diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f39fff3..27ebe5d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,14 @@ and this project follows [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- The public event-alias route (`/:redirectUrl`, used for short links like `/camp-2025`) is a catch-all matching any unmatched top-level path, so every bot/scanner probe for a nonexistent page (`/wp-login.php`, `/.env`, etc.) was hitting the backend and firing a live database query. Both the frontend route and the `GET /api/events/by-alias/:redirectUrl` endpoint now reject anything that isn't a plausible alias (letters/numbers/hyphens/underscores) before touching the database, instead of forwarding scanner noise straight through — this traffic pattern could exhaust the database connection pool and take the server down under load.
+
+### Added
+
+- PM2 (`ecosystem.config.js`) now restarts either process if it exceeds 500MB of memory, instead of letting an unbounded leak run until the OS OOM-kills it.
+
 ## [1.9.4] - 2026-08-26
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/backend/src/controllers/eventController.js b/backend/src/controllers/eventController.js
index e0ba75a..a2afbc8 100644
--- a/backend/src/controllers/eventController.js
+++ b/backend/src/controllers/eventController.js
@@ -1696,9 +1696,20 @@ const scheduleWhatsappEventAttendees = async (req, res) => {
  * @route   GET /api/events/by-alias/:redirectUrl
  * @access  Public
  */
+// Aliases are admin-set slugs (e.g. "camp-2025") — see the event wizard's "URL
+// Alias" field. This endpoint is public and also the target of the frontend's
+// catch-all [redirectUrl] route, so it's what every bot/scanner probe hitting
+// an unmatched top-level path (/wp-login.php, /.env, etc.) ends up calling.
+// Rejecting non-slug-shaped values here skips a DB round-trip for that traffic.
+const VALID_ALIAS = /^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{1,100}$/;
+
 const getEventByAlias = async (req, res) => {
   const { redirectUrl } = req.params;
 
+  if (!VALID_ALIAS.test(redirectUrl)) {
+    return res.status(404).json({ message: 'Event not found' });
+  }
+
   try {
     const event = await prisma.event.findFirst({
       where: {
diff --git a/ecosystem.config.js b/ecosystem.config.js
index b9d6c1e..b3e3ec6 100644
--- a/ecosystem.config.js
+++ b/ecosystem.config.js
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ module.exports = {
       cwd: __dirname + '/backend',
       script: 'src/index.js',
       env: { NODE_ENV: 'production' },
+      max_memory_restart: '500M',
     },
     {
       name: 'hope-events-frontend',
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ module.exports = {
       script: 'npm',
       args: 'start -- -p 3000',
       env: { NODE_ENV: 'production' },
+      max_memory_restart: '500M',
     },
   ],
 };
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/[redirectUrl]/page.tsx b/frontend/src/app/[redirectUrl]/page.tsx
index e085651..59c9b30 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/[redirectUrl]/page.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/[redirectUrl]/page.tsx
@@ -3,15 +3,25 @@ import { apiFetch } from "@/lib/api";
 
 export const revalidate = 60;
 
+// Event aliases are admin-set slugs (e.g. "camp-2025", "movie-night") — see the
+// "URL Alias" field in the event wizard. This catch-all route matches *any*
+// unmatched top-level path, so it's also what every bot/scanner probe hits
+// (/wp-login.php, /.env, /xmlrpc.php, etc.). Rejecting anything that isn't a
+// plausible slug here skips a live DB query for that background noise instead
+// of forwarding it straight to the backend.
+const VALID_ALIAS = /^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{1,100}$/;
+
 export default async function EventRedirectPage({ params }: { params: Promise<{ redirectUrl: string }> }) {
     const { redirectUrl } = await params;
 
     let event: any = null;
 
-    try {
-        event = await apiFetch<any>(`/api/events/by-alias/${redirectUrl}`);
-    } catch (error) {
-        console.error("Failed to fetch event:", error);
+    if (VALID_ALIAS.test(redirectUrl)) {
+        try {
+            event = await apiFetch<any>(`/api/events/by-alias/${redirectUrl}`);
+        } catch (error) {
+            console.error("Failed to fetch event:", error);
+        }
     }
 
     if (!event || event.message?.toLowerCase().includes("not found")) {