diff --git a/litellm/proxy/response_api_endpoints/endpoints.py b/litellm/proxy/response_api_endpoints/endpoints.py
index 5f4a386c8c1..f752986d7f4 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/response_api_endpoints/endpoints.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/response_api_endpoints/endpoints.py
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ from litellm.proxy.auth.user_api_key_auth import (
     user_api_key_auth_websocket,
 )
 from litellm.proxy.common_request_processing import ProxyBaseLLMRequestProcessing
+from litellm.proxy.common_utils.http_parsing_utils import (
+    _read_request_body,
+    _safe_set_request_parsed_body,
+)
 from litellm.types.llms.openai import REASONING_EFFORT, ResponseAPIUsage, ResponsesAPIResponse
 from litellm.types.responses.main import DeleteResponseResult
 
@@ -148,6 +152,18 @@ def _resolve_cursor_model_variant(
     return {**resolved, "reasoning": {"effort": variant.reasoning_effort}}  # mutable-ok: plain body dict
 
 
+async def _resolve_cursor_model_variant_before_auth(request: Request) -> None:
+    from litellm.proxy.proxy_server import llm_router
+
+    try:
+        raw_body: Final = await _read_request_body(request=request)
+    except (json.JSONDecodeError, ProxyException):
+        return
+    resolved: Final = _resolve_cursor_model_variant(raw_body, llm_router)
+    if resolved is not raw_body:
+        _safe_set_request_parsed_body(request=request, parsed_body=resolved)
+
+
 @router.post(
     "/v1/responses",
     dependencies=[Depends(user_api_key_auth)],
@@ -440,7 +456,10 @@ async def cursor_model_list(
 
 @router.post(
     "/cursor/chat/completions",
-    dependencies=[Depends(user_api_key_auth)],
+    dependencies=[
+        Depends(_resolve_cursor_model_variant_before_auth),
+        Depends(user_api_key_auth),
+    ],
     tags=["responses"],
 )
 async def cursor_chat_completions(
@@ -479,9 +498,7 @@ async def cursor_chat_completions(
         responses_api_bridge,
     )
     from litellm.litellm_core_utils.streaming_handler import CustomStreamWrapper
-    from litellm.proxy.common_utils.http_parsing_utils import _safe_set_request_parsed_body
     from litellm.proxy.proxy_server import (
-        _read_request_body,
         async_data_generator,
         chat_completion,
         general_settings,
@@ -499,14 +516,13 @@ async def cursor_chat_completions(
     from litellm.types.utils import ModelResponse
 
     raw_body: Final = await _read_request_body(request=request)
-    data = _resolve_cursor_model_variant(raw_body, llm_router)
 
-    if _is_chat_completions_body(data):
+    if _is_chat_completions_body(raw_body):
         # Genuine chat completions body (Cursor sends these for models whose BYOK it
         # already fixed); delegate so behavior matches /chat/completions exactly.
         # Keyed on messages CONTENT, not key presence: Cursor can send a null or
         # empty messages stub alongside a real agent-mode input array
-        normalized: Final = _normalize_tool_dialect(data, to_chat=True)
+        normalized: Final = _normalize_tool_dialect(raw_body, to_chat=True)
         if normalized is not raw_body:
             _safe_set_request_parsed_body(request=request, parsed_body=normalized)
         return await chat_completion(
@@ -521,7 +537,7 @@ async def cursor_chat_completions(
     # Rebuild rather than pop: _read_request_body can return the request-scope
     # cached parsed-body dict itself, and removing keys from it corrupts the
     # cache's key snapshot so later readers get an empty body
-    data = {key: value for key, value in data.items() if key != "stream_options"}  # mutable-ok: plain body dict
+    data = {key: value for key, value in raw_body.items() if key != "stream_options"}  # mutable-ok: plain body dict
 
     data = _normalize_tool_dialect(data, to_chat=False)
 
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/proxy/response_api_endpoints/test_endpoints.py b/tests/test_litellm/proxy/response_api_endpoints/test_endpoints.py
index 60168e7f912..a064c8de985 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/proxy/response_api_endpoints/test_endpoints.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/proxy/response_api_endpoints/test_endpoints.py
@@ -851,8 +851,9 @@ def test_cursor_chat_completions_input_body_uses_responses_pipeline_and_strips_s
 
     app.dependency_overrides[user_api_key_auth] = _auth_override
     try:
-        with patch.object(ps, "llm_router", mock_router), patch.object(
-            ps, "_read_request_body", side_effect=capturing_read_request_body
+        with patch.object(ps, "llm_router", mock_router), patch(
+            "litellm.proxy.response_api_endpoints.endpoints._read_request_body",
+            side_effect=capturing_read_request_body,
         ):
             client = TestClient(app)
             response = client.post(
@@ -1568,3 +1569,157 @@ class TestCursorModelSuffixResolutionEndToEnd:
         assert mock_router.aresponses.call_args is not None
         assert mock_router.aresponses.call_args.kwargs["model"] == "claude-opus-5"
         assert mock_router.aresponses.call_args.kwargs["reasoning"] == {"effort": "high"}
+
+
+def _cursor_budget_auth_env(base_model: str, spend: float):
+    from litellm import Router
+    from litellm.caching.dual_cache import DualCache
+    from litellm.proxy._types import UserAPIKeyAuth
+    from litellm.proxy.hooks.model_max_budget_limiter import (
+        VIRTUAL_KEY_SPEND_CACHE_KEY_PREFIX,
+        _PROXY_VirtualKeyModelMaxBudgetLimiter,
+    )
+
+    valid_token = UserAPIKeyAuth(
+        api_key="sk-cursor-budget-test",
+        token="hashed-cursor-budget-token",
+        model_max_budget={base_model: {"budget_limit": 0.00001, "time_period": "1d"}},
+    )
+    limiter = _PROXY_VirtualKeyModelMaxBudgetLimiter(dual_cache=DualCache())
+    limiter.dual_cache.in_memory_cache.set_cache(
+        key=f"{VIRTUAL_KEY_SPEND_CACHE_KEY_PREFIX}:{valid_token.token}:{base_model}:1d",
+        value=spend,
+    )
+    router = Router(
+        model_list=[{"model_name": "anthropic/*", "litellm_params": {"model": "anthropic/*", "api_key": "fake"}}]
+    )
+
+    mock_proxy_logging_obj = MagicMock()
+    mock_proxy_logging_obj.post_call_failure_hook = AsyncMock(return_value=None)
+
+    proxy_server_attrs = {
+        "prisma_client": MagicMock(),
+        "user_api_key_cache": DualCache(),
+        "proxy_logging_obj": mock_proxy_logging_obj,
+        "master_key": "sk-master-key",
+        "general_settings": {},
+        "llm_model_list": [],
+        "llm_router": router,
+        "open_telemetry_logger": None,
+        "model_max_budget_limiter": limiter,
+        "user_custom_auth": None,
+        "jwt_handler": None,
+        "litellm_proxy_admin_name": "admin",
+    }
+    return valid_token, proxy_server_attrs
+
+
+def _post_cursor_with_real_auth(valid_token, proxy_server_attrs, request_model: str):
+    with (
+        patch.multiple("litellm.proxy.proxy_server", **proxy_server_attrs),
+        patch(
+            "litellm.proxy.auth.resolvers.store.IdentityStore._resolve_key",
+            new_callable=AsyncMock,
+            return_value=valid_token,
+        ),
+    ):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        return client.post(
+            "/cursor/chat/completions",
+            json={"model": request_model, "input": [{"role": "user", "content": "hi"}]},
+            headers={"Authorization": "Bearer sk-cursor-budget-test"},
+        )
+
+
+class TestCursorVariantPerModelBudgetEnforcement:
+    """Regression tests for the per-model budget bypass on /cursor/chat/completions.
+
+    user_api_key_auth enforced key model_max_budget against the raw request model,
+    but _resolve_cursor_model_variant only rewrote minted aliases like
+    <base>-thinking-<level> to <base> inside the handler, after auth had already
+    run. A key whose budget for <base> was exhausted could keep calling <base>
+    through any unconfigured alias. The variant must now be resolved in a
+    route-level dependency that runs before user_api_key_auth, so these tests
+    exercise the real dependency chain (real auth, real budget limiter) through
+    TestClient and fail if that ordering ever breaks."""
+
+    def test_minted_alias_rejected_when_base_model_budget_exhausted(self):
+        valid_token, attrs = _cursor_budget_auth_env(base_model="claude-opus-5", spend=1.0)
+
+        response = _post_cursor_with_real_auth(valid_token, attrs, request_model="claude-opus-5-thinking-high")
+
+        assert response.status_code == 429, response.text
+        error = response.json()["error"]
+        assert error["type"] == "budget_exceeded"
+        assert "exceeded budget for model=claude-opus-5" in error["message"]
+
+    def test_alias_rejection_matches_base_model_rejection(self):
+        valid_token, attrs = _cursor_budget_auth_env(base_model="claude-opus-5", spend=1.0)
+
+        base_response = _post_cursor_with_real_auth(valid_token, attrs, request_model="claude-opus-5")
+        alias_response = _post_cursor_with_real_auth(valid_token, attrs, request_model="claude-opus-5-fast")
+
+        assert base_response.status_code == 429, base_response.text
+        assert alias_response.status_code == 429, alias_response.text
+        assert alias_response.json() == base_response.json()
+
+
+class TestCursorVariantResolvedBeforeAuth:
+    """The route-level resolver dependency must rewrite the parsed body before
+    user_api_key_auth reads it, so every auth check (model access, key and
+    end-user model budgets, rate limits) sees the base model, and names the
+    router already serves must reach auth untouched."""
+
+    def _run_with_recording_auth(self, mock_router, request_model: str):
+        from litellm.proxy._types import UserAPIKeyAuth
+        from litellm.proxy.auth.user_api_key_auth import user_api_key_auth
+        from litellm.proxy.common_utils.http_parsing_utils import _read_request_body
+
+        from fastapi import Request
+
+        bodies_seen_by_auth = []
+
+        async def recording_auth(request: Request) -> UserAPIKeyAuth:
+            bodies_seen_by_auth.append(await _read_request_body(request=request))
+            return UserAPIKeyAuth(api_key="sk-test-cursor")
+
+        async def fake_chat_completion(request, fastapi_response, model, user_api_key_dict):
+            return {"id": "chatcmpl-fake", "object": "chat.completion", "choices": []}
+
+        app.dependency_overrides[user_api_key_auth] = recording_auth
+        try:
+            with (
+                patch("litellm.proxy.proxy_server.llm_router", new=mock_router),
+                patch("litellm.proxy.proxy_server.chat_completion", new=fake_chat_completion),
+            ):
+                client = TestClient(app)
+                response = client.post(
+                    "/cursor/chat/completions",
+                    json={"model": request_model, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "hi"}]},
+                    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer sk-test-cursor"},
+                )
+        finally:
+            app.dependency_overrides.pop(user_api_key_auth, None)
+
+        assert response.status_code == 200, response.text
+        assert len(bodies_seen_by_auth) == 1
+        return bodies_seen_by_auth[0]
+
+    def test_auth_sees_base_model_for_minted_alias(self):
+        auth_body = self._run_with_recording_auth(
+            mock_router=_router_serving_only("claude-opus-5"),
+            request_model="claude-opus-5-thinking-xhigh-fast",
+        )
+        assert auth_body["model"] == "claude-opus-5"
+        assert auth_body["reasoning_effort"] == "xhigh"
+
+    def test_auth_sees_servable_model_name_untouched(self):
+        mock_router = _router_serving_only("claude-opus-5")
+        mock_router.model_names = {"claude-opus-5-thinking-high"}
+
+        auth_body = self._run_with_recording_auth(
+            mock_router=mock_router,
+            request_model="claude-opus-5-thinking-high",
+        )
+        assert auth_body["model"] == "claude-opus-5-thinking-high"
+        assert "reasoning_effort" not in auth_body