diff --git a/frontend/e2e/admin-upload-auth.spec.ts b/frontend/e2e/admin-upload-auth.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..29e7575
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/e2e/admin-upload-auth.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+import { test, expect } from "@playwright/test";
+
+/**
+ * Admin upload file-serve auth guard — regression test for GitHub issue #65.
+ *
+ * Verifies that `GET /api/admin/upload/{filename}` rejects unauthenticated
+ * requests with 401 Unauthorized. Before this fix the route returned uploaded
+ * admin assets to any caller that knew the filename.
+ *
+ * Only the unauthenticated boundary is asserted here. The non-admin (403) and
+ * admin (200) cases depend on seeded NextAuth session state that isn't
+ * available in the standalone e2e environment used by this suite.
+ *
+ * Requires:
+ * - Next.js dev/preview server on the baseURL defined in playwright.config
+ *   (any AUTH_MODE — the check runs at route entry before mode branching)
+ */
+
+test.describe("Admin upload file-serve — auth guard", () => {
+  test("unauthenticated GET returns 401 Unauthorized", async ({ request }) => {
+    const response = await request.get(
+      "/api/admin/upload/does-not-matter.png",
+    );
+
+    expect(response.status()).toBe(401);
+    await expect(response.json()).resolves.toEqual({ error: "Unauthorized" });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/api/admin/upload/[filename]/route.ts b/frontend/src/app/api/admin/upload/[filename]/route.ts
index 1244ffc..9e6ad78 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/api/admin/upload/[filename]/route.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/api/admin/upload/[filename]/route.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
 import { readFile, access, constants } from "fs/promises";
 import path from "path";
+import { auth } from "@/lib/auth";
+import { isAdmin } from "@/types/auth-mode";
+import type { UserRole } from "@/types/auth-mode";
 
 // Get upload directory (same as upload route)
 function getUploadDir(): string {
@@ -26,6 +29,14 @@ export async function GET(
   { params }: { params: Promise<{ filename: string }> },
 ) {
   try {
+    const session = await auth();
+    if (!session?.user) {
+      return NextResponse.json({ error: "Unauthorized" }, { status: 401 });
+    }
+    if (!isAdmin(session.user.role as UserRole)) {
+      return NextResponse.json({ error: "Forbidden" }, { status: 403 });
+    }
+
     const { filename } = await params;
 
     // Security: prevent directory traversal