diff --git a/packages/agent-bff/README.md b/packages/agent-bff/README.md
index ab545eea70..1f033da571 100644
--- a/packages/agent-bff/README.md
+++ b/packages/agent-bff/README.md
@@ -142,8 +142,11 @@ normalized away, no trailing slash, no wildcard, no subdomain matching):
   blocks). Applies to `POST /oauth/token` too. Preflight `OPTIONS` from an allow-listed origin gets
   the allowed methods + headers; credentials are never enabled.
 - **Layer 2 (per-key authorization, Mode 2 only)** — when the resolved key has a non-empty
-  `allowedOrigins`, the request `Origin` must also be in that list (a missing `Origin` is rejected),
-  else `403 origin_not_allowed`. An empty per-key list is a no-op.
+  `allowedOrigins`, an `Origin` sent by the client must be in that list, else
+  `403 origin_not_allowed`. A request with no `Origin` at all — a server-side client such as curl,
+  a Node backend or CI, an empty header counting as none — passes: there the API key is the
+  boundary, not the origin. An opaque `Origin: null` (sandboxed iframe, cross-origin redirect) is a
+  present origin and is rejected. An empty per-key list is a no-op.
 
 **Local development:** browsers still enforce CORS against `localhost`, so add your dev origin(s) to
 `BFF_ALLOWED_ORIGINS` (e.g. `BFF_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:4200`) — there is no dev bypass.
diff --git a/packages/agent-bff/src/cors/origin.ts b/packages/agent-bff/src/cors/origin.ts
index 967c62cf10..784040208c 100644
--- a/packages/agent-bff/src/cors/origin.ts
+++ b/packages/agent-bff/src/cors/origin.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
+export function hasOrigin(raw: string | undefined | null): raw is string {
+  return raw !== undefined && raw !== null && raw.trim() !== '';
+}
+
 export function normalizeOrigin(raw: string | undefined | null): string | null {
-  if (raw === undefined || raw === null) return null;
+  if (!hasOrigin(raw)) return null;
 
   const trimmed = raw.trim();
-  if (trimmed === '' || trimmed === 'null') return null;
+  if (trimmed === 'null') return null;
 
   let url: URL;
 
diff --git a/packages/agent-bff/src/cors/per-key-origin.ts b/packages/agent-bff/src/cors/per-key-origin.ts
index 7f6fcfc7ee..a3f1656d68 100644
--- a/packages/agent-bff/src/cors/per-key-origin.ts
+++ b/packages/agent-bff/src/cors/per-key-origin.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,15 @@
 import type { Middleware } from 'koa';
 
-import { originAllowed } from './origin';
+import { hasOrigin, originAllowed } from './origin';
 import { originNotAllowed } from '../http/bff-http-error';
 
 export default function createPerKeyOriginMiddleware(): Middleware {
   return async function perKeyOriginMiddleware(ctx, next) {
     const identity = ctx.state.apiKeyIdentity as { allowedOrigins?: string[] } | undefined;
     const allowedOrigins = identity?.allowedOrigins ?? [];
+    const origin = ctx.get('Origin');
 
-    if (allowedOrigins.length > 0 && !originAllowed(ctx.get('Origin'), allowedOrigins)) {
+    if (allowedOrigins.length > 0 && hasOrigin(origin) && !originAllowed(origin, allowedOrigins)) {
       throw originNotAllowed();
     }
 
diff --git a/packages/agent-bff/src/openapi/openapi-document.ts b/packages/agent-bff/src/openapi/openapi-document.ts
index 8103504403..3f86a5a491 100644
--- a/packages/agent-bff/src/openapi/openapi-document.ts
+++ b/packages/agent-bff/src/openapi/openapi-document.ts
@@ -401,7 +401,13 @@ export function generateOpenApiDocument(
     type: 'apiKey',
     in: 'header',
     name: 'X-Forest-Bff-Key',
-    description: 'Mode 2: a BFF API key. Never send both this and an Authorization header.',
+    description:
+      'Mode 2: a BFF API key. Never send both this and an Authorization header. A key created ' +
+      'with allowedOrigins restricts browser callers only: an Origin the client sends must be in ' +
+      'that list, else 403 origin_not_allowed, while a request with no Origin at all — curl, a ' +
+      'server-side client, CI, an empty Origin header counting as none — passes, because there ' +
+      'the key is the boundary rather than the origin. The opaque Origin null is a present origin ' +
+      'and is rejected.',
   });
 
   registry.registerPath({
diff --git a/packages/agent-bff/test/cors/origin.test.ts b/packages/agent-bff/test/cors/origin.test.ts
index 94d912888b..6f3827f3b8 100644
--- a/packages/agent-bff/test/cors/origin.test.ts
+++ b/packages/agent-bff/test/cors/origin.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,26 @@
-import { normalizeOrigin, originAllowed, parseAllowedOrigins } from '../../src/cors/origin';
+import {
+  hasOrigin,
+  normalizeOrigin,
+  originAllowed,
+  parseAllowedOrigins,
+} from '../../src/cors/origin';
+
+describe('hasOrigin', () => {
+  it('is false for the empty string koa returns when the header is absent', () => {
+    expect(hasOrigin('')).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('is true for any present value, even an opaque or malformed one', () => {
+    expect(hasOrigin('null')).toBe(true);
+    expect(hasOrigin('not a url')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('is false for blank or absent input, the same contract normalizeOrigin takes', () => {
+    expect(hasOrigin('   ')).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasOrigin(undefined)).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasOrigin(null)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
 
 describe('normalizeOrigin', () => {
   it.each([
diff --git a/packages/agent-bff/test/cors/per-key-origin.test.ts b/packages/agent-bff/test/cors/per-key-origin.test.ts
index f056ddb8ec..fb22ebe843 100644
--- a/packages/agent-bff/test/cors/per-key-origin.test.ts
+++ b/packages/agent-bff/test/cors/per-key-origin.test.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,17 @@ function buildApp(allowedOrigins?: string[]) {
   return app;
 }
 
+function expectOriginForbidden(response: request.Response) {
+  expect(response.status).toBe(403);
+  expect(response.body).toEqual({
+    error: {
+      type: 'origin_not_allowed',
+      status: 403,
+      message: 'Origin is not allowed for this key',
+    },
+  });
+}
+
 describe('per-key origin middleware (layer 2)', () => {
   it('proceeds when the origin is in the per-key list', async () => {
     const response = await request(buildApp(['https://a.com']).callback())
@@ -36,10 +47,7 @@ describe('per-key origin middleware (layer 2)', () => {
       .get('/agent/x')
       .set('Origin', 'https://b.com');
 
-    expect(response.status).toBe(403);
-    expect(response.body).toEqual({
-      error: { type: 'origin_not_allowed', status: 403, message: expect.any(String) },
-    });
+    expectOriginForbidden(response);
   });
 
   it('matches a per-key origin returned by SaaS in a non-normalized form', async () => {
@@ -58,11 +66,36 @@ describe('per-key origin middleware (layer 2)', () => {
     expect(response.status).toBe(200);
   });
 
-  it('returns 403 when the per-key list is non-empty and the request has no Origin', async () => {
+  it('proceeds when the per-key list is non-empty and the request has no Origin', async () => {
     const response = await request(buildApp(['https://a.com']).callback()).get('/agent/x');
 
-    expect(response.status).toBe(403);
-    expect(response.body.error.type).toBe('origin_not_allowed');
+    expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+    expect(response.body).toEqual({ reached: true });
+  });
+
+  it('returns 403 when the per-key list is non-empty and the Origin is the opaque null', async () => {
+    const response = await request(buildApp(['https://a.com']).callback())
+      .get('/agent/x')
+      .set('Origin', 'null');
+
+    expectOriginForbidden(response);
+  });
+
+  it('returns 403 when the per-key list is non-empty and the Origin is present but not a parseable origin', async () => {
+    const response = await request(buildApp(['https://a.com']).callback())
+      .get('/agent/x')
+      .set('Origin', 'garbage');
+
+    expectOriginForbidden(response);
+  });
+
+  it('treats an empty Origin header like an absent one and proceeds', async () => {
+    const response = await request(buildApp(['https://a.com']).callback())
+      .get('/agent/x')
+      .set('Origin', '');
+
+    expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+    expect(response.body).toEqual({ reached: true });
   });
 
   it('does not restrict an oauth request, which carries no per-key identity', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/agent-bff/test/openapi/openapi-document.test.ts b/packages/agent-bff/test/openapi/openapi-document.test.ts
index eb62e23b72..341419c34d 100644
--- a/packages/agent-bff/test/openapi/openapi-document.test.ts
+++ b/packages/agent-bff/test/openapi/openapi-document.test.ts
@@ -197,6 +197,16 @@ describe('generateOpenApiDocument', () => {
     expect(session.description).toContain('every data and action route');
   });
 
+  it('should say in the api key scheme that allowedOrigins gates browsers only', () => {
+    const apiKey = (document.components?.securitySchemes as Record<string, { description: string }>)
+      .bffApiKey;
+
+    expect(apiKey.description).toContain('restricts browser callers only');
+    expect(apiKey.description).toContain('a request with no Origin at all');
+    expect(apiKey.description).toContain('an empty Origin header counting as none');
+    expect(apiKey.description).toContain('opaque Origin null is a present origin and is rejected');
+  });
+
   it('should require a body where parentId or recordIds is mandatory', () => {
     const requiredByPath = Object.fromEntries(
       Object.entries(document.paths ?? {})