diff --git a/litellm/proxy/auth/user_api_key_auth.py b/litellm/proxy/auth/user_api_key_auth.py
index a52ad14e293..0ff1bd9b9d6 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/auth/user_api_key_auth.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/auth/user_api_key_auth.py
@@ -1581,15 +1581,9 @@ async def check_api_key_for_custom_headers_or_pass_through_endpoints(
             api_key = request.headers.get("litellm_user_api_key") or ""
     if pass_through_endpoints is not None:
         for endpoint in pass_through_endpoints:
+            if _request_matches_unauthenticated_pass_through(endpoint, route):
+                return UserAPIKeyAuth()
             if isinstance(endpoint, dict) and endpoint.get("path", "") == route:
-                ## IF AUTH DISABLED
-                # Default to True: a config dict with no ``auth`` key
-                # otherwise produced an unauthenticated forwarder. The
-                # Pydantic ``PassThroughGenericEndpoint.auth`` default
-                # is also True, but raw config dicts skip that path —
-                # so this runtime check has to default to True too.
-                if endpoint.get("auth", True) is not True:
-                    return UserAPIKeyAuth()
                 ## IF AUTH ENABLED
                 ### IF CUSTOM PARSER REQUIRED
                 if endpoint.get("custom_auth_parser") is not None and endpoint.get("custom_auth_parser") == "langfuse":
@@ -3610,6 +3604,18 @@ async def _load_team_member_default_model_budget(
     )
 
 
+def _request_matches_unauthenticated_pass_through(endpoint: object, route: str) -> bool:
+    if not isinstance(endpoint, dict):
+        return False
+    endpoint_data: Final = cast("dict[str, object]", endpoint)
+    if str(endpoint_data.get("auth", True)).lower() == "true":
+        return False
+    path: Final = endpoint_data.get("path")
+    if not isinstance(path, str) or not path:
+        return False
+    return route == path or (endpoint_data.get("include_subpath") is True and route.startswith(path.rstrip("/") + "/"))
+
+
 @tracer.wrap()
 async def run_centralized_common_checks(
     user_api_key_auth_obj: UserAPIKeyAuth,
@@ -3672,7 +3678,7 @@ async def run_centralized_common_checks(
     pass_through_endpoints: Final = general_settings.get("pass_through_endpoints", None)
     if not force_virtual_key_checks and pass_through_endpoints is not None:
         for endpoint in pass_through_endpoints:
-            if isinstance(endpoint, dict) and endpoint.get("path", "") == route and endpoint.get("auth") is not True:
+            if _request_matches_unauthenticated_pass_through(endpoint, route):
                 return
 
     # No-auth dev mode: master_key unset AND no JWT/OAuth2 auth
diff --git a/tests/unit/proxy/auth/test_user_api_key_auth_request_flow.py b/tests/unit/proxy/auth/test_user_api_key_auth_request_flow.py
index 8440d3d2ab2..28d04c2cc9b 100644
--- a/tests/unit/proxy/auth/test_user_api_key_auth_request_flow.py
+++ b/tests/unit/proxy/auth/test_user_api_key_auth_request_flow.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ from litellm.redis.stores.connection import connect
 from litellm.redis.stores.spend_counters import SpendCounterStore
 from tests.unit.redis.stores.spend_counters_double import FakeSpendCounters
 from fastapi import HTTPException, Request, status
-from starlette.datastructures import UploadFile
+from starlette.datastructures import URL, UploadFile
 
 import litellm
 import litellm.proxy.proxy_server
@@ -4846,6 +4846,40 @@ def _proxy_attrs_for_centralized_checks(user_custom_auth=None, flag=False, maste
     }
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "endpoint, route, expect_common_checks",
+    [
+        ({"path": "/orx", "include_subpath": True, "auth": False}, "/orx/rerank", False),
+        ({"path": "/orx", "include_subpath": True, "auth": False}, "/orx", False),
+        ({"path": "/orx", "auth": False}, "/orx/rerank", True),
+        ({"path": "/orx", "include_subpath": True, "auth": False}, "/orxfoo", True),
+        ({"path": "/orx", "include_subpath": True}, "/orx/rerank", True),
+        ({"path": "/orx", "include_subpath": True, "auth": True}, "/orx/rerank", True),
+        ({"path": "/orx", "include_subpath": True, "auth": "true"}, "/orx/rerank", True),
+    ],
+)
+async def test_centralized_common_checks_include_subpath_pass_through_authz(
+    endpoint: dict[str, object], route: str, expect_common_checks: bool
+) -> None:
+    token = UserAPIKeyAuth(api_key="sk-test", user_id="u1")
+    request = Request(scope={"type": "http", "method": "POST", "headers": [], "query_string": b""})
+    request._url = URL(url=route)
+    attrs = _proxy_attrs_for_centralized_checks()
+    attrs["general_settings"] = {"pass_through_endpoints": [endpoint]}
+    with (
+        patch.multiple(litellm.proxy.proxy_server, **attrs),
+        patch("litellm.proxy.auth.user_api_key_auth.common_checks", new_callable=AsyncMock) as mock_checks,
+    ):
+        await run_centralized_common_checks(
+            user_api_key_auth_obj=token,
+            request=request,
+            request_data={},
+            route=route,
+        )
+    assert bool(mock_checks.await_count) is expect_common_checks
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_centralized_common_checks_runs_for_standard_auth():
     """Regardless of which _user_api_key_auth_builder path returned, the
diff --git a/tests/unit/proxy/pass_through_endpoints/test_passthrough_auth_default.py b/tests/unit/proxy/pass_through_endpoints/test_passthrough_auth_default.py
index 7771ff0274e..889cfbdcbac 100644
--- a/tests/unit/proxy/pass_through_endpoints/test_passthrough_auth_default.py
+++ b/tests/unit/proxy/pass_through_endpoints/test_passthrough_auth_default.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
 from starlette.requests import Request
 
 
-from litellm.proxy._types import PassThroughGenericEndpoint, ProxyException
+from litellm.proxy._types import PassThroughGenericEndpoint, ProxyException, UserAPIKeyAuth
 from litellm.proxy.auth.user_api_key_auth import (
     check_api_key_for_custom_headers_or_pass_through_endpoints,
 )
@@ -116,12 +116,48 @@ async def test_runtime_check_treats_missing_auth_key_as_authenticated():
     assert result == "sk-9876"
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_runtime_check_unauthenticated_subpath_skips_validation() -> None:
+    request: Final = MagicMock()
+    request.headers = {}
+    endpoint: Final = {
+        "path": "/public-webhook",
+        "target": "https://example.com",
+        "include_subpath": True,
+        "auth": False,
+    }
+
+    result: Final = await check_api_key_for_custom_headers_or_pass_through_endpoints(
+        request=request,
+        route="/public-webhook/event",
+        pass_through_endpoints=[endpoint],
+        api_key="",
+    )
+
+    assert isinstance(result, UserAPIKeyAuth)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("auth", ["true", "TRUE"])
+async def test_runtime_check_string_auth_true_requires_validation(auth: str) -> None:
+    request: Final = MagicMock()
+    request.headers = {}
+    endpoint: Final = {"path": "/forwarder", "target": "https://example.com", "auth": auth}
+
+    result: Final = await check_api_key_for_custom_headers_or_pass_through_endpoints(
+        request=request,
+        route="/forwarder",
+        pass_through_endpoints=[endpoint],
+        api_key="sk-9876",
+    )
+
+    assert result == "sk-9876"
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_runtime_check_explicit_auth_false_still_skips_validation():
     # Operators who explicitly set ``auth: False`` get the legacy
     # behaviour — an empty UserAPIKeyAuth, no key required.
-    from litellm.proxy._types import UserAPIKeyAuth
-
     request = MagicMock()
     request.headers = {}
     raw_endpoint_auth_false = {