diff --git a/netx_api/audit_async.py b/netx_api/audit_async.py
index 54876e7..a035a13 100644
--- a/netx_api/audit_async.py
+++ b/netx_api/audit_async.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import logging
 import queue
 import threading
+import time
 from typing import Any
 
 from .config import settings
@@ -18,6 +19,13 @@ _lock = threading.Lock()
 _counter = 0
 _dropped = 0
 
+# Dedupe unauthenticated request floods (SPA fires many parallel 401s).
+_unauth_lock = threading.Lock()
+_unauth_recent: dict[str, float] = {}
+_UNAUTH_DEDUP_GET_SEC = 60.0
+_UNAUTH_DEDUP_WRITE_SEC = 15.0
+_UNAUTH_RECENT_MAX = 4000
+
 # Middleware-tagged HTTP wrappers that duplicate semantic business audits.
 _MIDDLEWARE_NOISE_ACTIONS = frozenset(
     {
@@ -61,6 +69,32 @@ def _sample_ok() -> bool:
     return (_counter % n) == 0
 
 
+def should_audit_unauthorized(*, client_ip: str, method: str, path: str) -> bool:
+    """Rate-limit auth.unauthorized writes: one row per IP+method+path per window.
+
+    Unauthenticated page loads often fan out dozens of GETs in the same second;
+    keeping every 401 drowns real login/security events.
+    """
+    method_u = str(method or "GET").upper()
+    window = (
+        _UNAUTH_DEDUP_WRITE_SEC
+        if method_u in ("POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE")
+        else _UNAUTH_DEDUP_GET_SEC
+    )
+    key = f"{client_ip or '-'}|{method_u}|{path or '/'}"
+    now = time.monotonic()
+    with _unauth_lock:
+        global _unauth_recent
+        last = float(_unauth_recent.get(key) or 0.0)
+        if now - last < window:
+            return False
+        _unauth_recent[key] = now
+        if len(_unauth_recent) > _UNAUTH_RECENT_MAX:
+            cutoff = now - max(_UNAUTH_DEDUP_GET_SEC * 5, 300.0)
+            _unauth_recent = {k: v for k, v in _unauth_recent.items() if float(v) >= cutoff}
+        return True
+
+
 def audit_should_persist(
     *,
     action: str,
diff --git a/netx_api/auth_middleware.py b/netx_api/auth_middleware.py
index ed663b9..b21fda1 100644
--- a/netx_api/auth_middleware.py
+++ b/netx_api/auth_middleware.py
@@ -113,16 +113,20 @@ class AuthAuditMiddleware(BaseHTTPMiddleware):
         try:
             resolved = resolve_user_from_token(db, token) if token else None
             if resolved is None:
-                write_audit(
-                    db,
-                    action="auth.unauthorized",
-                    method=request.method,
-                    path=path,
-                    status_code=401,
-                    client_ip=_client_ip(request),
-                    user_agent=str(request.headers.get("user-agent") or "")[:512],
-                    detail={},
-                )
+                client_ip = _client_ip(request)
+                from .audit_async import should_audit_unauthorized
+
+                if should_audit_unauthorized(client_ip=client_ip, method=request.method, path=path):
+                    write_audit(
+                        db,
+                        action="auth.unauthorized",
+                        method=request.method,
+                        path=path,
+                        status_code=401,
+                        client_ip=client_ip,
+                        user_agent=str(request.headers.get("user-agent") or "")[:512],
+                        detail={},
+                    )
                 return JSONResponse(status_code=401, content={"detail": "unauthorized"})
             user, via, scopes, token_id, jti = resolved
             if bool(getattr(user, "must_change_password", False)):
diff --git a/netx_api/auth_service.py b/netx_api/auth_service.py
index ebda386..fac13b3 100644
--- a/netx_api/auth_service.py
+++ b/netx_api/auth_service.py
@@ -747,6 +747,7 @@ def list_audit_logs(
             "api_tokens.get",
             "auth.me",
             "auth.sessions",
+            "auth.unauthorized",
         )
         q = q.filter(~AuditLog.action.like("http.%"))
         q = q.filter(~AuditLog.action.in_(noise_actions))
diff --git a/tests/test_audit_noise.py b/tests/test_audit_noise.py
index 4d4da51..c12a44d 100644
--- a/tests/test_audit_noise.py
+++ b/tests/test_audit_noise.py
@@ -60,5 +60,33 @@ class AuditShouldPersistTests(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertFalse(audit_should_persist(action="ume.token.get", method="GET", status_code=200))
 
 
+class UnauthorizedDedupeTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setUp(self) -> None:
+        from netx_api import audit_async as aa
+
+        with aa._unauth_lock:
+            aa._unauth_recent.clear()
+
+    def test_dedupes_same_ip_path(self) -> None:
+        from netx_api.audit_async import should_audit_unauthorized
+
+        self.assertTrue(
+            should_audit_unauthorized(client_ip="127.0.0.1", method="GET", path="/v1/topology")
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(
+            should_audit_unauthorized(client_ip="127.0.0.1", method="GET", path="/v1/topology")
+        )
+        # Different path still recorded once.
+        self.assertTrue(
+            should_audit_unauthorized(client_ip="127.0.0.1", method="GET", path="/v1/managed-ne")
+        )
+
+    def test_different_ip_not_deduped(self) -> None:
+        from netx_api.audit_async import should_audit_unauthorized
+
+        self.assertTrue(should_audit_unauthorized(client_ip="1.1.1.1", method="GET", path="/v1/x"))
+        self.assertTrue(should_audit_unauthorized(client_ip="2.2.2.2", method="GET", path="/v1/x"))
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()
diff --git a/web/src/pages/AuditPage.tsx b/web/src/pages/AuditPage.tsx
index b01eabe..0f403f2 100644
--- a/web/src/pages/AuditPage.tsx
+++ b/web/src/pages/AuditPage.tsx
@@ -87,6 +87,11 @@ export function auditSummary(
     });
   }
   if (action.startsWith("auth.")) {
+    if (action === "auth.unauthorized") {
+      const method = row?.method || "GET";
+      const path = row?.path || "";
+      return path ? `${method} ${path}` : "unauthorized";
+    }
     return action.replace(/^auth\./, "");
   }
   if (action.startsWith("http.") || action.startsWith("ume.")) {