diff --git a/secrets.go b/secrets.go
index 79105a4..632f740 100644
--- a/secrets.go
+++ b/secrets.go
@@ -10,8 +10,9 @@ import (
 // empty value returns empty with no error. A "env:NAME" value returns
 // os.Getenv(NAME), erroring if the variable is unset or empty. A
 // "file:/path" value returns the file's contents with surrounding
-// whitespace trimmed, erroring if the file cannot be read. Any other value
-// is returned unchanged as a literal.
+// whitespace trimmed, erroring if the file cannot be read or its trimmed
+// contents are empty — symmetric with the env: case. Any other value is
+// returned unchanged as a literal.
 //
 // Error messages never include a resolved secret value — only the env var
 // name or file path, which are config, not secrets.
@@ -31,7 +32,11 @@ func resolveSecret(v string) (string, error) {
 		if err != nil {
 			return "", fmt.Errorf("llmgateway: cannot read secret file %q: %w", path, err)
 		}
-		return strings.TrimSpace(string(b)), nil
+		val := strings.TrimSpace(string(b))
+		if val == "" {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("llmgateway: secret file %q is empty or whitespace-only", path)
+		}
+		return val, nil
 	}
 	return v, nil
 }
diff --git a/secrets_test.go b/secrets_test.go
index df01069..f91644e 100644
--- a/secrets_test.go
+++ b/secrets_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package traefikllmgateway
 import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 )
 
@@ -13,6 +14,14 @@ func TestResolveSecret(t *testing.T) {
 	if err := os.WriteFile(fp, []byte("from-file\n"), 0o600); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("WriteFile: %v", err)
 	}
+	emptyFP := filepath.Join(dir, "empty")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(emptyFP, []byte(""), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("WriteFile: %v", err)
+	}
+	blankFP := filepath.Join(dir, "blank")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(blankFP, []byte("   \n\t\n"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("WriteFile: %v", err)
+	}
 
 	cases := []struct {
 		in      string
@@ -24,6 +33,8 @@ func TestResolveSecret(t *testing.T) {
 		{"env:LLMGW_MISSING", "", true},
 		{"file:" + fp, "from-file", false},
 		{"file:" + fp + ".nope", "", true},
+		{"file:" + emptyFP, "", true},
+		{"file:" + blankFP, "", true},
 		{"", "", false},
 	}
 	for _, c := range cases {
@@ -35,3 +46,66 @@ func TestResolveSecret(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+// TestResolveSecret_EmptyFile_ErrorNamesPathNotContents is the symmetry
+// regression: env: and file: must both reject an empty resolved secret, and
+// the error must name the path, never echo the (empty) contents.
+func TestResolveSecret_EmptyFile_ErrorNamesPathNotContents(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	emptyFP := filepath.Join(dir, "empty")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(emptyFP, []byte(""), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("WriteFile: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	_, err := resolveSecret("file:" + emptyFP)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("want error for empty file-resolved secret, got nil")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), emptyFP) {
+		t.Fatalf("want error to name the path %q, got %q", emptyFP, err.Error())
+	}
+}
+
+// TestResolveSecret_ErrorNeverLeaksSecretValue is a regression test: across
+// env and file resolution, on both the success and the failure path, the
+// returned error (when non-nil) must never contain the resolved secret
+// value — only the env var name or file path, which are config, not secrets.
+func TestResolveSecret_ErrorNeverLeaksSecretValue(t *testing.T) {
+	const envSecret = "super-secret-env-value"
+	const fileSecret = "super-secret-file-value"
+	t.Setenv("LLMGW_LEAK_T", envSecret)
+
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	fp := filepath.Join(dir, "leak")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(fp, []byte(fileSecret+"\n"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("WriteFile: %v", err)
+	}
+	emptyFP := filepath.Join(dir, "empty")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(emptyFP, []byte(""), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("WriteFile: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	cases := []struct {
+		name string
+		in   string
+	}{
+		{"env success", "env:LLMGW_LEAK_T"},
+		{"env failure (unset)", "env:LLMGW_LEAK_MISSING"},
+		{"file success", "file:" + fp},
+		{"file failure (empty)", "file:" + emptyFP},
+		{"file failure (missing)", "file:" + fp + ".nope"},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			_, err := resolveSecret(c.in)
+			if err == nil {
+				return // success path: nothing was resolved, nothing to leak
+			}
+			for _, secret := range []string{envSecret, fileSecret} {
+				if strings.Contains(err.Error(), secret) {
+					t.Fatalf("error leaks secret value: %v", err)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}