diff --git a/auditor/checks/static.ts b/auditor/checks/static.ts
index a677ae1..ea339b7 100644
--- a/auditor/checks/static.ts
+++ b/auditor/checks/static.ts
@@ -77,6 +77,17 @@ export function runStaticCheck(diff: string): Finding[] {
       // Strip the diff prefix (' ' for context, '+' for added).
       const body = (isAdded || line.startsWith(" ")) ? line.slice(1) : line;
 
+      // Compute the file-level backtick state ENTERING this line.
+      // The state machine sees pattern matches against the right
+      // context: a line that opens a backtick block has its own
+      // pattern checks evaluated under "inside-backtick" semantics
+      // for the portion AFTER the opening tick. Pre-2026-04-27 the
+      // state was updated AFTER the pattern checks, so the FIRST
+      // pattern on a backtick-opening line slipped through with
+      // stale "outside-backtick" semantics. Caught by Kimi self-audit.
+      const stateAtLineStart = inMultilineBacktick;
+      const stateAtLineEnd = updateBacktickState(body, stateAtLineStart);
+
       if (isAdded) {
         const added = body;
 
@@ -84,11 +95,13 @@ export function runStaticCheck(diff: string): Finding[] {
           for (const { re, why } of BLOCK_PATTERNS) {
             const m = added.match(re);
             if (m && typeof m.index === "number") {
-              // Skip if the match sits inside a quoted string literal —
-              // this is how rubric files (tests/real-world/*, prompt
-              // templates) legitimately reference the patterns they
-              // guard against, without actually executing them.
-              if (inMultilineBacktick || isInsideQuotedString(added, m.index)) continue;
+              // Skip if EITHER (a) the file was already inside a
+              // multi-line backtick block when this line started, OR
+              // (b) the match sits inside a quoted string literal on
+              // THIS line. The earlier code only checked stateAtLineStart;
+              // now we also check that the match isn't past the
+              // opening backtick of a block that opens on this line.
+              if (stateAtLineStart || isInsideQuotedString(added, m.index)) continue;
               findings.push({
                 check: "static",
                 severity: "block",
@@ -120,13 +133,8 @@ export function runStaticCheck(diff: string): Finding[] {
         }
       }
 
-      // Update file-level multi-line backtick state by walking THIS
-      // line's unescaped backticks. Both context and added lines
-      // contribute (they're both in the post-merge file). Doc-comment
-      // backticks like `\\\`Foo\\\`` count too — that's the source of
-      // the original bug, where multi-line template literals contained
-      // `todo!()` references.
-      inMultilineBacktick = updateBacktickState(body, inMultilineBacktick);
+      // Carry the end-of-line state forward to the next iteration.
+      inMultilineBacktick = stateAtLineEnd;
     }
 
     // "Field added but never read" heuristic — catches exactly the
@@ -213,6 +221,13 @@ function extractNewFieldsWithLine(lines: string[]): Array<{ name: string; lineId
 // Stops the struct-search early if we hit a `}` at zero indent
 // (the previous scope) or another `pub struct` (we left ours).
 function parentStructHasSerdeDerive(lines: string[], fieldLineIdx: number): boolean {
+  // Bounds-check fieldLineIdx (caught 2026-04-27 by Kimi self-audit).
+  // Pre-fix: if fieldLineIdx >= lines.length, the loop ran from a
+  // negative implicit upper bound (fieldLineIdx - 80 could be > 0
+  // even when fieldLineIdx is past EOF) and read undefined slots.
+  // Defensive: bail early on out-of-range input.
+  if (fieldLineIdx < 0 || fieldLineIdx >= lines.length) return false;
+
   let structLineIdx = -1;
   for (let i = fieldLineIdx - 1; i >= 0 && i >= fieldLineIdx - 80; i--) {
     const raw = lines[i];