diff --git a/src/shared/utils/apiKeyPolicy.ts b/src/shared/utils/apiKeyPolicy.ts
index 7df8f1cd1d..ebd23c9ead 100644
--- a/src/shared/utils/apiKeyPolicy.ts
+++ b/src/shared/utils/apiKeyPolicy.ts
@@ -645,13 +645,37 @@ async function validateRateLimitAndThrottle(context: PolicyContext): Promise<Res
   return null;
 }
 
+/**
+ * A bare `x-api-key` / `x-goog-api-key` (no anthropic-version, no claude
+ * user-agent) is accepted by the CLIENT_API auth layer (clientApi.ts
+ * `extractBearer`) but ignored by the Issue-#2225-gated `extractApiKey()` used
+ * for policy resolution — so a genuine key sent that way passed auth while
+ * skipping its own allowedModels / budget / rate-limit policy
+ * (GHSA-2phc-xp22-9f56). Resolve those headers here so the policy layer sees the
+ * same key auth accepted. Bearer, URL-token and anthropic-gated paths are already
+ * covered by `extractApiKey()`; unknown keys still fail open downstream, so this
+ * only tightens enforcement for real keys.
+ */
+function extractUngatedClientApiKey(request: Request): string | null {
+  const xApiKey = request.headers.get("x-api-key") ?? request.headers.get("X-Api-Key");
+  if (xApiKey && xApiKey.trim()) return xApiKey.trim();
+  const xGoog = request.headers.get("x-goog-api-key") ?? request.headers.get("X-Goog-Api-Key");
+  if (xGoog && xGoog.trim()) return xGoog.trim();
+  return null;
+}
+
 export async function enforceApiKeyPolicy(
   request: Request,
   modelStr: string | null
 ): Promise<ApiKeyPolicyResult> {
-  // A real bearer key wins; otherwise an authenticated dashboard playground may
-  // test a specific key's policy by id (resolved server-side, secret never sent).
-  const apiKey = extractApiKey(request) || (await resolvePlaygroundTestKey(request));
+  // A real bearer key wins; then a bare x-api-key/x-goog-api-key that auth
+  // accepted but extractApiKey() gates out; otherwise an authenticated dashboard
+  // playground may test a specific key's policy by id (resolved server-side,
+  // secret never sent).
+  const apiKey =
+    extractApiKey(request) ||
+    extractUngatedClientApiKey(request) ||
+    (await resolvePlaygroundTestKey(request));
 
   // No API key = local/session mode, skip policy checks
   if (!apiKey) {
diff --git a/tests/unit/api-key-policy.test.ts b/tests/unit/api-key-policy.test.ts
index ceda6e7348..63cf63be7b 100644
--- a/tests/unit/api-key-policy.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/api-key-policy.test.ts
@@ -96,6 +96,17 @@ function makeAnthropicPolicyRequest(apiKey) {
   });
 }
 
+// A bare `x-api-key` with NO anthropic-version header and no claude user-agent:
+// the CLIENT_API auth layer accepts it, but the gated extractApiKey() used by
+// the policy layer used to ignore it, so the key's per-key policy was skipped
+// entirely (GHSA-2phc-xp22-9f56).
+function makeBareXApiKeyPolicyRequest(apiKey) {
+  return new Request("http://localhost/v1/responses", {
+    method: "POST",
+    headers: apiKey ? { "x-api-key": apiKey } : {},
+  });
+}
+
 async function readErrorMessage(response) {
   const body = (await response.json()) as { error?: { message?: unknown } };
   return typeof body.error?.message === "string" ? body.error.message : "";
@@ -457,6 +468,29 @@ test("enforceApiKeyPolicy rejects disabled keys and blocked schedules", async ()
   assert.match(await readErrorMessage(blocked.rejection), /Access denied outside allowed hours/);
 });
 
+test("enforceApiKeyPolicy enforces allowedModels for a bare x-api-key (GHSA-2phc-xp22-9f56)", async () => {
+  const restrictedKey = await createKeyWithPolicy({
+    allowedModels: ["openai/gpt-4.1"],
+  });
+  const policy = await loadPolicy("bare-x-api-key");
+
+  // Disallowed model via a bare x-api-key must be rejected, exactly as it is for
+  // a Bearer token — the header used to carry the key must not weaken the policy.
+  const disallowed = await policy.enforceApiKeyPolicy(
+    makeBareXApiKeyPolicyRequest(restrictedKey.key),
+    "anthropic/claude-3-7-sonnet"
+  );
+  assert.equal(disallowed.rejection.status, 403);
+  assert.match(await readErrorMessage(disallowed.rejection), /not allowed/);
+
+  // The allowed model still passes through the same header.
+  const allowed = await policy.enforceApiKeyPolicy(
+    makeBareXApiKeyPolicyRequest(restrictedKey.key),
+    "openai/gpt-4.1"
+  );
+  assert.equal(allowed.rejection, null);
+});
+
 test("enforceApiKeyPolicy rejects disallowed models and exhausted budgets", async () => {
   const restrictedKey = await createKeyWithPolicy({
     allowedModels: ["openai/gpt-4.1"],