diff --git a/backend/app/auth.py b/backend/app/auth.py
index d6ceb5b..720563d 100644
--- a/backend/app/auth.py
+++ b/backend/app/auth.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import logging
 from functools import lru_cache
 from typing import Any, Dict, Optional
 from urllib.parse import urljoin
@@ -9,6 +10,8 @@ from jose import JWTError, jwk, jwt
 from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, HttpUrl
 from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 security = HTTPBearer(auto_error=False)
 
 class Settings(BaseSettings):
@@ -75,15 +78,48 @@ def get_signing_key(token: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
 
     raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Unable to find matching JWKS key")
 
+@lru_cache(maxsize=1)
+def get_introspection_endpoint() -> Optional[str]:
+    discovery = get_discovery()
+    return discovery.get("introspection_endpoint")
+
+def introspect_token(token: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    introspection_endpoint = get_introspection_endpoint()
+    if not introspection_endpoint:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Unable to introspect token")
+
+    data = {"token": token, "token_type_hint": "access_token"}
+    auth = None
+    if settings.oidc_client_secret:
+        auth = (settings.oidc_client_id, settings.oidc_client_secret)
+    else:
+        data["client_id"] = settings.oidc_client_id
+
+    with httpx.Client(timeout=10.0) as client:
+        response = client.post(introspection_endpoint, data=data, headers={"Accept": "application/json"}, auth=auth)
+
+    if response.status_code != 200:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Unable to introspect token")
+
+    introspection = response.json()
+    if not introspection.get("active"):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Invalid or expired token")
+
+    discovery = get_discovery()
+    if "iss" not in introspection:
+        introspection["iss"] = discovery.get("issuer")
+
+    return introspection
+
 async def validate_token(credentials: HTTPAuthorizationCredentials = Security(security)) -> TokenClaims:
     if not credentials or credentials.scheme.lower() != "bearer":
         raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Missing Bearer authorization header")
 
     token = credentials.credentials
-    key = get_signing_key(token)
-    public_key = jwk.construct(key)
-    discovery = get_discovery()
     try:
+        key = get_signing_key(token)
+        public_key = jwk.construct(key)
+        discovery = get_discovery()
         # Only pass `audience` to the decoder if configured. Some providers
         # (or local development setups) may not include the aud claim in a
         # way that matches your API identifier; in that case leave
@@ -96,8 +132,14 @@ async def validate_token(credentials: HTTPAuthorizationCredentials = Security(se
             jwt_kwargs["audience"] = settings.oidc_audience
 
         verified = jwt.decode(token, public_key, **jwt_kwargs)
-    except JWTError as exc:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Invalid or expired token") from exc
+    except JWTError:
+        logger.exception("JWT validation failed, attempting introspection")
+        verified = introspect_token(token)
+
+    try:
+        return TokenClaims(**verified)
+    except Exception as exc:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Unable to parse token claims") from exc
 
     try:
         return TokenClaims(**verified)