diff --git a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/url_utils.py b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/url_utils.py
index fca157fce6d..a8720282afd 100644
--- a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/url_utils.py
+++ b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/url_utils.py
@@ -67,7 +67,11 @@ def encode_url_path_segment(value: Any, *, field_name: str = "path parameter") -
 
 
 def encode_url_path_segments(value: Any, *, field_name: str = "path") -> str:
-    """Percent-encode a user-controlled URL path made of multiple segments."""
+    """Percent-encode a user-controlled URL path made of multiple segments.
+
+    Empty segments are rejected, so leading, trailing, or consecutive slashes
+    fail closed instead of being normalized by the HTTP client.
+    """
     if value is None:
         raise ValueError(f"{field_name} is required")
 
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/llms/gemini/files/test_gemini_files_transformation.py b/tests/test_litellm/llms/gemini/files/test_gemini_files_transformation.py
index d262b3b96d8..a2f95724688 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/llms/gemini/files/test_gemini_files_transformation.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/llms/gemini/files/test_gemini_files_transformation.py
@@ -320,9 +320,7 @@ class TestGoogleAIStudioFilesTransformation:
             litellm_params=litellm_params,
         )
 
-        # Verify URL extraction
-        assert "files/test123" in url
-        assert "generativelanguage.googleapis.com" in url
+        assert url == "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/files/test123"
 
         # Params should be empty (API key goes in header via validate_environment)
         assert params == {}