diff --git a/backend/AGENTS.md b/backend/AGENTS.md
index 736710a..ed46a1c 100644
--- a/backend/AGENTS.md
+++ b/backend/AGENTS.md
@@ -126,9 +126,20 @@ Guidance for OpenCode (and Claude Code) working under `backend/`. See root `AGEN
   `/userscript/novel-bookmark.user.js`, both supplied by bindmount; the
   `__API_TOKEN__` placeholder inside them is substituted with the requesting
   Reader's credential at serve time).
-  `BROWSER_WS_URL` (headless-shell CDP endpoint for kagane and novelfull;
-  unset disables browser polling and leaves those sites to the userscript
-  alone).
+  `BROWSER_WS_URL` (CDP endpoint of the `chrome/` sidecar, used by the poller
+  for kagane and novelfull *and* by the web UI's kagane cover proxy; unset
+  disables browser polling and serves 404 from the proxy, leaving those sites
+  to the userscript alone).
+- **kagane covers are proxied, not hot-linked:** kagane serves cover images
+  behind the same challenge as its pages and with
+  `cross-origin-resource-policy: same-origin`, so no `<img>` on the web UI's
+  origin can load one — not even from a browser holding the clearance cookie
+  (verified 2026-08-08). `Bookmark.CoverURL` rewrites a stored kagane
+  `og:image` to `/img/kagane/{id}`, served by `internal/web/cover.go` through
+  `latest.BrowserFetcher.Image` and memoised in-process. The templates render
+  `.CoverURL`, never `.Cover`. The id is matched against a UUID regex before it
+  reaches the browser: the stored value is client-supplied, so an unchecked one
+  is an SSRF primitive pointed at the deployment's own network.
 - **Web UI also owns:** session-gated `GET /install/{manga,novel}-bookmark.user.js`
   (renders the bindmounted script with the acting Reader's derived credential
   substituted in — the credential never appears in page markup, the address
diff --git a/backend/cover_test.go b/backend/cover_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bf9b44f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/cover_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// fakeCovers stands in for the headless browser. It counts calls so the test
+// can prove the cache spares the browser a second navigation.
+type fakeCovers struct {
+	body        []byte
+	contentType string
+	err         error
+	calls       atomic.Int32
+	lastID      atomic.Value
+}
+
+func (f *fakeCovers) Image(_ context.Context, imageID string) ([]byte, string, error) {
+	f.calls.Add(1)
+	f.lastID.Store(imageID)
+	if f.err != nil {
+		return nil, "", f.err
+	}
+	return f.body, f.contentType, nil
+}
+
+const testCoverID = "019fe11a-84c3-7fc3-a84b-88787374b617"
+
+func getCover(t *testing.T, srv http.Handler, path string, cookie *http.Cookie) *httptest.ResponseRecorder {
+	t.Helper()
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, path, nil)
+	if cookie != nil {
+		req.AddCookie(cookie)
+	}
+	rr := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	srv.ServeHTTP(rr, req)
+	return rr
+}
+
+// kagane serves its covers behind a Cloudflare challenge and with
+// cross-origin-resource-policy: same-origin, so the UI can only show one by
+// re-serving the bytes from its own origin.
+func TestKaganeCoverProxiesAndCaches(t *testing.T) {
+	cf := &fakeCovers{body: []byte("\x00webp-bytes"), contentType: "image/webp"}
+	cfg := testConfig()
+	cfg.Covers = cf
+	srv, st := newWebTestServer(t, cfg)
+	cookie := sessionCookie(t, st)
+
+	for i := range 2 {
+		rr := getCover(t, srv, "/img/kagane/"+testCoverID, cookie)
+		if rr.Code != http.StatusOK {
+			t.Fatalf("request %d: status = %d, want 200", i, rr.Code)
+		}
+		if got := rr.Body.String(); got != string(cf.body) {
+			t.Fatalf("request %d: body = %q, want %q", i, got, cf.body)
+		}
+		if got := rr.Header().Get("Content-Type"); got != "image/webp" {
+			t.Fatalf("request %d: Content-Type = %q, want image/webp", i, got)
+		}
+	}
+	if got := cf.calls.Load(); got != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("fetcher called %d times, want 1 — the second read must come from the cache", got)
+	}
+	if got := cf.lastID.Load(); got != testCoverID {
+		t.Fatalf("fetched image id = %v, want %s", got, testCoverID)
+	}
+}
+
+// The proxy reaches a headless browser, so it is not open to the internet.
+func TestKaganeCoverRequiresSession(t *testing.T) {
+	cf := &fakeCovers{body: []byte("x"), contentType: "image/webp"}
+	cfg := testConfig()
+	cfg.Covers = cf
+	srv, _ := newWebTestServer(t, cfg)
+
+	rr := getCover(t, srv, "/img/kagane/"+testCoverID, nil)
+	if rr.Code != http.StatusUnauthorized {
+		t.Fatalf("status = %d, want 401", rr.Code)
+	}
+	if got := cf.calls.Load(); got != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("fetcher called %d times for an unauthenticated request, want 0", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestKaganeCoverRejectsBadInput(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name  string
+		id    string
+		fetch *fakeCovers
+	}{
+		{
+			"an id that is not a uuid never reaches the browser",
+			"solo-leveling",
+			&fakeCovers{body: []byte("x"), contentType: "image/webp"},
+		},
+		{
+			"a uuid-shaped id with a trailing segment is rejected whole",
+			testCoverID + "x",
+			&fakeCovers{body: []byte("x"), contentType: "image/webp"},
+		},
+		{
+			"a challenged fetch is a missing cover",
+			testCoverID,
+			&fakeCovers{err: errors.New("challenge held")},
+		},
+		{
+			"a content type outside the image set is not echoed back",
+			testCoverID,
+			&fakeCovers{body: []byte("<script>"), contentType: "text/html"},
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			cfg := testConfig()
+			cfg.Covers = tc.fetch
+			srv, st := newWebTestServer(t, cfg)
+			rr := getCover(t, srv, "/img/kagane/"+tc.id, sessionCookie(t, st))
+			if rr.Code != http.StatusNotFound {
+				t.Fatalf("status = %d, want 404", rr.Code)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// ServeMux path-cleans a traversal into a redirect before the handler runs, so
+// the guarantee to pin down is that no request shaped like one ever gets bytes.
+func TestKaganeCoverTraversalServesNothing(t *testing.T) {
+	cf := &fakeCovers{body: []byte("secret"), contentType: "image/webp"}
+	cfg := testConfig()
+	cfg.Covers = cf
+	srv, st := newWebTestServer(t, cfg)
+
+	rr := getCover(t, srv, "/img/kagane/../../etc/passwd", sessionCookie(t, st))
+	if rr.Code == http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("status = 200, want anything but a served body")
+	}
+	if got := cf.calls.Load(); got != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("fetcher called %d times for a traversal, want 0", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// Without BROWSER_WS_URL there is no fetcher, and the endpoint must answer
+// rather than reach for a nil one.
+func TestKaganeCoverWithoutFetcher(t *testing.T) {
+	srv, st := newWebTestServer(t, testConfig())
+	rr := getCover(t, srv, "/img/kagane/"+testCoverID, sessionCookie(t, st))
+	if rr.Code != http.StatusNotFound {
+		t.Fatalf("status = %d, want 404", rr.Code)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/backend/internal/store/store.go b/backend/internal/store/store.go
index 6d6decc..812977d 100644
--- a/backend/internal/store/store.go
+++ b/backend/internal/store/store.go
@@ -137,6 +137,22 @@ func (b Bookmark) Initial() string {
 	return "?"
 }
 
+// kaganeCoverRe matches the cover URL kagane's og:image carries, which is what
+// the userscript stores for that site.
+var kaganeCoverRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^https://kagane\.to/api/v2/image/([0-9a-f-]{36})/compressed$`)
+
+// CoverURL is the src the web UI puts in an <img>. For every site but kagane
+// that is Cover as stored. kagane serves its images behind a Cloudflare
+// challenge *and* with `cross-origin-resource-policy: same-origin`, so no page
+// on another origin can load one however it asks (verified 2026-08-08); those
+// go through the backend's own proxy instead.
+func (b Bookmark) CoverURL() string {
+	if m := kaganeCoverRe.FindStringSubmatch(b.Cover); m != nil {
+		return "/img/kagane/" + m[1]
+	}
+	return b.Cover
+}
+
 // Library buckets. A bookmark is in exactly one. This cannot be derived from
 // Site: asurascans serves manga and novels from the same /comics/ path, so the
 // userscript that recorded the page is the only party that knows which.
diff --git a/backend/internal/store/store_test.go b/backend/internal/store/store_test.go
index 1105e63..8095366 100644
--- a/backend/internal/store/store_test.go
+++ b/backend/internal/store/store_test.go
@@ -543,6 +543,38 @@ func TestDisplayChapter(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestCoverURL(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name  string
+		cover string
+		want  string
+	}{
+		{
+			"kagane routes through the proxy",
+			"https://kagane.to/api/v2/image/019fe11a-84c3-7fc3-a84b-88787374b617/compressed",
+			"/img/kagane/019fe11a-84c3-7fc3-a84b-88787374b617",
+		},
+		{
+			"another site is served as stored",
+			"https://gg.asuracomic.net/storage/media/1/conversions/cover.webp",
+			"https://gg.asuracomic.net/storage/media/1/conversions/cover.webp",
+		},
+		{
+			"a lookalike host is not rewritten",
+			"https://evil.example/api/v2/image/019fe11a-84c3-7fc3-a84b-88787374b617/compressed",
+			"https://evil.example/api/v2/image/019fe11a-84c3-7fc3-a84b-88787374b617/compressed",
+		},
+		{"no cover stays empty", "", ""},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if got := (Bookmark{Cover: tc.cover}).CoverURL(); got != tc.want {
+				t.Errorf("CoverURL() = %q, want %q", got, tc.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestUpsertKindDefaultsToManga(t *testing.T) {
 	store := newTestStore(t)
 	got, err := store.Upsert(store.OwnerID(), Bookmark{
diff --git a/backend/internal/web/cover.go b/backend/internal/web/cover.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..18007cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/internal/web/cover.go
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+package web
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"log"
+	"net/http"
+	"regexp"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// CoverFetcher retrieves one kagane cover by image id. Satisfied by
+// latest.BrowserFetcher, and nil when BROWSER_WS_URL is unset — which leaves
+// kagane covers exactly as unavailable as they were before this endpoint
+// existed, rather than hanging a request on a fetcher that cannot run.
+type CoverFetcher interface {
+	Image(ctx context.Context, imageID string) (body []byte, contentType string, err error)
+}
+
+// coverIDRe matches the request path segment that becomes part of an outbound
+// URL. The proxy is session-gated, but the id still reaches a headless browser,
+// so it is validated at the boundary rather than passed through.
+var coverIDRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^[0-9a-f-]{36}$`)
+
+// coverTypes is the set of content types the proxy will echo back. A response
+// header sourced from a third party is not repeated verbatim: anything outside
+// this set is treated as "not a cover".
+var coverTypes = map[string]bool{
+	"image/webp": true,
+	"image/jpeg": true,
+	"image/png":  true,
+	"image/avif": true,
+	"image/gif":  true,
+}
+
+// coverTimeout bounds one proxied cover. Shorter than the fetcher's own
+// challenge budget on purpose: a browser page is waiting on this, and a cover
+// that has not arrived by now is better left as a broken slot than as a request
+// holding a connection open.
+const coverTimeout = 20 * time.Second
+
+// coverCacheMax caps the in-memory cover cache. Covers are immutable per image
+// id and a library holds tens of series, so this is a ceiling that is never
+// reached in practice; reaching it clears the map rather than evicting by age.
+//
+// ponytail: flush-on-full, not LRU. Swap it for an LRU if a library ever grows
+// past this and the flush starts costing refetches.
+const coverCacheMax = 500
+
+type cachedCover struct {
+	body        []byte
+	contentType string
+}
+
+type coverCache struct {
+	mu sync.Mutex
+	m  map[string]cachedCover
+}
+
+func (c *coverCache) get(id string) (cachedCover, bool) {
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
+	v, ok := c.m[id]
+	return v, ok
+}
+
+func (c *coverCache) put(id string, v cachedCover) {
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
+	if c.m == nil || len(c.m) >= coverCacheMax {
+		c.m = make(map[string]cachedCover, coverCacheMax)
+	}
+	c.m[id] = v
+}
+
+// kaganeCover serves a kagane cover from the backend's own origin.
+//
+// kagane answers image requests with a Cloudflare challenge and
+// `cross-origin-resource-policy: same-origin`, so the web UI cannot render one
+// directly under any combination of referrer policy or crossorigin attribute
+// (verified 2026-08-08). Fetching it through the headless browser that already
+// clears the challenge, and re-serving it here, is what puts the bytes on an
+// origin the page may load from.
+//
+// ponytail: covers are fetched on first view, one browser navigation at a time
+// behind the fetcher's mutex, so a first load of a large kagane library
+// trickles in over a few seconds. The cache makes it a one-off. Prefetching
+// during the poll cycle is the upgrade if that ever grates.
+func (h *Handler) kaganeCover(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	id := r.PathValue("id")
+	if !coverIDRe.MatchString(id) {
+		http.NotFound(w, r)
+		return
+	}
+	if h.covers == nil {
+		http.NotFound(w, r)
+		return
+	}
+	if v, ok := h.coverCache.get(id); ok {
+		writeCover(w, v)
+		return
+	}
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(r.Context(), coverTimeout)
+	defer cancel()
+	body, contentType, err := h.covers.Image(ctx, id)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Printf("kagane cover %s: %v", id, err)
+		http.NotFound(w, r)
+		return
+	}
+	if !coverTypes[contentType] {
+		log.Printf("kagane cover %s: unexpected content type %q", id, contentType)
+		http.NotFound(w, r)
+		return
+	}
+
+	v := cachedCover{body: body, contentType: contentType}
+	h.coverCache.put(id, v)
+	writeCover(w, v)
+}
+
+// writeCover sends the bytes with a long cache life: an image id names one
+// immutable rendering, so a client that has it never needs to ask again.
+func writeCover(w http.ResponseWriter, v cachedCover) {
+	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", v.contentType)
+	w.Header().Set("Cache-Control", "private, max-age=604800, immutable")
+	w.Write(v.body)
+}
diff --git a/backend/internal/web/templates/card.html b/backend/internal/web/templates/card.html
index 4b79804..3098125 100644
--- a/backend/internal/web/templates/card.html
+++ b/backend/internal/web/templates/card.html
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
   <div class="row">
     <a class="cover" href="{{.ContinueURL}}" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"
        tabindex="-1" aria-hidden="true">
-      {{if .Cover}}<img src="{{.Cover}}" alt="" loading="lazy">
+      {{if .CoverURL}}<img src="{{.CoverURL}}" alt="" loading="lazy">
       {{/* aria-hidden on the cover link is not enough — Chromium still exposes
            the letter because the link is programmatically focusable — so the
            monogram carries its own, same as the recent strip's. */}}
diff --git a/backend/internal/web/templates/chrome.html b/backend/internal/web/templates/chrome.html
index 7537c9a..244ea51 100644
--- a/backend/internal/web/templates/chrome.html
+++ b/backend/internal/web/templates/chrome.html
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
     <a class="recent-card {{if .HasNewChapter}}is-new{{end}}" href="{{.ContinueURL}}"
        target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">
       <span class="recent-cover">
-        {{if .Cover}}<img src="{{.Cover}}" alt="" loading="lazy">
+        {{if .CoverURL}}<img src="{{.CoverURL}}" alt="" loading="lazy">
         {{else}}<span class="monogram" aria-hidden="true">{{.Initial}}</span>{{end}}
         {{if .HasNewChapter}}<span class="foot-rule"></span>
         {{else if .Favorite}}<span class="foot-rule brass"></span>{{end}}
diff --git a/backend/internal/web/web.go b/backend/internal/web/web.go
index 4c3c753..872cf6a 100644
--- a/backend/internal/web/web.go
+++ b/backend/internal/web/web.go
@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ type Handler struct {
 	// httpClient is the plain stdlib client that talks to Discord. It is not
 	// an injected interface: tests point APIBase at a stub server instead.
 	httpClient *http.Client
+	// covers proxies kagane cover images, which no browser can load directly.
+	// Nil disables the endpoint — see CoverFetcher.
+	covers     CoverFetcher
+	coverCache coverCache
 }
 
 // listView is what every list-rendering template receives.
@@ -111,7 +115,7 @@ type loginView struct {
 
 // New parses every template up front so a broken one kills the process at
 // startup rather than the first request that touches it.
-func New(s *store.Store, discord DiscordConfig, tokenKey []byte, mangaPath, novelPath string) (*Handler, error) {
+func New(s *store.Store, discord DiscordConfig, tokenKey []byte, mangaPath, novelPath string, covers CoverFetcher) (*Handler, error) {
 	tmpl, err := template.ParseFS(templateFS, "templates/*.html")
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -126,6 +130,7 @@ func New(s *store.Store, discord DiscordConfig, tokenKey []byte, mangaPath, nove
 		states:              newOAuthStates(),
 		limiter:             session.NewLoginLimiter(),
 		httpClient:          &http.Client{Timeout: discordTimeout},
+		covers:              covers,
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -142,6 +147,10 @@ func (h *Handler) Register(mux *http.ServeMux) {
 	mux.HandleFunc("POST /ui/bookmarks/{key}/chapter", h.requireSession(h.uiChapter))
 	mux.HandleFunc("DELETE /ui/bookmarks/{key}", h.requireSession(h.uiDelete))
 
+	// Session-gated like every other UI route: the deployment proxies kagane's
+	// images for its own Readers, not for the internet.
+	mux.HandleFunc("GET /img/kagane/{id}", h.requireSession(h.kaganeCover))
+
 	// Install endpoints render the script directly under the session: the
 	// credential travels inside the served bytes, never in the address bar or
 	// the page markup. Updates after install use the credential-bearing /u/
diff --git a/backend/main.go b/backend/main.go
index f44d208..315c9c1 100644
--- a/backend/main.go
+++ b/backend/main.go
@@ -47,6 +47,10 @@ type Config struct {
 	NovelUserscriptPath string
 	// LatestPoll configures the background latest-chapter fetcher.
 	LatestPoll LatestPoll
+	// Covers proxies kagane cover images for the web UI. Not from the
+	// environment: it is the shared headless browser, wired in main once it
+	// connects, and nil in every test router.
+	Covers web.CoverFetcher
 }
 
 // LatestPoll configures the background latest-chapter poller.
@@ -206,7 +210,7 @@ func newRouter(s *store.Store, cfg Config) http.Handler {
 	// The browser UI is always registered; signing in is Discord OAuth, so
 	// there is no password to forget and no gate to leave unset.
 	wh, err := web.New(s, cfg.Discord, []byte(cfg.TokenKey),
-		cfg.UserscriptPath, cfg.NovelUserscriptPath)
+		cfg.UserscriptPath, cfg.NovelUserscriptPath, cfg.Covers)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("web handler: %v", err)
 	}
@@ -270,9 +274,26 @@ func main() {
 	// The poller is off the request path entirely: if it cannot start, the
 	// service still serves bookmarks and the userscript still captures latest
 	// chapters on its own.
+	//
+	// One headless browser serves both consumers that need a Cloudflare
+	// challenge cleared: the poller's kagane/novelfull fetches and the web
+	// UI's kagane cover proxy. Optional — unset leaves both degraded to what
+	// they were before the sidecar existed.
+	var browser latest.Fetcher
 	pollCtx, stopPoll := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
 	defer stopPoll()
-	startLatestPoller(pollCtx, s, cfg.LatestPoll)
+	if ws := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("BROWSER_WS_URL")); ws != "" {
+		bf, err := latest.NewBrowserFetcher(ws)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("browser fetcher disabled: %v", err)
+		} else {
+			browser = bf
+			cfg.Covers = bf
+			context.AfterFunc(pollCtx, bf.Close)
+			log.Printf("browser fetcher at %s", ws)
+		}
+	}
+	startLatestPoller(pollCtx, s, cfg.LatestPoll, browser)
 
 	srv := &http.Server{
 		Addr:              ":" + cfg.Port,
@@ -307,7 +328,7 @@ func main() {
 // HTTP client cannot be built. Any problem here is logged and skipped: this
 // feature going missing degrades the service to userscript-only latest-chapter
 // tracking, which is exactly how it behaved before.
-func startLatestPoller(ctx context.Context, s *store.Store, cfg LatestPoll) {
+func startLatestPoller(ctx context.Context, s *store.Store, cfg LatestPoll, browser latest.Fetcher) {
 	if !cfg.Enabled {
 		log.Println("latest-chapter poller: disabled by config")
 		return
@@ -317,28 +338,18 @@ func startLatestPoller(ctx context.Context, s *store.Store, cfg LatestPoll) {
 		log.Printf("latest-chapter poller: disabled, cannot build client: %v", err)
 		return
 	}
+	// Nil browser: sites behind a JavaScript challenge are simply not polled,
+	// and their latest_chapter comes from the userscript alone — which is how
+	// the service behaved before the sidecar existed.
 	p := &latest.Poller{
-		Store:    s,
-		Fetch:    f,
-		Now:      time.Now,
-		Cooldown: cfg.Cooldown,
-		Interval: cfg.Interval,
-		Stagger:  cfg.Stagger,
-		Batch:    cfg.Batch,
-	}
-
-	// Optional: without it, sites behind a JavaScript challenge are simply not
-	// polled, and their latest_chapter comes from the userscript alone — which
-	// is how the service behaved before the sidecar existed.
-	if ws := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("BROWSER_WS_URL")); ws != "" {
-		bf, err := latest.NewBrowserFetcher(ws)
-		if err != nil {
-			log.Printf("latest-chapter poller: browser fetcher disabled: %v", err)
-		} else {
-			p.BrowserFetch = bf
-			context.AfterFunc(ctx, bf.Close)
-			log.Printf("latest-chapter poller: browser fetcher at %s", ws)
-		}
+		Store:        s,
+		Fetch:        f,
+		BrowserFetch: browser,
+		Now:          time.Now,
+		Cooldown:     cfg.Cooldown,
+		Interval:     cfg.Interval,
+		Stagger:      cfg.Stagger,
+		Batch:        cfg.Batch,
 	}
 
 	go p.Run(ctx)