diff --git a/metrics/utils/metrics.go b/metrics/utils/metrics.go
index 99e3b83b0..cb0b98eeb 100644
--- a/metrics/utils/metrics.go
+++ b/metrics/utils/metrics.go
@@ -69,12 +69,16 @@ func StartMetricCollectionAndExport(ctx *cli.Context) {
 			pClient := prometheusmetrics.NewPrometheusProvider(metrics.DefaultRegistry, MetricNamespace,
 				"", prometheus.DefaultRegisterer, metricsCollectionInterval)
 			go pClient.UpdatePrometheusMetrics()
-			http.Handle("/metrics", promhttp.Handler())
+
+			// Use a private mux, not http.DefaultServeMux, so net/http/pprof's
+			// globally-registered /debug/pprof/* is not exposed on this port.
+			mux := http.NewServeMux()
+			mux.Handle("/metrics", promhttp.Handler())
 			port := ctx.Int(PrometheusExporterPortFlag)
 
+			server := &http.Server{Addr: fmt.Sprintf(":%d", port), Handler: mux}
 			go func() {
-				err := http.ListenAndServe(fmt.Sprintf(":%d", port), nil)
-				if err != nil {
+				if err := server.ListenAndServe(); err != nil && err != http.ErrServerClosed {
 					logger.Error("PrometheusExporter starting failed:", "port", port, "err", err)
 				}
 			}()
diff --git a/metrics/utils/metrics_test.go b/metrics/utils/metrics_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..355307d20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/metrics/utils/metrics_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+// Copyright 2026 The Kaia Authors
+// This file is part of the Kaia library.
+//
+// The Kaia library is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// The Kaia library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+// GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+// along with the Kaia library. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package metricutils
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"flag"
+	"fmt"
+	"net"
+	"net/http"
+	_ "net/http/pprof" // registers /debug/pprof/* on http.DefaultServeMux, like the node binaries
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"github.com/urfave/cli/v2"
+)
+
+// freePort returns an ephemeral TCP port that is free at call time.
+func freePort(t *testing.T) int {
+	t.Helper()
+	var lc net.ListenConfig
+	l, err := lc.Listen(context.Background(), "tcp", "127.0.0.1:0")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	port := l.Addr().(*net.TCPAddr).Port
+	require.NoError(t, l.Close())
+	return port
+}
+
+// httpGet issues a context-aware GET and returns the response.
+func httpGet(url string) (*http.Response, error) {
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(context.Background(), http.MethodGet, url, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
+}
+
+func newExporterCtx(port int) *cli.Context {
+	set := flag.NewFlagSet("test", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	set.Int(PrometheusExporterPortFlag, port, "")
+	return cli.NewContext(cli.NewApp(), set, nil)
+}
+
+// TestPrometheusExporterDoesNotExposePprof checks that the exporter serves
+// /metrics but not net/http/pprof's /debug/pprof/*, guarding against a regression
+// to a nil (DefaultServeMux) handler that would leak them on the Prometheus port.
+func TestPrometheusExporterDoesNotExposePprof(t *testing.T) {
+	// Enabled/EnabledPrometheusExport are normally set by init() from os.Args.
+	prevEnabled, prevExport := Enabled, EnabledPrometheusExport
+	Enabled, EnabledPrometheusExport = true, true
+	t.Cleanup(func() { Enabled, EnabledPrometheusExport = prevEnabled, prevExport })
+
+	port := freePort(t)
+	StartMetricCollectionAndExport(newExporterCtx(port))
+
+	base := fmt.Sprintf("http://127.0.0.1:%d", port)
+
+	// Wait for the listener to come up.
+	require.Eventually(t, func() bool {
+		resp, err := httpGet(base + "/metrics")
+		if err != nil {
+			return false
+		}
+		resp.Body.Close()
+		return resp.StatusCode == http.StatusOK
+	}, 5*time.Second, 20*time.Millisecond, "/metrics never became reachable")
+
+	cases := []struct {
+		path string
+		want int
+	}{
+		{"/metrics", http.StatusOK},
+		{"/debug/pprof/", http.StatusNotFound},
+		{"/debug/pprof/cmdline", http.StatusNotFound},
+		{"/debug/pprof/goroutine", http.StatusNotFound},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		resp, err := httpGet(base + tc.path)
+		require.NoError(t, err, tc.path)
+		resp.Body.Close()
+		assert.Equal(t, tc.want, resp.StatusCode, "unexpected status for %s", tc.path)
+	}
+}