diff --git a/internal/agentupdate/update.go b/internal/agentupdate/update.go
index 56ed8ae7e1..4d4159ee60 100644
--- a/internal/agentupdate/update.go
+++ b/internal/agentupdate/update.go
@@ -568,6 +568,14 @@ func isLoopbackHost(host string) bool {
 	return ip != nil && ip.IsLoopback()
 }
 
+func isPrivateNetworkHost(host string) bool {
+	if host == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+	ip := net.ParseIP(strings.Trim(host, "[]"))
+	return ip != nil && ip.IsPrivate()
+}
+
 func (u *Updater) validatePulseURL() error {
 	pulseURL := strings.TrimSpace(u.cfg.PulseURL)
 	if pulseURL == "" {
@@ -593,10 +601,10 @@ func (u *Updater) validatePulseURL() error {
 	case "https":
 		return nil
 	case "http":
-		if u.cfg.InsecureSkipVerify || isLoopbackHost(parsed.Hostname()) {
+		if u.cfg.InsecureSkipVerify || isLoopbackHost(parsed.Hostname()) || isPrivateNetworkHost(parsed.Hostname()) {
 			return nil
 		}
-		return fmt.Errorf("HTTP Pulse URL is only allowed for localhost/loopback or when insecure mode is enabled")
+		return fmt.Errorf("HTTP Pulse URL is only allowed for localhost/loopback, private networks, or when insecure mode is enabled")
 	default:
 		return fmt.Errorf("unsupported Pulse URL scheme %q", parsed.Scheme)
 	}
diff --git a/internal/api/config_setup_handlers.go b/internal/api/config_setup_handlers.go
index eb92f03a33..224b45e054 100644
--- a/internal/api/config_setup_handlers.go
+++ b/internal/api/config_setup_handlers.go
@@ -26,6 +26,15 @@ import (
 	"github.com/rs/zerolog/log"
 )
 
+// agentAutoRegContextKey marks a request authenticated via agent:report token.
+// When set, handleCanonicalAutoRegister restricts to updating existing nodes only.
+type agentAutoRegContextKey struct{}
+
+func isAgentAutoRegAuth(ctx context.Context) bool {
+	v, _ := ctx.Value(agentAutoRegContextKey{}).(bool)
+	return v
+}
+
 // HandleSetupScript serves the setup script for Proxmox/PBS nodes
 func (h *ConfigHandlers) handleSetupScript(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if r.Method != http.MethodGet {
@@ -646,6 +655,32 @@ func (h *ConfigHandlers) handleAutoRegister(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Reque
 		h.codeMutex.Unlock()
 	}
 
+	// Fallback: allow agents with a valid agent:report API token to re-register their
+	// Proxmox node. This is needed when an agent reinstalls — it rotates the PVE token
+	// but can't fetch a one-time setup token (that endpoint requires settings:write).
+	// For security this path is restricted to updating existing nodes only.
+	if !authenticated {
+		if apiToken, hasToken := explicitAPITokenFromRequest(r); hasToken {
+			config.Mu.RLock()
+			cfg := h.getConfig(r.Context())
+			isValid := cfg != nil && cfg.IsValidAPIToken(apiToken)
+			config.Mu.RUnlock()
+			if isValid {
+				config.Mu.Lock()
+				record, ok := cfg.ValidateAPIToken(apiToken)
+				config.Mu.Unlock()
+				if ok && record != nil && record.HasScope(config.ScopeAgentReport) {
+					authenticated = true
+					r = r.WithContext(context.WithValue(r.Context(), agentAutoRegContextKey{}, true))
+					log.Info().
+						Str("type", req.Type).
+						Str("host", req.Host).
+						Msg("Auto-register authenticated via agent API token (update-only mode)")
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Abort when no authentication succeeded. This applies even when API tokens
 	// are not configured to ensure one-time setup tokens are always required.
 	if !authenticated {
@@ -859,6 +894,12 @@ func (h *ConfigHandlers) handleCanonicalAutoRegister(w http.ResponseWriter, r *h
 			instance.VerifySSL = pveNode.VerifySSL
 			log.Info().Str("host", host).Str("type", "pve").Msg(canonicalAutoRegisterMatchMessage("host; updated token in-place"))
 		} else {
+			// Agent-token auth is restricted to updating existing nodes only.
+			if isAgentAutoRegAuth(r.Context()) {
+				log.Warn().Str("host", host).Str("type", "pve").Msg("Agent API token auth rejected for new PVE node registration")
+				http.Error(w, "agent token auth permits token updates for existing nodes only", http.StatusForbidden)
+				return
+			}
 			if enforceMonitoredSystemLimitForConfigRegistration(w, r.Context(), h.getConfig(r.Context()), h.getMonitor(r.Context()), unifiedresources.MonitoredSystemCandidate{
 				Source:   unifiedresources.SourceProxmox,
 				Type:     unifiedresources.ResourceTypeAgent,
@@ -934,6 +975,12 @@ func (h *ConfigHandlers) handleCanonicalAutoRegister(w http.ResponseWriter, r *h
 			instance.VerifySSL = pbsNode.VerifySSL
 			log.Info().Str("host", host).Str("type", "pbs").Msg(canonicalAutoRegisterMatchMessage("host; updated token in-place"))
 		} else {
+			// Agent-token auth is restricted to updating existing nodes only.
+			if isAgentAutoRegAuth(r.Context()) {
+				log.Warn().Str("host", host).Str("type", "pbs").Msg("Agent API token auth rejected for new PBS node registration")
+				http.Error(w, "agent token auth permits token updates for existing nodes only", http.StatusForbidden)
+				return
+			}
 			if enforceMonitoredSystemLimitForConfigRegistration(w, r.Context(), h.getConfig(r.Context()), h.getMonitor(r.Context()), unifiedresources.MonitoredSystemCandidate{
 				Source:   unifiedresources.SourcePBS,
 				Type:     unifiedresources.ResourceTypePBS,
diff --git a/internal/api/router.go b/internal/api/router.go
index 6e20488e05..2e0ecc141f 100644
--- a/internal/api/router.go
+++ b/internal/api/router.go
@@ -4869,8 +4869,9 @@ func (r *Router) handleAgentVersion(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) {
 	// Return the server version - all agents should match the server version.
 	// Dev/git builds return "dev" so agents don't enter an infinite update loop
 	// (the agent skips updates when the server reports "dev").
+	versionInfo, err := updates.GetCurrentVersion()
 	version := "dev"
-	if versionInfo, err := updates.GetCurrentVersion(); err == nil && !versionInfo.IsDevelopment {
+	if err == nil && !versionInfo.IsDevelopment {
 		version = versionInfo.Version
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/hostagent/proxmox_setup.go b/internal/hostagent/proxmox_setup.go
index bfc37dbf15..a78a3db8f3 100644
--- a/internal/hostagent/proxmox_setup.go
+++ b/internal/hostagent/proxmox_setup.go
@@ -547,7 +547,17 @@ func (p *ProxmoxSetup) orderedCandidateHosts(ctx context.Context, ptype proxmoxP
 func (p *ProxmoxSetup) checkRegistrationWithPulse(ctx context.Context, ptype proxmoxProductType, hostURL string) (bool, error) {
 	setupToken, err := p.fetchSetupToken(ctx, ptype, hostURL)
 	if err != nil {
-		return false, fmt.Errorf("fetch setup token: %w", err)
+		var ce *clientError
+		var pe *permanentError
+		if errors.As(err, &pe) {
+			return false, fmt.Errorf("fetch setup token: %w", err)
+		}
+		if errors.As(err, &ce) {
+			// Fall through without a setup token; server will authenticate via X-API-Token.
+			setupToken = ""
+		} else {
+			return false, fmt.Errorf("fetch setup token: %w", err)
+		}
 	}
 
 	payload := autoRegisterRequest{
@@ -570,6 +580,9 @@ func (p *ProxmoxSetup) checkRegistrationWithPulse(ctx context.Context, ptype pro
 		return false, fmt.Errorf("create registration-check request: %w", err)
 	}
 	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+	if token := strings.TrimSpace(p.apiToken); token != "" {
+		req.Header.Set("X-API-Token", token)
+	}
 
 	resp, err := p.httpClient.Do(req)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -1143,6 +1156,9 @@ func (p *ProxmoxSetup) doRegisterRequest(ctx context.Context, body []byte, expec
 		return autoRegisterResponse{}, &permanentError{fmt.Errorf("create request: %w", err)}
 	}
 	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+	if token := strings.TrimSpace(p.apiToken); token != "" {
+		req.Header.Set("X-API-Token", token)
+	}
 
 	resp, err := p.httpClient.Do(req)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -1327,15 +1343,26 @@ func (p *ProxmoxSetup) registerWithPulse(ctx context.Context, ptype proxmoxProdu
 			lastErr = fmt.Errorf("fetch setup token: %w", err)
 			var ce *clientError
 			var pe *permanentError
-			if errors.As(lastErr, &ce) || errors.As(lastErr, &pe) {
+			if errors.As(lastErr, &pe) {
 				return autoRegisterResponse{}, lastErr
 			}
-			p.logger.Warn().Err(lastErr).
-				Int("attempt", attempt+1).
-				Int("max_attempts", len(backoffs)+1).
-				Str("type", string(ptype)).
-				Msg("Proxmox setup token fetch failed")
-			continue
+			if errors.As(lastErr, &ce) {
+				// The setup-script-url endpoint requires settings:write scope; agent tokens
+				// only have agent:report. Fall through without a setup token — the server
+				// will authenticate via the X-API-Token header instead (update-only path).
+				p.logger.Info().
+					Int("statusCode", ce.statusCode).
+					Str("type", string(ptype)).
+					Msg("Setup token fetch returned client error; falling back to agent API token auth")
+				setupToken = ""
+			} else {
+				p.logger.Warn().Err(lastErr).
+					Int("attempt", attempt+1).
+					Int("max_attempts", len(backoffs)+1).
+					Str("type", string(ptype)).
+					Msg("Proxmox setup token fetch failed")
+				continue
+			}
 		}
 
 		payload := autoRegisterRequest{