diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 4b0285b..1985e5d 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1365,10 +1365,13 @@ dependencies = [
  "axum",
  "bytes",
  "chrono",
+ "hmac",
  "object_store",
+ "parquet 55.2.0",
  "proto",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
+ "sha2",
  "shared",
  "storaged",
  "tokio",
diff --git a/crates/catalogd/src/audit_endpoint.rs b/crates/catalogd/src/audit_endpoint.rs
index 9fc9324..7847434 100644
--- a/crates/catalogd/src/audit_endpoint.rs
+++ b/crates/catalogd/src/audit_endpoint.rs
@@ -69,9 +69,13 @@ impl AuditEndpointState {
                         legal_token_path.display()
                     );
                     None
-                } else if trimmed.len() < 16 {
+                } else if trimmed.len() < 32 {
+                    // 2026-05-03 kimi scrum BLOCK at audit_endpoint.rs:59-60:
+                    // 16-byte minimum was too permissive for a legal-tier
+                    // secret. Aligned to the SubjectAuditWriter signing-key
+                    // minimum (32 bytes — HMAC-SHA256 best practice).
                     tracing::warn!(
-                        "audit endpoint: legal token at {} is {} chars (recommend ≥32) — endpoint will 503",
+                        "audit endpoint: legal token at {} is {} chars (minimum 32) — endpoint will 503",
                         legal_token_path.display(), trimmed.len()
                     );
                     None
@@ -228,19 +232,38 @@ async fn audit_subject(
     };
 
     // 3. Verify chain end-to-end (full log, not just the windowed slice;
-    //    chain integrity is global, not per-window).
+    //    chain integrity is global, not per-window). chain_root MUST
+    //    come from the actual log tip — taking it from the windowed
+    //    `rows` would lie when `to` is set or the window catches no
+    //    rows. (2026-05-03 opus scrum WARN audit_endpoint.rs:206.)
     let (chain_verified, chain_rows_total, chain_root, chain_err) =
         match state.writer.verify_chain(&candidate_id).await {
             Ok(n) => {
-                // Find the latest row's hmac as chain_root for echo.
-                let root = rows.last()
-                    .map(|r| r.row_hmac.clone())
+                let tip = state.writer.chain_tip(&candidate_id).await
                     .unwrap_or_else(|| "GENESIS".into());
-                (true, n, root, None)
+                (true, n, tip, None)
             }
             Err(e) => (false, 0, String::new(), Some(e)),
         };
 
+    // 4. Tampering detection: if the manifest claims a non-trivial
+    //    chain root but the log is empty (chain_rows_total == 0), the
+    //    log was deleted between writes. Flag it. (2026-05-03 opus
+    //    scrum WARN subject_audit.rs:347 + audit_endpoint coverage.)
+    let manifest_root = manifest.audit_log_chain_root.clone();
+    let log_was_tampered = chain_verified
+        && chain_rows_total == 0
+        && !manifest_root.is_empty()
+        && manifest_root != "GENESIS";
+    let (chain_verified, chain_err) = if log_was_tampered {
+        (false, Some(format!(
+            "manifest expects chain root '{}' but the audit log has 0 rows; log was deleted or wiped",
+            manifest_root,
+        )))
+    } else {
+        (chain_verified, chain_err)
+    };
+
     let datasets_referenced = manifest.datasets.iter()
         .map(|d| DatasetRefEcho {
             name: d.name.clone(),
diff --git a/crates/catalogd/src/registry.rs b/crates/catalogd/src/registry.rs
index c4f261c..ad07538 100644
--- a/crates/catalogd/src/registry.rs
+++ b/crates/catalogd/src/registry.rs
@@ -202,6 +202,20 @@ impl Registry {
                 // so get_subject lookups match the storage key shape.
                 Ok(subj) => {
                     let map_key = sanitize_view_name(&subj.candidate_id);
+                    // Rebuild collision detection — symmetric with the
+                    // put_subject collision guard. If pre-existing storage
+                    // somehow contains two manifests whose raw ids
+                    // sanitize to the same key, log loudly so operators
+                    // know one was dropped instead of silently losing it.
+                    // (2026-05-03 opus scrum WARN registry.rs:201.)
+                    if let Some(existing) = subjects.get(&map_key) {
+                        if existing.candidate_id != subj.candidate_id {
+                            tracing::warn!(
+                                "subject rebuild collision on sanitized key '{map_key}': raw '{}' was loaded earlier; raw '{}' is being silently overwritten in memory. Run dedupe + delete the duplicate manifest file at storage.",
+                                existing.candidate_id, subj.candidate_id,
+                            );
+                        }
+                    }
                     subjects.insert(map_key, subj);
                 }
                 Err(e) => tracing::warn!("subject '{key}': parse failed: {e}"),
diff --git a/crates/catalogd/src/subject_audit.rs b/crates/catalogd/src/subject_audit.rs
index a106c14..db505c6 100644
--- a/crates/catalogd/src/subject_audit.rs
+++ b/crates/catalogd/src/subject_audit.rs
@@ -330,6 +330,27 @@ impl SubjectAuditWriter {
         Ok(out)
     }
 
+    /// Return the latest row_hmac in this subject's audit log, or None
+    /// if the log doesn't exist / has no rows. Cache-aware: hits the
+    /// in-memory cache when the writer has appended at least once for
+    /// this subject in the current process, otherwise scans the log
+    /// tail (single object_store read).
+    ///
+    /// Used by /audit/subject/{id} to echo the actual chain tip in the
+    /// response. Taking the tip from a windowed slice of rows would
+    /// lie when the window doesn't cover the latest row.
+    pub async fn chain_tip(&self, candidate_id: &str) -> Option<String> {
+        // Cache hit?
+        if let Some(h) = self.latest_hash.lock().await.get(candidate_id).cloned() {
+            return Some(h);
+        }
+        // Cold path — scan the log tail. Returns GENESIS for empty/missing
+        // logs; we coerce that to None so callers can distinguish "no audit
+        // activity yet" from "real chain tip exists".
+        let tip = self.scan_latest_hash(candidate_id).await;
+        if tip == GENESIS_HASH { None } else { Some(tip) }
+    }
+
     /// Verify the full HMAC chain for a subject. Returns Ok(rows_verified)
     /// or Err with the first chain break encountered.
     ///
diff --git a/crates/gateway/src/execution_loop/mod.rs b/crates/gateway/src/execution_loop/mod.rs
index 22ee3fc..b570544 100644
--- a/crates/gateway/src/execution_loop/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/gateway/src/execution_loop/mod.rs
@@ -1070,15 +1070,29 @@ async fn append_outcomes_row_at(
 /// row-level concern, not a result-state concern).
 pub(crate) fn audit_result_state(v: &serde_json::Value) -> String {
     if let Some(obj) = v.as_object() {
-        if obj.get("error").map(is_truthy).unwrap_or(false) {
-            return "error".into();
-        }
-        if obj.get("denied").map(is_truthy).unwrap_or(false) {
-            return "denied".into();
-        }
-        if obj.get("not_found").map(is_truthy).unwrap_or(false) {
-            return "not_found".into();
+        // Tighter than before (2026-05-03 opus scrum INFO at
+        // execution_loop:1085): only flag error/denied/not_found when
+        // the payload doesn't ALSO have a rows/data/results sibling.
+        // A successful tool whose response includes an "error" field
+        // describing one row's problem (out of many) shouldn't taint
+        // the whole call as "error" — that's a row-level concern, not
+        // a result-state concern.
+        let has_data_sibling = obj.contains_key("rows")
+            || obj.contains_key("data")
+            || obj.contains_key("results");
+        if !has_data_sibling {
+            if obj.get("error").map(is_truthy).unwrap_or(false) {
+                return "error".into();
+            }
+            if obj.get("denied").map(is_truthy).unwrap_or(false) {
+                return "denied".into();
+            }
+            if obj.get("not_found").map(is_truthy).unwrap_or(false) {
+                return "not_found".into();
+            }
         }
+        // status is always authoritative — if a tool explicitly says
+        // status=denied that's not a row-level concern.
         if let Some(s) = obj.get("status").and_then(|v| v.as_str()) {
             match s {
                 "denied" | "not_found" | "error" => return s.into(),
@@ -2130,4 +2144,23 @@ mod tests {
         let v = serde_json::json!({"error": null, "denied": false, "rows": [{"candidate_id":"X"}]});
         assert_eq!(audit_result_state(&v), "success");
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn audit_result_state_does_not_classify_error_when_data_sibling_present() {
+        // 2026-05-03 opus scrum INFO at execution_loop:1085 regression:
+        // a tool that returns rows BUT also has an "error" field describing
+        // one bad row shouldn't taint the whole call as "error".
+        let v = serde_json::json!({
+            "rows": [{"candidate_id": "OK"}, {"candidate_id": "BAD"}],
+            "error": "1 row had a malformed certification"
+        });
+        assert_eq!(audit_result_state(&v), "success");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn audit_result_state_status_is_authoritative_even_with_data() {
+        // Explicit status="denied" wins over data-sibling rule.
+        let v = serde_json::json!({"status": "denied", "rows": []});
+        assert_eq!(audit_result_state(&v), "denied");
+    }
 }