diff --git a/app/onchain/contracts/aid_escrow/src/lib.rs b/app/onchain/contracts/aid_escrow/src/lib.rs
index 846bf863..6437c0dc 100644
--- a/app/onchain/contracts/aid_escrow/src/lib.rs
+++ b/app/onchain/contracts/aid_escrow/src/lib.rs
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@ pub enum Error {
     TokenTransferFailed = 18,
     // Merkle allowlist root has expired (merkle_root_expires_at <= now)
     AllowlistExpired = 19,
+    ProofTooLarge = 20,
 }
 
 // --- Contract Events (indexer-friendly; stable topics & payloads) ---
@@ -807,6 +808,13 @@ impl AidEscrow {
         proof: Vec<String>,
     ) -> Result<(), Error> {
         Self::check_action_paused(&env, symbol_short!("claim"))?;
+
+        // --- ENFORCE MERKLE PROOF CAP ---
+        if proof.len() > 32 {
+            return Err(Error::ProofTooLarge);
+        }
+        // ---------------------------------
+
         let key = (symbol_short!("pkg"), id);
         let mut package: Package = env
             .storage()
diff --git a/app/onchain/contracts/aid_escrow/tests/aid_escrow_tests.rs b/app/onchain/contracts/aid_escrow/tests/aid_escrow_tests.rs
index 591395d3..e7b29212 100644
--- a/app/onchain/contracts/aid_escrow/tests/aid_escrow_tests.rs
+++ b/app/onchain/contracts/aid_escrow/tests/aid_escrow_tests.rs
@@ -643,3 +643,27 @@ mod token_decimal_normalization {
         assert!(result.is_ok());
     }
 }
+#[test]
+fn test_claim_with_proof_oversized_fails() {
+    let env = Env::default();
+    env.mock_all_auths();
+
+    // 1. Generate an oversized proof vector containing 33 elements (limit is 32)
+    let mut oversized_proof = Vec::new(&env);
+    for _ in 0..33 {
+        oversized_proof.push_back(soroban_sdk::String::from_str(&env, "a"));
+    }
+
+    // 2. Instantiate dummy variables for the invocation
+    let dummy_id = 1u64;
+    let dummy_claimant = Address::generate(&env);
+
+    // 3. Register the contract using the non-deprecated `.register` method
+    let contract_id = env.register(crate::AidEscrow, ());
+    let client = AidEscrowClient::new(&env, &contract_id);
+
+    // 4. Try the claim invocation and assert it rejects with our custom error
+    let result = client.try_claim_with_proof(&dummy_id, &dummy_claimant, &oversized_proof);
+
+    assert_eq!(result, Err(Ok(crate::Error::ProofTooLarge)));
+}