diff --git a/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/auth-proxy/cilium-network-policy.yaml b/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/auth-proxy/cilium-network-policy.yaml
index f4fe46655..98e517658 100644
--- a/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/auth-proxy/cilium-network-policy.yaml
+++ b/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/auth-proxy/cilium-network-policy.yaml
@@ -79,6 +79,15 @@ spec:
         - ports:
             - port: "8080"
               protocol: TCP
+    # OpenBao UI/API upstream. The public HTTPRoute points at oauth2-proxy,
+    # then auth-proxy forwards only authenticated requests to OpenBao.
+    - toEndpoints:
+        - matchLabels:
+            k8s:io.kubernetes.pod.namespace: openbao
+      toPorts:
+        - ports:
+            - port: "8200"
+              protocol: TCP
     # DNS resolution
     - toEndpoints:
         - matchLabels:
diff --git a/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/auth-proxy/config-map.yaml b/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/auth-proxy/config-map.yaml
index 1a0b3fbbe..f310c8846 100644
--- a/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/auth-proxy/config-map.yaml
+++ b/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/auth-proxy/config-map.yaml
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ data:
           rule: "Host(`policy-reporter.${domain}`)"
           entryPoints: ["web"]
           service: policy-reporter
+        openbao:
+          rule: "Host(`vault.${domain}`)"
+          entryPoints: ["web"]
+          service: openbao
       services:
         homepage:
           loadBalancer:
@@ -88,3 +92,9 @@ data:
           loadBalancer:
             servers:
               - url: "http://policy-reporter-ui.policy-reporter.svc.cluster.local:8080"
+        # OpenBao UI/API, routed only after oauth2-proxy SSO. Use the active
+        # Service to avoid sending UI/API requests to sealed standby pods.
+        openbao:
+          loadBalancer:
+            servers:
+              - url: "http://openbao-active.openbao.svc.cluster.local:8200"
diff --git a/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/openbao/cilium-network-policy.yaml b/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/openbao/cilium-network-policy.yaml
index de6e9fbb5..fadc9e155 100644
--- a/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/openbao/cilium-network-policy.yaml
+++ b/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/openbao/cilium-network-policy.yaml
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@ spec:
               protocol: TCP
             - port: "8201"
               protocol: TCP
-    # Allow same-namespace clients (vault-config Jobs, UI),
+    # Allow same-namespace clients (vault-config Jobs, snapshots),
     # cross-namespace clients (ESO from external-secrets namespace),
-    # and Cilium Gateway envoy proxies for external ingress
+    # and authenticated UI/API traffic forwarded by auth-proxy.
     - fromEndpoints:
         - matchLabels:
             app: vault-config
@@ -36,15 +36,9 @@ spec:
             k8s:io.kubernetes.pod.namespace: openbao
         - matchLabels:
             k8s:io.kubernetes.pod.namespace: external-secrets
-      toPorts:
-        - ports:
-            - port: "8200"
-              protocol: TCP
-    # Cilium Gateway / Ingress traffic (envoy runs with hostNetwork,
-    # so label-based matching doesn't work — use ingress + host entities)
-    - fromEntities:
-        - ingress
-        - host
+        - matchLabels:
+            app: auth-proxy
+            k8s:io.kubernetes.pod.namespace: oauth2-proxy
       toPorts:
         - ports:
             - port: "8200"
diff --git a/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/openbao/http-route.yaml b/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/openbao/http-route.yaml
index e2b624867..fa718d63e 100644
--- a/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/openbao/http-route.yaml
+++ b/k8s/bases/infrastructure/controllers/openbao/http-route.yaml
@@ -19,18 +19,22 @@ spec:
   hostnames:
     - vault.${domain}
   rules:
-    - backendRefs:
-        # openbao-active routes only to the unsealed Raft leader. The chart's
-        # openbao-ui Service selects every server pod, including sealed-but-Ready
-        # standbys (readinessProbe sealedcode=204), so the UI would round-robin
-        # onto a sealed node. Trade-off: with NO active node (all sealed, DR),
-        # the UI is unreachable — recovery is CLI-driven anyway
-        # (docs/dr/openbao-raft-ha-migration.md).
-        - name: openbao-active
-          port: 8200
-      filters:
+    - filters:
+        # Gate the public OpenBao UI/API route behind oauth2-proxy so
+        # unauthenticated Internet traffic cannot generate unbounded audit
+        # records on the fail-closed file audit PVC. After SSO, auth-proxy
+        # forwards vault.${domain} to the active OpenBao Service.
+        - type: RequestHeaderModifier
+          requestHeaderModifier:
+            set:
+              - name: X-Auth-Request-Redirect
+                value: https://vault.${domain}/
         - type: ResponseHeaderModifier
           responseHeaderModifier:
             set:
               - name: Strict-Transport-Security
                 value: max-age=63072000; includeSubDomains; preload
+      backendRefs:
+        - name: oauth2-proxy
+          namespace: oauth2-proxy
+          port: 80