diff --git a/backend/__tests__/utils/cssSanitizer.remoteUrls.test.js b/backend/__tests__/utils/cssSanitizer.remoteUrls.test.js
index 76c1011b..be8c39fe 100644
--- a/backend/__tests__/utils/cssSanitizer.remoteUrls.test.js
+++ b/backend/__tests__/utils/cssSanitizer.remoteUrls.test.js
@@ -260,6 +260,25 @@ describe('sanitizeCSS', () => {
     expect(asParsed(sanitized)).not.toContain('evil.example');
   });
 
+  it('does not treat NBSP as CSS whitespace inside url()', () => {
+    // JS `\s` matches U+00A0; CSS whitespace does not. Skipping it let the
+    // scanner read the following quote as a legitimate data: URI and swallow
+    // a remote url() inside the "string", while a browser sees an unquoted
+    // url-token ending at the first `)` and fetches the remote background.
+    const NBSP = '\u00a0';
+    const { sanitized } = sanitizeCSS(
+      `.a{background:url(${NBSP}"data:image/png);background:url(https://evil.example/p.gif);--x:");}`
+    );
+    expect(asParsed(sanitized)).not.toContain('evil.example');
+  });
+
+  it('still allows ordinary CSS whitespace around a data: URI', () => {
+    const spaced = sanitizeCSS('.a{background:url( "data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgo=" )}');
+    expect(spaced.sanitized).toContain('data:image/png');
+    const tabbed = sanitizeCSS('.a{background:url(\t"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgo=")}');
+    expect(tabbed.sanitized).toContain('data:image/png');
+  });
+
   it('does not let an unterminated quote hide everything after it', () => {
     // An unclosed quote is a parse error. Trusting it meant one stray
     // apostrophe disabled scanning for the remainder of the stylesheet, so
diff --git a/backend/src/utils/cssSanitizer.js b/backend/src/utils/cssSanitizer.js
index ed3623f5..98df28ea 100644
--- a/backend/src/utils/cssSanitizer.js
+++ b/backend/src/utils/cssSanitizer.js
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ function stripDisallowedUrls(css) {
     const ident = readIdentifier(input, i);
     if (ident.end > i && decodeCssEscapes(ident.raw).toLowerCase() === 'url') {
       let j = ident.end;
-      while (j < input.length && /\s/.test(input[j])) j += 1;
+      while (j < input.length && CSS_WS.test(input[j])) j += 1;
       if (input[j] === '(') {
         const token = readUrlToken(input, j);
         if (token) {
@@ -238,6 +238,15 @@ function matchEscape(input, start) {
  * escaped Tailwind selector) is emitted byte-identical rather than silently
  * rewritten to `.w-1/2`, which is a different selector.
  */
+// CSS whitespace is exactly space, tab, LF, CR and FF. JavaScript's `\s`
+// is NOT the same set — it also matches NBSP and the other Unicode spaces,
+// and that difference was a bypass: in `url(\u00a0"data:image/png);...")`
+// the scanner skipped the NBSP as whitespace and read the following quote as
+// a legitimate quoted data: URI, swallowing a remote url() inside it. A
+// browser treats NBSP as an ordinary character, making that an UNQUOTED
+// url-token that ends at the first `)` — leaving the remote background live.
+const CSS_WS = /[ \t\n\r\f]/;
+
 function readIdentifier(input, start) {
   let j = start;
   let raw = '';
@@ -257,7 +266,7 @@ function readIdentifier(input, start) {
 function readUrlToken(input, openParen) {
   let j = openParen + 1;
   let target = '';
-  while (j < input.length && /\s/.test(input[j])) j += 1;
+  while (j < input.length && CSS_WS.test(input[j])) j += 1;
 
   if (input[j] === '"' || input[j] === '\'') {
     // Quoted: the quote closes the value, so ")" inside it is content.
@@ -278,7 +287,7 @@ function readUrlToken(input, openParen) {
     }
   }
 
-  while (j < input.length && /\s/.test(input[j])) j += 1;
+  while (j < input.length && CSS_WS.test(input[j])) j += 1;
   // Unterminated url( — malformed. Leave it alone rather than swallowing the
   // remainder of the stylesheet.
   if (input[j] !== ')') return null;