diff --git a/.github/workflows/bench.yaml b/.github/workflows/bench.yaml
index a12206b..ab3ec5f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bench.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bench.yaml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Run benchmarks 
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cla.yaml b/.github/workflows/cla.yaml
index c4f291e..88894fc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cla.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cla.yaml
@@ -5,14 +5,21 @@ on:
     types: [created]
   pull_request_target:
     types: [opened, closed, synchronize]
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      pr_number:
+        description: 'Pull request number to check'
+        required: true
+        type: number
 
 jobs:
   cla:
     name: Check CLA
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: github.actor != 'dependabot[bot]'
     steps:
       - name: CLA Assistant
-        if: (github.event.comment.body == 'recheck' || github.event.comment.body == 'I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA') || github.event_name == 'pull_request_target'
+        if: (github.event.comment.body == 'recheck' || github.event.comment.body == 'I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA') || github.event_name == 'pull_request_target' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
         uses: secondlife-3p/contributor-assistant@v2
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/llsd/base.py b/llsd/base.py
index e7204ca..676eb92 100644
--- a/llsd/base.py
+++ b/llsd/base.py
@@ -410,14 +410,24 @@ def _reset(self, something):
             # string is so large that the overhead of copying it into a
             # BytesIO is significant, advise caller to pass a stream instead.
             self._stream = io.BytesIO(something)
-        elif something.seekable():
-            # 'something' is already a seekable stream, use directly
-            self._stream = something
+        elif isinstance(something, io.IOBase):
+            # 'something' is a proper IO stream - must be seekable for parsing
+            if something.seekable():
+                self._stream = something
+            else:
+                raise LLSDParseError(
+                    "Cannot parse LLSD from non-seekable stream."
+                )
         else:
-            # 'something' isn't seekable, wrap in BufferedReader
-            # (let BufferedReader handle the problem of passing an
-            # inappropriate object)
-            self._stream = io.BufferedReader(something)
+            # Invalid input type - raise a clear error
+            # This catches MagicMock and other non-stream objects that might
+            # have read/seek attributes but aren't actual IO streams
+            raise LLSDParseError(
+                "Cannot parse LLSD from {0}. "
+                "Expected bytes or a file-like object (io.IOBase subclass).".format(
+                    type(something).__name__
+                )
+            )
 
     def starts_with(self, pattern):
         """
diff --git a/tests/llsd_test.py b/tests/llsd_test.py
index 073a974..c1900db 100644
--- a/tests/llsd_test.py
+++ b/tests/llsd_test.py
@@ -1977,3 +1977,59 @@ def test_uuid_map_key(self):
         self.assertEqual(llsd.format_notation(llsdmap), b"{'00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000':'uuid'}")
 
 
+@unittest.skipIf(PY2, "These tests require Python 3")
+class InvalidInputTypes(unittest.TestCase):
+    '''
+    Tests for handling invalid input types that should raise LLSDParseError
+    instead of hanging or consuming infinite memory.
+    '''
+
+    def test_parse_magicmock_raises_error(self):
+        '''
+        Parsing a MagicMock object should raise LLSDParseError, not hang.
+        This is a regression test for a bug where llsd.parse() would go into
+        an infinite loop when passed a MagicMock (e.g., from an improperly
+        mocked requests.Response.content).
+        '''
+        from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+        mock = MagicMock()
+        with self.assertRaises(llsd.LLSDParseError) as context:
+            llsd.parse(mock)
+        self.assertIn('MagicMock', str(context.exception))
+
+    def test_parse_string_raises_error(self):
+        '''
+        Parsing a string (not bytes) should raise LLSDParseError.
+        Only applies to Python 3 where str and bytes are distinct.
+        '''
+        with self.assertRaises(llsd.LLSDParseError) as context:
+            llsd.parse('not bytes')
+        self.assertIn('str', str(context.exception))
+
+    def test_parse_none_raises_error(self):
+        '''
+        Parsing None should raise LLSDParseError.
+        '''
+        with self.assertRaises(llsd.LLSDParseError) as context:
+            llsd.parse(None)
+        self.assertIn('NoneType', str(context.exception))
+
+    def test_parse_int_raises_error(self):
+        '''
+        Parsing an integer should raise LLSDParseError.
+        '''
+        with self.assertRaises(llsd.LLSDParseError) as context:
+            llsd.parse(42)
+        self.assertIn('int', str(context.exception))
+
+    def test_parse_non_seekable_stream_raises_error(self):
+        '''
+        Parsing a non-seekable stream should raise LLSDParseError.
+        '''
+        stream = io.BytesIO()
+        stream.seekable = lambda: False
+        with self.assertRaises(llsd.LLSDParseError) as context:
+            llsd.parse(stream)
+        self.assertIn('non-seekable', str(context.exception))
+
+