diff --git a/codex-rs/config/src/hook_config.rs b/codex-rs/config/src/hook_config.rs
index eee66896a..a7ee820e6 100644
--- a/codex-rs/config/src/hook_config.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/config/src/hook_config.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ use serde::Deserialize;
 use serde::Serialize;
 
 #[derive(Debug, Default, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize, JsonSchema)]
+#[serde(deny_unknown_fields)]
 pub struct HooksFile {
     #[serde(default)]
     pub hooks: HookEventsToml,
diff --git a/codex-rs/config/src/hooks_tests.rs b/codex-rs/config/src/hooks_tests.rs
index 915bec7d0..a2eb2d232 100644
--- a/codex-rs/config/src/hooks_tests.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/config/src/hooks_tests.rs
@@ -52,6 +52,30 @@ fn hooks_file_deserializes_existing_json_shape() {
     );
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn hooks_file_rejects_events_outside_hooks_object() {
+    let error = serde_json::from_str::<HooksFile>(
+        r#"{
+  "SessionStart": [
+    {
+      "hooks": [
+        {
+          "type": "command",
+          "command": "python3 /tmp/session_start.py"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  ]
+}"#,
+    )
+    .expect_err("root-level hook events should be rejected");
+
+    assert!(
+        error.to_string().contains("unknown field `SessionStart`"),
+        "unexpected parse error: {error}"
+    );
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn hook_events_deserialize_from_toml_arrays_of_tables() {
     let parsed: HookEventsToml = toml::from_str(
diff --git a/codex-rs/hooks/src/engine/mod_tests.rs b/codex-rs/hooks/src/engine/mod_tests.rs
index d5b34b3f4..544c67e7c 100644
--- a/codex-rs/hooks/src/engine/mod_tests.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/hooks/src/engine/mod_tests.rs
@@ -1225,6 +1225,62 @@ fn profile_user_layers_load_shared_hooks_json_once() {
     assert_eq!(listed.hooks[0].source_path, hooks_json_path);
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn malformed_hooks_json_is_reported_as_startup_warning() {
+    let temp = tempdir().expect("create temp dir");
+    let config_path =
+        AbsolutePathBuf::try_from(temp.path().join("config.toml")).expect("absolute config path");
+    let hooks_json_path =
+        AbsolutePathBuf::try_from(temp.path().join("hooks.json")).expect("absolute hooks path");
+    fs::write(
+        hooks_json_path.as_path(),
+        r#"{
+          "SessionStart": [
+            {
+              "hooks": [
+                {
+                  "type": "command",
+                  "command": "python3 /tmp/session-start.py"
+                }
+              ]
+            }
+          ]
+        }"#,
+    )
+    .expect("write hooks.json");
+    let config_layer_stack = ConfigLayerStack::new(
+        vec![ConfigLayerEntry::new(
+            ConfigLayerSource::System { file: config_path },
+            TomlValue::Table(Default::default()),
+        )],
+        ConfigRequirements::default(),
+        ConfigRequirementsToml::default(),
+    )
+    .expect("config layer stack");
+
+    let engine = ClaudeHooksEngine::new(
+        /*enabled*/ true,
+        /*bypass_hook_trust*/ false,
+        Some(&config_layer_stack),
+        Vec::new(),
+        Vec::new(),
+        CommandShell {
+            program: String::new(),
+            args: Vec::new(),
+        },
+    );
+
+    assert!(engine.handlers.is_empty());
+    assert_eq!(engine.warnings().len(), 1);
+    assert!(engine.warnings()[0].contains("failed to parse hooks config"));
+    assert!(
+        engine.warnings()[0].contains(&hooks_json_path.display().to_string()),
+        "warning should identify the malformed file: {}",
+        engine.warnings()[0]
+    );
+    assert!(engine.warnings()[0].contains("unknown field `SessionStart`"));
+}
+
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn plugin_hook_sources_run_with_plugin_env_and_plugin_source() {
     let temp = tempdir().expect("create temp dir");