diff --git a/admin/modules/v1/controllers/XeroWebhookController.php b/admin/modules/v1/controllers/XeroWebhookController.php
index 285e44ec..49eb1da8 100644
--- a/admin/modules/v1/controllers/XeroWebhookController.php
+++ b/admin/modules/v1/controllers/XeroWebhookController.php
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 use Yii;
 use yii\filters\Cors;
 use yii\rest\Controller;
+use yii\web\UnauthorizedHttpException;
 
 class XeroWebhookController extends Controller
 {
@@ -62,23 +63,24 @@ public function beforeAction($action)
             return false;
         }
 
-        $key = "+E4OxefKZm8uPKkiz8RkGA8t/XogInNgvIZhX9izCliOMVCerc8114/T7JSxudGfPxfwU1N3UCe1Ika2VuKDbQ==";
+        $key = getenv('XERO_WEBHOOK_SIGNING_KEY') ?: '';
+        if ($key === '') {
+            Yii::error('XERO_WEBHOOK_SIGNING_KEY is not configured.', __METHOD__);
+            throw new UnauthorizedHttpException('Webhook signature validation is not configured.');
+        }
 
         // Get the provided signature from the request headers
         $provided_signature = Yii::$app->request->headers->get("x-xero-signature"); // $_SERVER['HTTP_X_Xero_Signature'];
 
         // Get the request data
-        $request_data = Yii::$app->request->getBodyParams();  //file_get_contents('php://input');
+        $request_data = Yii::$app->request->rawBody;
 
         // Calculate the HMAC signature
         $generated_signature = base64_encode(hash_hmac('sha256', $request_data, $key, true));
 
         // Compare the provided signature with the generated one
-        if ($provided_signature !== $generated_signature) {
-            // Signature mismatch
-            http_response_code(401);
-            echo "Signature mismatch";
-            die();
+        if (!$provided_signature || !hash_equals($generated_signature, $provided_signature)) {
+            throw new UnauthorizedHttpException('Signature mismatch.');
         } /*else {
             // Signature matched
             http_response_code(200);
@@ -106,4 +108,4 @@ public function actionIncomming()
             Yii::$app->eventManager->track ($event['eventCategory'] . " " . $event['eventType'], $data);
         }
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/docs/xero-webhook-signing-key.md b/docs/xero-webhook-signing-key.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e8ddfb7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/xero-webhook-signing-key.md
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# Xero webhook signing key
+
+The admin Xero webhook endpoint validates Xero's `x-xero-signature` header with an HMAC over the raw request body.
+
+Set the signing key at runtime:
+
+- `XERO_WEBHOOK_SIGNING_KEY`
+
+Do not commit the signing key to controller code or environment templates. If this variable is missing, webhook requests fail closed with HTTP 401 and a server-side configuration log entry.
diff --git a/tests/check-xero-webhook-signature-hardening.sh b/tests/check-xero-webhook-signature-hardening.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..c2e74126
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/check-xero-webhook-signature-hardening.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+controller="admin/modules/v1/controllers/XeroWebhookController.php"
+legacy_key_pattern="E4OxefKZm8uPKkiz8""RkGA8t"
+
+if rg -n "$legacy_key_pattern" "$controller" docs --glob '!tests/check-xero-webhook-signature-hardening.sh'; then
+  echo "Xero webhook signing key must not be committed." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+rg -n "getenv\\('XERO_WEBHOOK_SIGNING_KEY'\\)" "$controller" >/dev/null
+rg -n '\$request_data = Yii::\$app->request->rawBody;' "$controller" >/dev/null
+rg -n 'hash_equals\(\$generated_signature, \$provided_signature\)' "$controller" >/dev/null
+rg -n "UnauthorizedHttpException" "$controller" >/dev/null
+
+if rg -n "echo \"Signature mismatch\"|die\\(\\)|http_response_code\\(401\\)" "$controller"; then
+  echo "Xero webhook signature failures should use framework 401 exceptions, not echo/die." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Xero webhook signature validation is runtime-configured and fail-closed."