewayWsClient>;
+  preauthConnectionBudget: PreauthConnectionBudget;
   port: number;
   gatewayHost?: string;
   canvasHostEnabled: boolean;
@@ -94,6 +96,7 @@ export function attachGatewayWsConnectionHandler(params: AttachGatewayWsConnecti
   const {
     wss,
     clients,
+    preauthConnectionBudget,
     port,
     gatewayHost,
     canvasHostEnabled,
@@ -119,6 +122,17 @@ export function attachGatewayWsConnectionHandler(params: AttachGatewayWsConnecti
     const connId = randomUUID();
     const remoteAddr = (socket as WebSocket & { _socket?: { remoteAddress?: string } })._socket
       ?.remoteAddress;
+    const preauthBudgetKey = (
+      socket as WebSocket & {
+        __openclawPreauthBudgetClaimed?: boolean;
+        __openclawPreauthBudgetKey?: string;
+      }
+    ).__openclawPreauthBudgetKey;
+    (
+      socket as WebSocket & {
+        __openclawPreauthBudgetClaimed?: boolean;
+      }
+    ).__openclawPreauthBudgetClaimed = true;
     const headerValue = (value: string | string[] | undefined) =>
       Array.isArray(value) ? value[0] : value;
     const requestHost = headerValue(upgradeReq.headers.host);
@@ -140,6 +154,7 @@ export function attachGatewayWsConnectionHandler(params: AttachGatewayWsConnecti
 
     logWs("in", "open", { connId, remoteAddr });
     let handshakeState: "pending" | "connected" | "failed" = "pending";
+    let holdsPreauthBudget = true;
     let closeCause: string | undefined;
     let closeMeta: Record<string, unknown> = {};
     let lastFrameType: string | undefined;
@@ -155,6 +170,14 @@ export function attachGatewayWsConnectionHandler(params: AttachGatewayWsConnecti
       }
     };
 
+    const releasePreauthBudget = () => {
+      if (!holdsPreauthBudget) {
+        return;
+      }
+      holdsPreauthBudget = false;
+      preauthConnectionBudget.release(preauthBudgetKey);
+    };
+
     const setLastFrameMeta = (meta: { type?: string; method?: string; id?: string }) => {
       if (meta.type || meta.method || meta.id) {
         lastFrameType = meta.type ?? lastFrameType;
@@ -184,6 +207,7 @@ export function attachGatewayWsConnectionHandler(params: AttachGatewayWsConnecti
       }
       closed = true;
       clearTimeout(handshakeTimer);
+      releasePreauthBudget();
       if (client) {
         clients.delete(client);
       }
@@ -302,6 +326,7 @@ export function attachGatewayWsConnectionHandler(params: AttachGatewayWsConnecti
       clearHandshakeTimer: () => clearTimeout(handshakeTimer),
       getClient: () => client,
       setClient: (next) => {
+        releasePreauthBudget();
         client = next;
         clients.add(next);
       },