diff --git a/service.go b/service.go
index a346de8..95132c0 100644
--- a/service.go
+++ b/service.go
@@ -37,6 +37,12 @@ const (
 	maxConsecutivePublishFailures = 3
 )
 
+// maxSubsPerTopic caps the number of subscribers per topic to prevent
+// memory-DoS via unlimited b.subs[topic] growth. A peer with many keys
+// can otherwise open connections subscribing to the same topic without
+// bound, growing the subscriber slice linearly.
+const maxSubsPerTopic = 1000
+
 // Service is the L11 plugin adapter. cmd/daemon/main.go (L12) and
 // cmd/pilotctl _daemon-run construct it via NewService and register
 // via daemon.RegisterPlugin.
@@ -227,8 +233,15 @@ func (b *broker) handleConn(sub *subscriber) {
 		return
 	}
 	slog.Info("eventstream broker: subscribe received", "remote", sub.remote(), "topic", subEvt.Topic)
-	topic = subEvt.Topic
-	b.addSub(topic, sub)
+	reqTopic := subEvt.Topic
+	if !b.addSub(reqTopic, sub) {
+		slog.Warn("eventstream broker: subscriber rejected, topic at cap",
+			"remote", sub.remote(),
+			"topic", reqTopic,
+			"cap", maxSubsPerTopic)
+		return
+	}
+	topic = reqTopic
 	if b.events != nil {
 		b.events.Publish("pubsub.subscribed", map[string]any{
 			"topic": topic, "remote": sub.remote(),
@@ -258,10 +271,14 @@ func (b *broker) handleConn(sub *subscriber) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (b *broker) addSub(topic string, sub *subscriber) {
+func (b *broker) addSub(topic string, sub *subscriber) bool {
 	b.mu.Lock()
+	defer b.mu.Unlock()
+	if len(b.subs[topic]) >= maxSubsPerTopic {
+		return false
+	}
 	b.subs[topic] = append(b.subs[topic], sub)
-	b.mu.Unlock()
+	return true
 }
 
 func (b *broker) removeSub(sub *subscriber) {
diff --git a/zz_added_coverage_test.go b/zz_added_coverage_test.go
index 3ab3a7f..13b0bb9 100644
--- a/zz_added_coverage_test.go
+++ b/zz_added_coverage_test.go
@@ -447,6 +447,41 @@ func TestService_StopContextCancel(t *testing.T) {
 
 // --- takeToken cap branch ----------------------------------------------------
 
+// TestBroker_AddSub_RejectsAtCap verifies that addSub returns false when
+// the per-topic subscriber cap is reached (memory-DoS protection).
+func TestBroker_AddSub_RejectsAtCap(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	b := newBroker(nil)
+	// Seed the topic with exactly maxSubsPerTopic subscribers.
+	for i := 0; i < maxSubsPerTopic; i++ {
+		sub := stubSubscriber()
+		if !b.addSub("full-topic", sub) {
+			t.Fatalf("addSub #%d failed before cap", i)
+		}
+	}
+	// The next subscriber must be rejected.
+	extra := stubSubscriber()
+	if b.addSub("full-topic", extra) {
+		t.Fatal("addSub should have rejected subscriber over cap")
+	}
+	// A different topic should still accept subscribers (no cross-topic bleed).
+	other := stubSubscriber()
+	if !b.addSub("other-topic", other) {
+		t.Fatal("addSub rejected subscriber on a topic well below cap")
+	}
+	// Verify counts.
+	b.mu.RLock()
+	nFull := len(b.subs["full-topic"])
+	nOther := len(b.subs["other-topic"])
+	b.mu.RUnlock()
+	if nFull != maxSubsPerTopic {
+		t.Errorf("full-topic subscribers = %d, want %d", nFull, maxSubsPerTopic)
+	}
+	if nOther != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("other-topic subscribers = %d, want 1", nOther)
+	}
+}
+
 // TestTakeToken_RefillCappedAtBurst exercises the refill cap (line
 // 179-180): after a long sleep the refill would exceed the burst budget,
 // so it must be clamped.