diff --git a/packages/core/src/middleware/index.ts b/packages/core/src/middleware/index.ts
index 96abeb470..091deca07 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/middleware/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/middleware/index.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@ export { AuthManager, requireAuth, requireRole, optionalAuth } from './auth'
 // Metrics middleware
 export { metricsMiddleware } from './metrics'
 
+// Rate limiting middleware
+export { rateLimit } from './rate-limit'
+
 // Re-export types and functions that are referenced but implemented in monolith
 // These are placeholder exports to maintain API compatibility
 export type Permission = string
diff --git a/packages/core/src/middleware/rate-limit.ts b/packages/core/src/middleware/rate-limit.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1a8cf115c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/middleware/rate-limit.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+import { Context, Next } from 'hono'
+
+interface RateLimitOptions {
+  max: number
+  windowMs: number
+  keyPrefix: string
+}
+
+interface RateLimitEntry {
+  count: number
+  resetAt: number
+}
+
+/**
+ * KV-based sliding window rate limiter middleware.
+ * Gracefully skips if CACHE_KV binding is not available.
+ */
+export function rateLimit(options: RateLimitOptions) {
+  const { max, windowMs, keyPrefix } = options
+
+  return async (c: Context, next: Next) => {
+    const kv = (c.env as any)?.CACHE_KV
+    if (!kv) {
+      // No KV binding available — skip rate limiting
+      return await next()
+    }
+
+    const ip = c.req.header('cf-connecting-ip') || c.req.header('x-forwarded-for') || 'unknown'
+    const key = `ratelimit:${keyPrefix}:${ip}`
+
+    try {
+      const now = Date.now()
+      const stored = await kv.get(key, 'json') as RateLimitEntry | null
+
+      let entry: RateLimitEntry
+      if (stored && stored.resetAt > now) {
+        entry = stored
+      } else {
+        entry = { count: 0, resetAt: now + windowMs }
+      }
+
+      entry.count++
+
+      // Calculate TTL in seconds (KV expiration)
+      const ttlSeconds = Math.ceil((entry.resetAt - now) / 1000)
+
+      if (entry.count > max) {
+        // Store the updated count even when rejecting
+        await kv.put(key, JSON.stringify(entry), { expirationTtl: Math.max(ttlSeconds, 1) })
+
+        const retryAfter = Math.ceil((entry.resetAt - now) / 1000)
+        c.header('Retry-After', String(retryAfter))
+        c.header('X-RateLimit-Limit', String(max))
+        c.header('X-RateLimit-Remaining', '0')
+        c.header('X-RateLimit-Reset', String(Math.ceil(entry.resetAt / 1000)))
+        return c.json({ error: 'Too many requests. Please try again later.' }, 429)
+      }
+
+      await kv.put(key, JSON.stringify(entry), { expirationTtl: Math.max(ttlSeconds, 1) })
+
+      c.header('X-RateLimit-Limit', String(max))
+      c.header('X-RateLimit-Remaining', String(max - entry.count))
+      c.header('X-RateLimit-Reset', String(Math.ceil(entry.resetAt / 1000)))
+
+      return await next()
+    } catch (error) {
+      // Rate limiting should never break the app
+      console.error('Rate limiter error (non-fatal):', error)
+      return await next()
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/src/routes/auth.ts b/packages/core/src/routes/auth.ts
index c36513ff2..f8566eadc 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/routes/auth.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/routes/auth.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { Hono } from 'hono'
 import { z } from 'zod'
 import { setCookie } from 'hono/cookie'
 import { html } from 'hono/html'
-import { AuthManager, requireAuth } from '../middleware'
+import { AuthManager, requireAuth, rateLimit } from '../middleware'
 import { renderLoginPage, LoginPageData } from '../templates/pages/auth-login.template'
 import { renderRegisterPage, RegisterPageData } from '../templates/pages/auth-register.template'
 import { getCacheService, CACHE_CONFIGS } from '../services'
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ const loginSchema = z.object({
 
 // Register new user
 authRoutes.post('/register',
+  rateLimit({ max: 3, windowMs: 60 * 1000, keyPrefix: 'register' }),
   async (c) => {
     try {
       const db = c.env.DB
@@ -186,7 +187,9 @@ authRoutes.post('/register',
 )
 
 // Login user
-authRoutes.post('/login', async (c) => {
+authRoutes.post('/login',
+  rateLimit({ max: 5, windowMs: 60 * 1000, keyPrefix: 'login' }),
+  async (c) => {
     try {
       const body = await c.req.json()
       const validation = loginSchema.safeParse(body)
@@ -341,7 +344,9 @@ authRoutes.post('/refresh', requireAuth(), async (c) => {
 })
 
 // Form-based registration handler (for HTML forms)
-authRoutes.post('/register/form', async (c) => {
+authRoutes.post('/register/form',
+  rateLimit({ max: 3, windowMs: 60 * 1000, keyPrefix: 'register' }),
+  async (c) => {
   try {
     const db = c.env.DB
 
@@ -470,7 +475,9 @@ authRoutes.post('/register/form', async (c) => {
 })
 
 // Form-based login handler (for HTML forms)
-authRoutes.post('/login/form', async (c) => {
+authRoutes.post('/login/form',
+  rateLimit({ max: 5, windowMs: 60 * 1000, keyPrefix: 'login' }),
+  async (c) => {
   try {
     const formData = await c.req.formData()
     const email = formData.get('email') as string
@@ -561,7 +568,9 @@ authRoutes.post('/login/form', async (c) => {
 })
 
 // Test seeding endpoint (only for development/testing)
-authRoutes.post('/seed-admin', async (c) => {
+authRoutes.post('/seed-admin',
+  rateLimit({ max: 2, windowMs: 60 * 1000, keyPrefix: 'seed-admin' }),
+  async (c) => {
   try {
     const db = c.env.DB
     
@@ -907,7 +916,9 @@ authRoutes.post('/accept-invitation', async (c) => {
 })
 
 // Request password reset
-authRoutes.post('/request-password-reset', async (c) => {
+authRoutes.post('/request-password-reset',
+  rateLimit({ max: 3, windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, keyPrefix: 'password-reset' }),
+  async (c) => {
   try {
     const formData = await c.req.formData()
     const email = formData.get('email')?.toString()?.trim()?.toLowerCase()