diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-cut.yml b/.github/workflows/release-cut.yml
index 730583e3404..25fe58d08aa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-cut.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-cut.yml
@@ -1644,8 +1644,41 @@ jobs:
           INNER_SIGNING_COMPLETED: ${{ steps.rebuild-nsis-signed.outcome == 'success' }}
         run: |
           $required = $env:ORCA_WINDOWS_INNER_SIGNATURE_REQUIRED -eq 'true'
+
+          # Why: a fail-open gate that writes nothing is indistinguishable from a
+          # gate that passed. Always leave a verdict in the evidence artifact and
+          # the job summary so a silent degradation is visible (#6487).
+          # Why best-effort: while warn-only, a disk-full or permission error
+          # writing the verdict must not become the thing that fails the release.
+          function Add-GateEvidence([string]$line) {
+            try {
+              Add-Content -Path 'inner-signing-evidence.txt' -Value "`n$line" -ErrorAction Stop
+            } catch {
+              Write-Host "::warning::Could not append to the inner-signing evidence file: $_"
+            }
+          }
+
+          function Add-GateSummary([string]$verdict) {
+            if (-not $env:GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY) { return }
+            try {
+              Add-Content -Path $env:GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY -Value "**Windows inner-binary signing:** $verdict" -ErrorAction Stop
+            } catch {
+              Write-Host "::warning::Could not write inner-signing verdict to the job summary: $_"
+            }
+          }
+
+          function Write-GateVerdict([string]$verdict) {
+            try {
+              Set-Content -Path 'inner-signing-evidence.txt' -Value $verdict -ErrorAction Stop
+            } catch {
+              Write-Host "::warning::Could not persist inner-signing verdict: $_"
+            }
+            Add-GateSummary $verdict
+          }
+
           if ($env:INNER_SIGNING_COMPLETED -ne 'true') {
             $message = 'Windows inner-binary signing did not complete; this release ships unsigned inner binaries (fail-open, issue #7785).'
+            Write-GateVerdict "NOT VERIFIED — $message"
             if ($required) { throw $message }
             Write-Host "::warning::$message"
             exit 0
@@ -1654,13 +1687,23 @@ jobs:
           # Why try/catch: while the gate is warn-only, even an unexpected
           # script error (extraction hiccup, missing file) must not block
           # the release — only the flip to required makes failures fatal.
+          # Why tracked separately: a required-mode signature failure must not be
+          # rewritten as ERRORED by the catch below, which would replace the
+          # per-file report with an exception string and lose the diagnostics.
+          $policyFailure = $null
+
           try {
             $report = New-Object System.Collections.Generic.List[string]
             $failures = New-Object System.Collections.Generic.List[string]
 
             # Why: verify the files a user actually gets on disk, not the build
             # tree — 7z parses the NSIS exe directly as its embedded payload.
-            $7za = 'node_modules/7zip-bin/win/x64/7za.exe'
+            # Resolve 7za via app-builder-lib; electron-builder 26.9+ dropped the
+            # bundled 7zip-bin package the old hardcoded path relied on (#6487).
+            $7za = (node config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.mjs).Trim()
+            if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0 -or -not (Test-Path $7za)) {
+              throw "Could not resolve a 7za executable for the inner-binary evidence gate: $7za"
+            }
             New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path inner-evidence-extract -Force | Out-Null
             & $7za x 'dist/orca-windows-setup.exe' '-oinner-evidence-extract' -y | Out-Null
 
@@ -1694,16 +1737,32 @@ jobs:
             if ($failures.Count -gt 0) {
               $failures | ForEach-Object { Write-Host "::warning::$_" }
               $message = "Windows inner-binary evidence gate found $($failures.Count) problems."
-              if ($required) { throw $message }
-              Write-Host "::warning::$message Fail-open until ORCA_WINDOWS_INNER_SIGNATURE_REQUIRED is 'true'."
+              # Why assigned before any I/O: a write that throws here would reach
+              # the catch with $policyFailure still null, so a required-mode
+              # signature failure would be re-reported as ERRORED and the per-file
+              # report overwritten — the exact masking the hoist exists to prevent.
+              if ($required) {
+                $policyFailure = $message
+              } else {
+                Write-Host "::warning::$message Fail-open until ORCA_WINDOWS_INNER_SIGNATURE_REQUIRED is 'true'."
+              }
+              Add-GateEvidence "VERDICT: FAILED — $message"
+              Add-GateSummary "FAILED — $message"
             } else {
-              Write-Host "All $($targets.Count) inner binaries in the shipped installer are signed by SignPath Foundation."
+              $ok = "All $($targets.Count) inner binaries in the shipped installer are signed by SignPath Foundation."
+              Add-GateEvidence "VERDICT: PASSED — $ok"
+              Add-GateSummary "PASSED — $ok"
+              Write-Host $ok
             }
           } catch {
+            Write-GateVerdict "ERRORED — $_"
             if ($required) { throw }
             Write-Host "::warning::Windows inner-binary evidence gate errored: $_ (fail-open, issue #7785)."
           }
 
+          # Outside the catch so the FAILED evidence report survives intact.
+          if ($policyFailure) { throw $policyFailure }
+
       - name: Upload Windows inner signing evidence
         if: always() && matrix.platform == 'win'
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
diff --git a/.github/workflows/windows-signing-rehearsal.yml b/.github/workflows/windows-signing-rehearsal.yml
index 4ca080d803d..8ffa9441f4f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/windows-signing-rehearsal.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/windows-signing-rehearsal.yml
@@ -325,7 +325,11 @@ jobs:
 
           # Extract the signed installer and verify the files a user actually
           # gets on disk — including the exact file from issue #7785.
-          $7za = 'node_modules/7zip-bin/win/x64/7za.exe'
+          # electron-builder 26.9+ removed the bundled 7zip-bin package (#6487).
+          $7za = (node config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.mjs).Trim()
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0 -or -not (Test-Path $7za)) {
+            throw "Could not resolve a 7za executable for the signing rehearsal: $7za"
+          }
           New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path extracted-app -Force | Out-Null
           & $7za x 'dist/orca-windows-setup.exe' '-oextracted-app' -y | Out-Null
 
diff --git a/config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.mjs b/config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7edf0f65a41
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+// Why: electron-builder 26.9+ dropped the bundled `7zip-bin` package in favour of a
+// toolset downloaded at build time, so the hardcoded `node_modules/7zip-bin/...` path
+// the release signing gates used silently stopped resolving (#6487).
+
+import { createRequire } from 'node:module'
+import { existsSync, statSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { resolve } from 'node:path'
+
+const require = createRequire(import.meta.url)
+
+// Why not existsSync: PowerShell's `Test-Path` is true for directories too, so a
+// override pointing at a folder would satisfy both checks and only fail later as
+// an opaque exec error inside the gate.
+function isFile(path) {
+  try {
+    return statSync(path).isFile()
+  } catch {
+    return false
+  }
+}
+
+// Legacy layout, still valid if a transitive dep reintroduces 7zip-bin. The
+// package ships `mac/`, not `darwin/`, and keeps a separate ia32 build.
+export function legacy7zaRelativePath(platform = process.platform, arch = process.arch) {
+  if (platform === 'win32') {
+    return ['node_modules', '7zip-bin', 'win', arch, '7za.exe']
+  }
+  const dir = platform === 'darwin' ? 'mac' : platform
+  return ['node_modules', '7zip-bin', dir, arch, '7za']
+}
+
+// app-builder-lib logs download progress to stdout, which would corrupt the
+// single-path contract the PowerShell gates parse. Divert it to stderr so a
+// cold toolset cache stays debuggable without breaking the caller.
+//
+// Why refcounted: patching `process.stdout.write` is process-global, so two
+// concurrent callers would each capture the other's patched function as their
+// "original" and the last `finally` would restore a diverting stub permanently.
+let stdoutDivertDepth = 0
+let originalStdoutWrite = null
+
+async function withStdoutDivertedToStderr(run) {
+  if (stdoutDivertDepth === 0) {
+    originalStdoutWrite = process.stdout.write
+    process.stdout.write = (chunk, encoding, callback) =>
+      process.stderr.write(chunk, encoding, callback)
+  }
+  stdoutDivertDepth += 1
+  try {
+    return await run()
+  } finally {
+    stdoutDivertDepth -= 1
+    if (stdoutDivertDepth === 0) {
+      process.stdout.write = originalStdoutWrite
+      originalStdoutWrite = null
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+export async function resolve7zaPath(projectDir = process.cwd()) {
+  const override = process.env.ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH
+  if (override && isFile(override)) {
+    return override
+  }
+
+  const legacy = resolve(projectDir, ...legacy7zaRelativePath())
+  if (isFile(legacy)) {
+    return legacy
+  }
+
+  // app-builder-lib reads the same env var and hard-fails on a stale value, so a
+  // dangling override must be cleared rather than passed through to the download.
+  const restoreOverride = override !== undefined
+  if (restoreOverride) {
+    delete process.env.ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH
+  }
+  try {
+    // The toolset is cached after the first download, so a release build has
+    // already paid this cost by the time the signing gate runs.
+    const { getPath7za } = require('app-builder-lib/out/toolsets/7zip.js')
+    const toolsetPath = await withStdoutDivertedToStderr(() => getPath7za())
+    if (!existsSync(toolsetPath)) {
+      throw new Error(`app-builder-lib returned a 7za path that does not exist: ${toolsetPath}`)
+    }
+    return toolsetPath
+  } finally {
+    if (restoreOverride) {
+      process.env.ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH = override
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+if (import.meta.filename === process.argv[1]) {
+  try {
+    process.stdout.write(`${await resolve7zaPath()}\n`)
+  } catch (error) {
+    process.stderr.write(`Could not resolve a 7za executable: ${error.message}\n`)
+    process.exit(1)
+  }
+}
diff --git a/config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.test.mjs b/config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e7b1eb40bce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process'
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, statSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { join, resolve } from 'node:path'
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+import { legacy7zaRelativePath, resolve7zaPath } from './resolve-7za-path.mjs'
+
+const projectRoot = resolve(import.meta.dirname, '../..')
+
+describe('7za path resolution for the Windows signing gates (#6487)', () => {
+  // Why fixtures: 7zip-bin@5.2.0 ships mac/{arm64,x64}, win/{arm64,ia32,x64}
+  // and linux/{arm,arm64,ia32,x64} — a `darwin/` or arch-collapsed guess
+  // resolves to nothing, which is how the gate degraded silently in the first place.
+  it.each([
+    ['darwin', 'arm64', 'mac/arm64/7za'],
+    ['darwin', 'x64', 'mac/x64/7za'],
+    ['win32', 'x64', 'win/x64/7za.exe'],
+    ['win32', 'ia32', 'win/ia32/7za.exe'],
+    ['win32', 'arm64', 'win/arm64/7za.exe'],
+    ['linux', 'x64', 'linux/x64/7za'],
+    ['linux', 'arm64', 'linux/arm64/7za']
+  ])('maps the %s/%s legacy layout to %s', (platform, arch, expected) => {
+    expect(legacy7zaRelativePath(platform, arch).join('/')).toBe(
+      `node_modules/7zip-bin/${expected}`
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('prefers a real legacy binary over the downloaded toolset', async () => {
+    // Only meaningful if a transitive dep reintroduces the package.
+    const legacy = join(projectRoot, ...legacy7zaRelativePath())
+    if (!existsSync(legacy)) {
+      return
+    }
+    await expect(resolve7zaPath(projectRoot)).resolves.toBe(legacy)
+  })
+
+  it('resolves an executable 7za that can extract an archive', async () => {
+    const path7za = await resolve7zaPath(projectRoot)
+    expect(existsSync(path7za)).toBe(true)
+
+    const scratch = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'orca 7za resolve '))
+    try {
+      const payloadDir = join(scratch, 'payload')
+      mkdirSync(payloadDir, { recursive: true })
+      writeFileSync(join(payloadDir, 'Orca.exe'), 'not-a-real-pe')
+
+      const archive = join(scratch, 'bundle.7z')
+      const created = spawnSync(path7za, ['a', archive, payloadDir], { encoding: 'utf8' })
+      expect(created.status).toBe(0)
+
+      const outDir = join(scratch, 'out')
+      const extracted = spawnSync(path7za, ['x', archive, `-o${outDir}`, '-y'], {
+        encoding: 'utf8'
+      })
+      expect(extracted.status).toBe(0)
+      expect(existsSync(join(outDir, 'payload', 'Orca.exe'))).toBe(true)
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(scratch, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
+  }, 120_000)
+
+  it('prefers an explicit ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH override', async () => {
+    const scratch = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'orca 7za override '))
+    const previous = process.env.ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH
+    try {
+      const fake = join(scratch, 'my7za')
+      writeFileSync(fake, '#!/bin/sh\n')
+      process.env.ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH = fake
+      await expect(resolve7zaPath(projectRoot)).resolves.toBe(fake)
+    } finally {
+      if (previous === undefined) {
+        delete process.env.ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH
+      } else {
+        process.env.ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH = previous
+      }
+      rmSync(scratch, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
+  })
+
+  // Why a directory and not a missing path: PowerShell's `Test-Path $7za` is true
+  // for directories, so a folder-valued override would clear both the resolver's
+  // check and the gate's, then fail as an opaque exec error mid-extraction.
+  it('ignores an override that points at a directory', async () => {
+    const scratch = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'orca 7za dir override '))
+    const previous = process.env.ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH
+    try {
+      process.env.ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH = scratch
+      const resolved = await resolve7zaPath(projectRoot)
+      expect(resolved).not.toBe(scratch)
+      expect(statSync(resolved).isFile()).toBe(true)
+    } finally {
+      if (previous === undefined) {
+        delete process.env.ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH
+      } else {
+        process.env.ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH = previous
+      }
+      rmSync(scratch, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
+  }, 120_000)
+
+  // Why concurrency: the stdout diversion patches a process-global function. A
+  // naive save/restore lets the first finisher reinstate a still-diverting stub
+  // as "the original", permanently swallowing stdout for the rest of the process.
+  it('restores stdout after concurrent resolutions', async () => {
+    const before = process.stdout.write
+    await Promise.all([
+      resolve7zaPath(projectRoot),
+      resolve7zaPath(projectRoot),
+      resolve7zaPath(projectRoot)
+    ])
+    expect(process.stdout.write).toBe(before)
+  }, 120_000)
+
+  // Why a subprocess: app-builder-lib memoises the resolved toolset, so an in-process
+  // assertion passes on the cached value even when a dangling override would abort a
+  // cold release runner.
+  it('ignores an override that points at a missing file, in a cold process', () => {
+    const dangling = join(tmpdir(), 'orca-7za-does-not-exist')
+    const result = spawnSync(process.execPath, ['config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.mjs'], {
+      cwd: projectRoot,
+      encoding: 'utf8',
+      env: { ...process.env, ELECTRON_BUILDER_7ZIP_PATH: dangling },
+      timeout: 120_000
+    })
+
+    expect(result.stderr ?? '').not.toContain('does not exist')
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0)
+    const resolved = result.stdout.trim()
+    expect(resolved).not.toBe(dangling)
+    expect(existsSync(resolved)).toBe(true)
+  }, 120_000)
+
+  it('prints exactly one clean line the PowerShell gate can consume', () => {
+    const result = spawnSync(process.execPath, ['config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.mjs'], {
+      cwd: projectRoot,
+      encoding: 'utf8',
+      timeout: 120_000
+    })
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0)
+    expect(result.stdout.trimEnd().split('\n')).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(existsSync(result.stdout.trim())).toBe(true)
+  }, 120_000)
+
+  // Why a cold cache with VITEST unset: app-builder-lib prints download
+  // progress to stdout, and builder-util suppresses that logging under Vitest —
+  // so an inherited VITEST makes this exact failure invisible. `$7za = (node
+  // ...).Trim()` would otherwise receive two lines and the gate would break on
+  // any runner whose toolset cache was evicted or repaired.
+  it('keeps stdout to one path even when the toolset cache is cold', () => {
+    const cache = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'orca 7za cold cache '))
+    try {
+      const { VITEST: _vitest, ...envWithoutVitest } = process.env
+      const result = spawnSync(process.execPath, ['config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.mjs'], {
+        cwd: projectRoot,
+        encoding: 'utf8',
+        env: { ...envWithoutVitest, ELECTRON_BUILDER_CACHE: cache },
+        timeout: 300_000
+      })
+
+      expect(result.status).toBe(0)
+      const lines = result.stdout.trimEnd().split('\n')
+      expect(lines).toHaveLength(1)
+      expect(existsSync(lines[0])).toBe(true)
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(cache, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
+  }, 300_000)
+})
diff --git a/config/scripts/windows-signing-gate-toolset.test.mjs b/config/scripts/windows-signing-gate-toolset.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..38de8182a1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/scripts/windows-signing-gate-toolset.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { join, resolve } from 'node:path'
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+// Why: the inner-binary signing gate silently degraded for four releases because it
+// shelled out to a hardcoded `node_modules/7zip-bin/...` path that electron-builder
+// 26.9+ no longer installs. Pin both workflows to the resolver instead (#6487).
+
+const workflowsDir = resolve(import.meta.dirname, '../..', '.github', 'workflows')
+
+const GATED_WORKFLOWS = ['release-cut.yml', 'windows-signing-rehearsal.yml']
+
+function workflowSource(name) {
+  return readFileSync(join(workflowsDir, name), 'utf8')
+}
+
+// Why a scanner and not a regex: PowerShell here-docs in these gates contain
+// braces inside strings (`"{0,-14} {1}  <{2}>" -f ...`) and inside comments, so
+// naive brace counting mis-pairs and every scope assertion below silently
+// degrades into "some text appears somewhere in the file".
+function findBlockEnd(source, openIndex) {
+  let depth = 0
+  let i = openIndex
+  while (i < source.length) {
+    const char = source[i]
+    if (char === '#') {
+      const newline = source.indexOf('\n', i)
+      i = newline === -1 ? source.length : newline
+      continue
+    }
+    if (char === "'") {
+      const end = source.indexOf("'", i + 1)
+      i = end === -1 ? source.length : end + 1
+      continue
+    }
+    if (char === '"') {
+      i += 1
+      while (i < source.length && source[i] !== '"') {
+        i += source[i] === '`' ? 2 : 1
+      }
+      i += 1
+      continue
+    }
+    if (char === '{') {
+      depth += 1
+    } else if (char === '}') {
+      depth -= 1
+      if (depth === 0) {
+        return i
+      }
+    }
+    i += 1
+  }
+  throw new Error(`unbalanced block starting at ${openIndex}`)
+}
+
+/** The `{ ... }` block that opens after `marker`, as `{ start, end, body }`. */
+function blockAfter(source, marker, from = 0) {
+  const markerIndex = source.indexOf(marker, from)
+  expect(markerIndex, `missing marker: ${marker}`).toBeGreaterThan(-1)
+  const start = source.indexOf('{', markerIndex)
+  expect(start, `no block opens after: ${marker}`).toBeGreaterThan(-1)
+  const end = findBlockEnd(source, start)
+  return { start, end, body: source.slice(start, end + 1) }
+}
+
+describe('Windows signing gates resolve 7za through the toolset resolver (#6487)', () => {
+  for (const name of GATED_WORKFLOWS) {
+    it(`${name} does not hardcode the removed 7zip-bin path`, () => {
+      expect(workflowSource(name)).not.toContain('node_modules/7zip-bin')
+    })
+
+    it(`${name} resolves 7za via resolve-7za-path.mjs`, () => {
+      expect(workflowSource(name)).toContain('node config/scripts/resolve-7za-path.mjs')
+    })
+
+    // Why scope-checked: downgrading this `throw` to a `Write-Host` warning
+    // restores the original silent fail-open — the gate extracts nothing, finds
+    // no files, and reports success. A `toContain` on the guard condition alone
+    // does not notice.
+    it(`${name} aborts the gate when 7za cannot be resolved`, () => {
+      const source = workflowSource(name)
+      const guard = blockAfter(source, '$LASTEXITCODE -ne 0 -or -not (Test-Path $7za)')
+      expect(guard.body).toMatch(/\bthrow\b/)
+    })
+  }
+
+  // Why sliced to one step: release-cut.yml runs several PowerShell gates that
+  // share idioms (`$failures`, `} catch {`), so a whole-file search silently
+  // asserts against the wrong block.
+  function innerBinaryStep() {
+    const source = workflowSource('release-cut.yml')
+    const start = source.indexOf('- name: Verify Windows inner binary signatures')
+    expect(start).toBeGreaterThan(-1)
+    const end = source.indexOf('\n      - name:', start + 1)
+    expect(end).toBeGreaterThan(start)
+    return source.slice(start, end)
+  }
+
+  // Why parse the function body rather than grep the file: asserting that the
+  // string 'Write-GateVerdict' appears somewhere passes even if the body is
+  // gutted to a Write-Host, which is exactly the silent degradation this gate
+  // exists to prevent.
+  function gateVerdictFunctionBody() {
+    return blockAfter(innerBinaryStep(), 'function Write-GateVerdict').body
+  }
+
+  it('persists the verdict to the evidence file the artifact upload collects', () => {
+    const body = gateVerdictFunctionBody()
+    expect(body).toMatch(/Set-Content\s+-Path\s+'inner-signing-evidence\.txt'/)
+    expect(body).toContain('Add-GateSummary')
+  })
+
+  it('never lets verdict persistence itself fail a warn-only release', () => {
+    // Every persistence helper is best-effort: a disk-full or read-only runner
+    // must not turn evidence-writing into the thing that fails the release.
+    const step = innerBinaryStep()
+    for (const helper of ['function Add-GateEvidence', 'function Add-GateSummary']) {
+      const body = blockAfter(step, helper).body
+      expect(body, helper).toContain('-ErrorAction Stop')
+      expect(body, helper).toMatch(/\bcatch\b/)
+    }
+    expect(gateVerdictFunctionBody()).toMatch(/\bcatch\b/)
+  })
+
+  it('records a verdict on every terminal branch of the gate', () => {
+    const step = innerBinaryStep()
+    for (const verdict of ['NOT VERIFIED', 'ERRORED', 'VERDICT: FAILED', 'VERDICT: PASSED']) {
+      expect(step).toContain(verdict)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('throws a required-mode signature failure outside the catch that would mask it', () => {
+    // Why: throwing inside `try` re-enters the catch, whose Set-Content
+    // replaces the per-file report with "ERRORED — <exception>".
+    const step = innerBinaryStep()
+    const policyThrow = step.indexOf('if ($policyFailure) { throw $policyFailure }')
+    expect(policyThrow).toBeGreaterThan(-1)
+    const catchBlock = blockAfter(step, '} catch {')
+    expect(policyThrow).toBeGreaterThan(catchBlock.end)
+  })
+
+  // Why: the assignment is what survives a write failure. With it after the
+  // evidence/summary writes, a throwing Add-Content lands in the catch with
+  // $policyFailure still null — required mode reports ERRORED and overwrites the
+  // per-file report, reintroducing exactly the loss the hoist prevents.
+  it('records the required-mode failure before attempting any evidence write', () => {
+    const branch = blockAfter(innerBinaryStep(), 'if ($failures.Count -gt 0)').body
+    const assignment = branch.indexOf('$policyFailure = $message')
+    expect(assignment).toBeGreaterThan(-1)
+    for (const write of ['Add-GateEvidence', 'Add-GateSummary']) {
+      expect(branch.indexOf(write), write).toBeGreaterThan(assignment)
+    }
+  })
+})