diff --git a/internal/channels/telegram/channel.go b/internal/channels/telegram/channel.go
index cd5a8712..f704aad0 100644
--- a/internal/channels/telegram/channel.go
+++ b/internal/channels/telegram/channel.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ type Channel struct {
 	*channels.BaseChannel
 	bot              *telego.Bot
 	config           config.TelegramConfig
+	httpClient       *http.Client
 	pairingService   store.PairingStore
 	agentStore       store.AgentStore // for group file writer management (nil if not configured)
 	teamStore        store.TeamStore  // for /tasks, /task_detail commands (nil if not configured)
@@ -61,17 +62,20 @@ func New(cfg config.TelegramConfig, msgBus *bus.MessageBus, pairingSvc store.Pai
 		opts = append(opts, telego.WithAPIServer(cfg.APIServer))
 	}
 
+	httpClient := &http.Client{
+		Timeout: 30 * time.Second,
+	}
+
 	if cfg.Proxy != "" {
 		proxyURL, parseErr := url.Parse(cfg.Proxy)
 		if parseErr != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid proxy URL %q: %w", cfg.Proxy, parseErr)
 		}
-		opts = append(opts, telego.WithHTTPClient(&http.Client{
-			Transport: &http.Transport{
-				Proxy: http.ProxyURL(proxyURL),
-			},
-		}))
+		transport := http.DefaultTransport.(*http.Transport).Clone()
+		transport.Proxy = http.ProxyURL(proxyURL)
+		httpClient.Transport = transport
 	}
+	opts = append(opts, telego.WithHTTPClient(httpClient))
 
 	bot, err := telego.NewBot(cfg.Token, opts...)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -95,6 +99,7 @@ func New(cfg config.TelegramConfig, msgBus *bus.MessageBus, pairingSvc store.Pai
 		BaseChannel:    base,
 		bot:            bot,
 		config:         cfg,
+		httpClient:     httpClient,
 		pairingService: pairingSvc,
 		agentStore:     agentStore,
 		teamStore:      teamStore,
diff --git a/internal/channels/telegram/media.go b/internal/channels/telegram/media.go
index 68a86029..91e434c9 100644
--- a/internal/channels/telegram/media.go
+++ b/internal/channels/telegram/media.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/mymmrac/telego"
 
 	"github.com/nextlevelbuilder/goclaw/internal/channels/media"
+	"github.com/nextlevelbuilder/goclaw/internal/tools"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -227,7 +228,32 @@ func (c *Channel) downloadMedia(ctx context.Context, fileID string, maxBytes int
 		downloadURL = fmt.Sprintf("https://api.telegram.org/file/bot%s/%s", c.config.Token, file.FilePath)
 	}
 
-	resp, err := http.Get(downloadURL)
+	// SSRF Protection: check the resolved URL before connecting.
+	// We skip the check IF the host is our explicitly configured (trusted) API server.
+	isTrusted := c.config.APIServer != "" && strings.HasPrefix(downloadURL, c.config.APIServer)
+	if !isTrusted {
+		if err := tools.CheckSSRF(downloadURL); err != nil {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("SSRF protection: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Use a generous timeout for media downloads (large files via local Bot API
+	// can be up to 200 MB). The shared httpClient has a 30s timeout suited for
+	// API calls, so we override per-request with a dedicated context.
+	dlCtx, dlCancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Minute)
+	defer dlCancel()
+
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(dlCtx, "GET", downloadURL, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("create download request: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Clone the shared client without the 30s Timeout so the per-request
+	// context (5 min) governs the download duration instead.
+	dlClient := *c.httpClient
+	dlClient.Timeout = 0
+
+	resp, err := dlClient.Do(req)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("download file: %w", err)
 	}