diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/connect/ConnectViewModel.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/connect/ConnectViewModel.kt
index 055ed8e6..171214ae 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/connect/ConnectViewModel.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/connect/ConnectViewModel.kt
@@ -39,6 +39,22 @@ class ConnectViewModel(private val app: Application) : ViewModel() {
         loadSavedValues()
     }
 
+    private suspend fun isHostAllowed(host: String): Boolean =
+        withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
+            if (host == "localhost" || host == "127.0.0.1" || host == "0.0.0.0") return@withContext false
+            if (host.startsWith("169.254.")) return@withContext false
+            if (host == "metadata.google.internal") return@withContext false
+            try {
+                val address = java.net.InetAddress.getByName(host)
+                if (address.isLoopbackAddress || address.isAnyLocalAddress || address.isLinkLocalAddress) {
+                    return@withContext false
+                }
+                true
+            } catch (e: Exception) {
+                false
+            }
+        }
+
     fun loadSavedValues() {
         val savedToken = AuthManager.getToken() ?: ""
         val savedHost = AuthManager.getHost()
@@ -267,15 +283,25 @@ class ConnectViewModel(private val app: Application) : ViewModel() {
                 val port = uri.getQueryParameter("port")
                 val token = uri.getQueryParameter("token")
                 if (host != null && port != null && token != null) {
-                    _uiState.update {
-                        it.copy(
-                            host = host,
-                            port = port,
-                            token = token,
-                            errorMessage = null,
-                        )
+                    viewModelScope.launch {
+                        if (!isHostAllowed(host)) {
+                            _uiState.update {
+                                it.copy(
+                                    errorMessage = app.getString(R.string.connect_error_invalid_host),
+                                )
+                            }
+                            return@launch
+                        }
+                        _uiState.update {
+                            it.copy(
+                                host = host,
+                                port = port,
+                                token = token,
+                                errorMessage = null,
+                            )
+                        }
+                        connect()
                     }
-                    connect()
                     return
                 }
             }
@@ -293,15 +319,25 @@ class ConnectViewModel(private val app: Application) : ViewModel() {
                     val port = json.get("port")?.asInt?.toString() ?: json.get("port")?.asString
                     val token = json.get("token")?.asString
                     if (host != null && port != null && token != null) {
-                        _uiState.update {
-                            it.copy(
-                                host = host,
-                                port = port,
-                                token = token,
-                                errorMessage = null,
-                            )
+                        viewModelScope.launch {
+                            if (!isHostAllowed(host)) {
+                                _uiState.update {
+                                    it.copy(
+                                        errorMessage = app.getString(R.string.connect_error_invalid_host),
+                                    )
+                                }
+                                return@launch
+                            }
+                            _uiState.update {
+                                it.copy(
+                                    host = host,
+                                    port = port,
+                                    token = token,
+                                    errorMessage = null,
+                                )
+                            }
+                            connect()
                         }
-                        connect()
                         return
                     }
                     // Decoded valid JSON but missing required fields
diff --git a/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml b/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml
index 726baa29..9b24cfbc 100644
--- a/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml
+++ b/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml
@@ -178,6 +178,7 @@
     <string name="connect_error_refused">Connection refused – is Hermes running?</string>
     <string name="connect_error_resolve">Could not resolve host</string>
     <string name="connect_error_connection_failed">Connection failed: %1$s</string>
+    <string name="connect_error_invalid_host">Invalid or forbidden host in pairing string</string>
     <string name="connect_error_missing_fields">Malformed pairing string — missing host, port, or token</string>
     <string name="connect_error_malformed">Malformed pairing string — expected URL or Base64-encoded JSON</string>
     <string name="connect_error_parse_failed">Failed to parse pairing string: %1$s</string>
diff --git a/app/src/test/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/connect/ConnectViewModelTest.kt b/app/src/test/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/connect/ConnectViewModelTest.kt
index 8883e87c..7061d915 100644
--- a/app/src/test/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/connect/ConnectViewModelTest.kt
+++ b/app/src/test/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/connect/ConnectViewModelTest.kt
@@ -612,12 +612,14 @@ class ConnectViewModelTest {
             val viewModel = ConnectViewModel(mockApp)
             viewModel.onPairingString("hermes://connect?host=192.168.1.1&port=8888&token=abc123")
 
+            // Wait for parsing coroutine to finish
+            advanceUntilIdle()
+
             val state = viewModel.uiState.value
             assertEquals("192.168.1.1", state.host)
             assertEquals("8888", state.port)
             assertEquals("abc123", state.token)
             // Should have triggered connect
-            advanceUntilIdle()
             assertTrue("connection should succeed after pairing", viewModel.uiState.value.connectionSuccess)
         }
 }