diff --git a/hermes_cli/auth.py b/hermes_cli/auth.py
index 6752b65829f..8b154db7468 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/auth.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/auth.py
@@ -5312,6 +5312,107 @@ def _xai_oauth_build_authorize_url(
     return f"{authorization_endpoint}?{urlencode(authorize_params)}"
 
 
+def _xai_oauth_exchange_code_for_tokens(
+    *,
+    token_endpoint: str,
+    code: str,
+    redirect_uri: str,
+    code_verifier: str,
+    code_challenge: str,
+    timeout_seconds: float = 20.0,
+) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """POST the authorization code to xAI's token endpoint and return
+    the parsed JSON payload.
+
+    Sends ``code_verifier`` as required by RFC 7636 §4.5.  Also echoes
+    ``code_challenge`` + ``code_challenge_method`` in the request body
+    as a defense-in-depth measure for OAuth servers (xAI's among them,
+    per #26990) that re-validate the challenge at the token step
+    instead of relying solely on server-side session state captured
+    during the authorize step.  Echoing the challenge is harmless for
+    strict RFC-compliant servers — RFC 7636 doesn't forbid additional
+    parameters at the token endpoint — and decisively fixes the
+    ``code_challenge is required`` failure mode users hit on the
+    loopback flow.
+
+    Raises :class:`AuthError` on any non-2xx response or transport
+    failure; the error message embeds the HTTP status code and the
+    full response body so users can disambiguate cause at a glance.
+    """
+    # Paranoia: if upstream call sites ever drop ``code_verifier`` we
+    # want to surface a precise, local error rather than send a
+    # missing-PKCE request to xAI and receive their generic "code
+    # challenge required" message back.
+    if not code_verifier:
+        raise AuthError(
+            "xAI token exchange refused locally: PKCE code_verifier is empty. "
+            "This is a bug in Hermes — please report at "
+            "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/26990.",
+            provider="xai-oauth",
+            code="xai_pkce_verifier_missing",
+        )
+
+    data = {
+        "grant_type": "authorization_code",
+        "code": code,
+        "redirect_uri": redirect_uri,
+        "client_id": XAI_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID,
+        "code_verifier": code_verifier,
+    }
+    # Defense-in-depth: include the original ``code_challenge`` and
+    # ``code_challenge_method``.  Some OAuth servers (including xAI's
+    # auth.x.ai implementation, per the symptom reported in #26990)
+    # validate these at the token endpoint instead of relying purely on
+    # state captured during the authorize step — without them, xAI
+    # rejects the exchange with ``code_challenge is required`` even
+    # though we sent a valid ``code_verifier``.
+    if code_challenge:
+        data["code_challenge"] = code_challenge
+        data["code_challenge_method"] = "S256"
+
+    try:
+        response = httpx.post(
+            token_endpoint,
+            headers={
+                "Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded",
+                "Accept": "application/json",
+            },
+            data=data,
+            timeout=max(20.0, timeout_seconds),
+        )
+    except Exception as exc:
+        raise AuthError(
+            f"xAI token exchange failed: {exc}",
+            provider="xai-oauth",
+            code="xai_token_exchange_failed",
+        ) from exc
+
+    if response.status_code != 200:
+        body = response.text.strip()
+        raise AuthError(
+            f"xAI token exchange failed (HTTP {response.status_code})."
+            + (f" Response: {body}" if body else ""),
+            provider="xai-oauth",
+            code="xai_token_exchange_failed",
+        )
+
+    try:
+        payload = response.json()
+    except Exception as exc:
+        raise AuthError(
+            f"xAI token exchange returned invalid JSON: {exc}",
+            provider="xai-oauth",
+            code="xai_token_exchange_invalid",
+        ) from exc
+    if not isinstance(payload, dict):
+        raise AuthError(
+            "xAI token exchange response was not a JSON object.",
+            provider="xai-oauth",
+            code="xai_token_exchange_invalid",
+        )
+    return payload
+
+
 def _xai_oauth_loopback_login(
     *,
     timeout_seconds: float = 20.0,
@@ -5392,47 +5493,14 @@ def _xai_oauth_loopback_login(
             code="xai_code_missing",
         )
 
-    try:
-        response = httpx.post(
-            token_endpoint,
-            headers={"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded", "Accept": "application/json"},
-            data={
-                "grant_type": "authorization_code",
-                "code": code,
-                "redirect_uri": redirect_uri,
-                "client_id": XAI_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID,
-                "code_verifier": code_verifier,
-            },
-            timeout=max(20.0, timeout_seconds),
-        )
-    except Exception as exc:
-        raise AuthError(
-            f"xAI token exchange failed: {exc}",
-            provider="xai-oauth",
-            code="xai_token_exchange_failed",
-        ) from exc
-    if response.status_code != 200:
-        detail = response.text.strip()
-        raise AuthError(
-            "xAI token exchange failed."
-            + (f" Response: {detail}" if detail else ""),
-            provider="xai-oauth",
-            code="xai_token_exchange_failed",
-        )
-    try:
-        payload = response.json()
-    except Exception as exc:
-        raise AuthError(
-            f"xAI token exchange returned invalid JSON: {exc}",
-            provider="xai-oauth",
-            code="xai_token_exchange_invalid",
-        ) from exc
-    if not isinstance(payload, dict):
-        raise AuthError(
-            "xAI token exchange response was not a JSON object.",
-            provider="xai-oauth",
-            code="xai_token_exchange_invalid",
-        )
+    payload = _xai_oauth_exchange_code_for_tokens(
+        token_endpoint=token_endpoint,
+        code=code,
+        redirect_uri=redirect_uri,
+        code_verifier=code_verifier,
+        code_challenge=code_challenge,
+        timeout_seconds=timeout_seconds,
+    )
     access_token = str(payload.get("access_token", "") or "").strip()
     refresh_token = str(payload.get("refresh_token", "") or "").strip()
     if not access_token: