diff --git a/internal/web/render/render.go b/internal/web/render/render.go
index b4f2e14e..b9a02414 100644
--- a/internal/web/render/render.go
+++ b/internal/web/render/render.go
@@ -245,12 +245,25 @@ func (r *Renderer) RenderPage(w io.Writer, req *http.Request, name string, data
 
 // HTTPError writes an error page with the appropriate status code. If the
 // named error template doesn't exist a plain-text fallback is written.
+//
+// CX1: when callers pass an empty `message` (the common case — see the
+// many `HTTPError(w, r, 404, "")` callsites), fall back to the request
+// path so the rendered template ("The page `<X>` doesn't exist...")
+// names the URL the user tried to reach instead of "The page “ doesn't
+// exist..." Most useful for the post-login redirect → 404 path, where
+// users hit a deleted-repo URL and the page text was previously
+// uninformative. We use the path (not the full URL) to keep query
+// strings — which may carry sensitive tokens — out of the rendered page.
 func (r *Renderer) HTTPError(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request, status int, message string) {
 	pageName := errorPageFor(status)
 	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8")
 	w.Header().Set("Cache-Control", "no-store")
 	w.WriteHeader(status)
 
+	if message == "" && req != nil {
+		message = req.URL.Path
+	}
+
 	data := struct {
 		Title      string
 		Status     int
@@ -265,8 +278,13 @@ func (r *Renderer) HTTPError(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request, status in
 		RequestID:  middleware.RequestIDFromContext(req.Context()),
 	}
 	if err := r.Render(w, pageName, data); err != nil {
+		// Content-Type was already set to text/html above and headers
+		// are flushed by the time we hit this fallback, so escape the
+		// user-controllable bits (message, request_id) before writing.
 		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "%d %s\n%s\n(request_id=%s)\n",
-			status, http.StatusText(status), message, data.RequestID)
+			status, http.StatusText(status),
+			template.HTMLEscapeString(message),
+			template.HTMLEscapeString(data.RequestID))
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/web/render/render_test.go b/internal/web/render/render_test.go
index a9a7dc3c..e5dbc137 100644
--- a/internal/web/render/render_test.go
+++ b/internal/web/render/render_test.go
@@ -248,6 +248,91 @@ func TestNew_AcceptsRefsResolvedByPartials(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// CX1: when a caller passes an empty message to HTTPError (the dominant
+// pattern at 404 sites — `HTTPError(w, r, 404, "")`), the renderer falls
+// back to the request path so the rendered "page `<X>` doesn't exist"
+// message names the URL the user tried to reach. The pre-fix behavior
+// rendered "page “ doesn't exist", a dead-end for users redirected to
+// a deleted repo after login.
+func TestHTTPError_EmptyMessageFallsBackToRequestPath(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	fsys := fstest.MapFS{
+		"_layout.html": &fstest.MapFile{Data: []byte(
+			`{{ define "layout" }}{{ template "body" . }}{{ end }}`,
+		)},
+		"errors/404.html": &fstest.MapFile{Data: []byte(
+			`{{ define "body" }}missing: {{ .Message }}{{ end }}`,
+		)},
+	}
+	r, err := New(fsys, Options{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("New: %v", err)
+	}
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/octocat/hello-world", nil)
+	rw := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	r.HTTPError(rw, req, 404, "")
+	if !strings.Contains(rw.Body.String(), "missing: /octocat/hello-world") {
+		t.Errorf("empty message should fall back to req.URL.Path; body=%q", rw.Body.String())
+	}
+}
+
+// HTTPError must not leak query strings into the rendered page — they
+// can carry session tokens (e.g. ?return_to=...&token=...). Only the
+// path falls back.
+func TestHTTPError_FallbackOmitsQueryString(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	fsys := fstest.MapFS{
+		"_layout.html": &fstest.MapFile{Data: []byte(
+			`{{ define "layout" }}{{ template "body" . }}{{ end }}`,
+		)},
+		"errors/404.html": &fstest.MapFile{Data: []byte(
+			`{{ define "body" }}missing: {{ .Message }}{{ end }}`,
+		)},
+	}
+	r, err := New(fsys, Options{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("New: %v", err)
+	}
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/octocat/hello-world?token=secret", nil)
+	rw := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	r.HTTPError(rw, req, 404, "")
+	body := rw.Body.String()
+	if !strings.Contains(body, "/octocat/hello-world") {
+		t.Errorf("path missing from fallback; body=%q", body)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(body, "secret") || strings.Contains(body, "token=") {
+		t.Errorf("query string leaked into rendered page; body=%q", body)
+	}
+}
+
+// Explicit non-empty messages are preserved verbatim — the fallback
+// only triggers when the caller didn't supply one.
+func TestHTTPError_ExplicitMessageWins(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	fsys := fstest.MapFS{
+		"_layout.html": &fstest.MapFile{Data: []byte(
+			`{{ define "layout" }}{{ template "body" . }}{{ end }}`,
+		)},
+		"errors/404.html": &fstest.MapFile{Data: []byte(
+			`{{ define "body" }}missing: {{ .Message }}{{ end }}`,
+		)},
+	}
+	r, err := New(fsys, Options{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("New: %v", err)
+	}
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/some/path", nil)
+	rw := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	r.HTTPError(rw, req, 404, "custom message")
+	body := rw.Body.String()
+	if !strings.Contains(body, "missing: custom message") {
+		t.Errorf("explicit message not rendered; body=%q", body)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(body, "/some/path") {
+		t.Errorf("explicit message should suppress path fallback; body=%q", body)
+	}
+}
+
 // RenderPage preserves any Viewer / CSRFToken the handler set itself,
 // rather than overwriting them. The auto-inject is for handlers that
 // hand RenderPage an empty map; explicit handlers stay in control.