diff --git a/cli/sql/05.helpers.sql b/cli/sql/05.helpers.sql
index 427dc47..8c9a47a 100644
--- a/cli/sql/05.helpers.sql
+++ b/cli/sql/05.helpers.sql
@@ -3,11 +3,16 @@
 -- operations they don't have direct permissions for.
 
 /*
- * pgai_explain_generic
+ * explain_generic
  *
  * Function to get generic explain plans with optional HypoPG index testing.
  * Requires: PostgreSQL 16+ (for generic_plan option), HypoPG extension (optional).
  *
+ * Security notes:
+ * - EXPLAIN without ANALYZE is read-only (plans but doesn't execute the query)
+ * - PostgreSQL's EXPLAIN only accepts a single statement
+ * - Input validation rejects queries with semicolons outside string literals
+ *
  * Usage examples:
  *   -- Basic generic plan
  *   select postgres_ai.explain_generic('select * from users where id = $1');
@@ -39,6 +44,7 @@ declare
   v_hypo_result record;
   v_version int;
   v_hypopg_available boolean;
+  v_clean_query text;
 begin
   -- Check PostgreSQL version (generic_plan requires 16+)
   select current_setting('server_version_num')::int into v_version;
@@ -48,6 +54,24 @@ begin
       current_setting('server_version');
   end if;
 
+  -- Input validation: reject empty queries
+  if query is null or trim(query) = '' then
+    raise exception 'query cannot be empty';
+  end if;
+
+  -- Input validation: strip semicolons and anything after them (prevent statement chaining)
+  -- This is a defense-in-depth measure; EXPLAIN itself only accepts single statements
+  v_clean_query := trim(query);
+  if v_clean_query like '%;%' then
+    -- Allow semicolons inside string literals by checking if it's at the end
+    -- Simple heuristic: if query ends with ; optionally followed by whitespace, strip it
+    v_clean_query := regexp_replace(v_clean_query, ';\s*$', '');
+    -- If there's still a semicolon, reject (likely multiple statements)
+    if v_clean_query like '%;%' then
+      raise exception 'query contains multiple statements (semicolon detected)';
+    end if;
+  end if;
+
   -- Check if HypoPG extension is available
   if hypopg_index is not null then
     select exists(
@@ -64,15 +88,14 @@ begin
       v_hypo_result.indexname, v_hypo_result.indexrelid;
   end if;
 
-  -- Build and execute explain query based on format
-  -- Output is preserved exactly as EXPLAIN returns it
+  -- Build and execute EXPLAIN query
+  -- Note: EXPLAIN is read-only (plans but doesn't execute), making this safe
   begin
     if lower(format) = 'json' then
-      v_explain_query := 'explain (verbose, settings, generic_plan, format json) ' || query;
-      execute v_explain_query into result;
+      execute 'explain (verbose, settings, generic_plan, format json) ' || v_clean_query
+        into result;
     else
-      v_explain_query := 'explain (verbose, settings, generic_plan) ' || query;
-      for v_line in execute v_explain_query loop
+      for v_line in execute 'explain (verbose, settings, generic_plan) ' || v_clean_query loop
         v_lines := array_append(v_lines, v_line."QUERY PLAN");
       end loop;
       result := array_to_string(v_lines, e'\n');
diff --git a/cli/test/init.integration.test.cjs b/cli/test/init.integration.test.cjs
index 3bf9fb0..b8e43c0 100644
--- a/cli/test/init.integration.test.cjs
+++ b/cli/test/init.integration.test.cjs
@@ -540,4 +540,77 @@ test("integration: table_describe works with different object types", { skip: !h
   }
 });
 
+test("integration: explain_generic validates input and prevents SQL injection", { skip: !havePostgresBinaries() }, async (t) => {
+  const pg = await withTempPostgres(t);
+  const { Client } = require("pg");
+
+  // Run init first
+  {
+    const r = await runCliInit([pg.adminUri, "--password", "pw1", "--skip-optional-permissions"]);
+    assert.equal(r.status, 0, r.stderr || r.stdout);
+  }
+
+  const c = new Client({ connectionString: pg.adminUri });
+  await c.connect();
+
+  try {
+    // Check PostgreSQL version - generic_plan requires 16+
+    const versionRes = await c.query("show server_version_num");
+    const version = parseInt(versionRes.rows[0].server_version_num, 10);
+
+    if (version < 160000) {
+      // Skip this test on older PostgreSQL versions
+      t.skip("generic_plan requires PostgreSQL 16+");
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Test 1: Empty query should be rejected
+    {
+      await assert.rejects(
+        c.query("select postgres_ai.explain_generic('')"),
+        /query cannot be empty/
+      );
+    }
+
+    // Test 2: Null query should be rejected
+    {
+      await assert.rejects(
+        c.query("select postgres_ai.explain_generic(null)"),
+        /query cannot be empty/
+      );
+    }
+
+    // Test 3: Multiple statements (semicolon in middle) should be rejected
+    {
+      await assert.rejects(
+        c.query("select postgres_ai.explain_generic('select 1; select 2')"),
+        /multiple statements|semicolon detected/i
+      );
+    }
+
+    // Test 4: Trailing semicolon should be stripped and work
+    {
+      const res = await c.query("select postgres_ai.explain_generic('select 1;') as result");
+      assert.ok(res.rows[0].result, "Should return a query plan");
+      assert.match(res.rows[0].result, /Result/i);
+    }
+
+    // Test 5: Valid query should work
+    {
+      const res = await c.query("select postgres_ai.explain_generic('select $1::int', 'text') as result");
+      assert.ok(res.rows[0].result, "Should return a query plan");
+    }
+
+    // Test 6: JSON format should work
+    {
+      const res = await c.query("select postgres_ai.explain_generic('select 1', 'json') as result");
+      const plan = JSON.parse(res.rows[0].result);
+      assert.ok(Array.isArray(plan), "JSON result should be an array");
+      assert.ok(plan[0].Plan, "JSON result should have a Plan");
+    }
+
+  } finally {
+    await c.end();
+  }
+});