diff --git a/tests/cli/scan-fix-verify-exitcode.test.ts b/tests/cli/scan-fix-verify-exitcode.test.ts
index 0942da5..73ed054 100644
--- a/tests/cli/scan-fix-verify-exitcode.test.ts
+++ b/tests/cli/scan-fix-verify-exitcode.test.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,9 @@ describe("cve-lite [path] --fix exit codes", () => {
       lockfileVersion: 3,
       packages: {
         "": { name: "x" },
-        "node_modules/lodash": { version: "4.17.21" },
+        // Fixture-only name so no advisory ever matches it; the exit-0 assertion
+        // below must not depend on the synced advisory DB state (issue #726).
+        "node_modules/cve-lite-fixture-safe-pkg": { version: "1.0.0" },
       },
     }));
   }
diff --git a/tests/e2e/commands-and-exit-codes.test.ts b/tests/e2e/commands-and-exit-codes.test.ts
index e07fbc7..ab75d0e 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/commands-and-exit-codes.test.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/commands-and-exit-codes.test.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, existsSync, readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
-import { runCli, mkProject, rmProject, npmProject } from "./harness.js";
+import { runCli, mkProject, rmProject, npmProject, SAFE_PKG } from "./harness.js";
 
 // Track temp dirs created without mkProject (install-skill cwd, temp HOME) so
 // afterEach can sweep them.
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ describe("commands + meta", () => {
 
   it("--ratchet --check-overrides keeps override hygiene out of the baseline and notes the boundary", () => {
     const dir = mkProject(
-      npmProject({ name: "ratchet-app", overrides: { gone: "1.0.0" } }, { lodash: "4.17.21" }),
+      npmProject({ name: "ratchet-app", overrides: { gone: "1.0.0" } }, { [SAFE_PKG]: "1.0.0" }),
     );
     try {
       const r = runCli([dir, "--offline", "--ratchet", "--check-overrides"]);
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ describe("commands + meta", () => {
   });
 
   it("overrides <clean project> --json exits 0 with a findings array", () => {
-    const dir = mkProject(npmProject({ name: "x" }, { lodash: "4.17.21" }));
+    const dir = mkProject(npmProject({ name: "x" }, { [SAFE_PKG]: "1.0.0" }));
     try {
       const r = runCli(["overrides", dir, "--json"]);
       expect(r.status).toBe(0);
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ describe("commands + meta", () => {
 
 describe("exit codes", () => {
   it("0: clean overrides run", () => {
-    const dir = mkProject(npmProject({ name: "x" }, { lodash: "4.17.21" }));
+    const dir = mkProject(npmProject({ name: "x" }, { [SAFE_PKG]: "1.0.0" }));
     try {
       const r = runCli(["overrides", dir, "--json"]);
       expect(r.status).toBe(0);
diff --git a/tests/e2e/fix-and-auditlog.test.ts b/tests/e2e/fix-and-auditlog.test.ts
index 1bd389e..bf89226 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/fix-and-auditlog.test.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/fix-and-auditlog.test.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ import {
   rmProject,
   npmProject,
   installedManifest,
+  SAFE_PKG,
+  SAFE_PLATFORM_PARENT,
+  SAFE_PLATFORM_BINARY,
 } from "./harness.js";
 
 /** Read the project package.json back off disk after the CLI mutated it. */
@@ -38,34 +41,41 @@ function readNdjson(path: string): Array<Record<string, unknown>> {
 
 /**
  * Project that triggers OA006 (coupled platform binary) in isolation. The override
- * pins @esbuild/linux-x64 to 0.25.0, but its installed parent esbuild@0.25.12
- * exact-pins the binary to 0.25.12. node_modules exists (esbuild is installed, so the
- * detector is not pre-skipped) but the optional platform binary itself is NOT
- * materialized - the common wrong-platform case - so there is no on-disk proof the
- * override took. OA006 fires on the latent coupling. Per issue #37 it suppresses only
- * when a materialized copy actually satisfies the override; with the binary absent,
- * OA004 (needs a surpassing installed version) and OA008 (needs a below-floor copy)
- * both stay silent, isolating the tier-2 (proposed) relocate fix.
+ * pins the platform binary to 0.0.1, but its installed parent exact-pins the binary
+ * to 0.0.2. node_modules exists (the parent is installed, so the detector is not
+ * pre-skipped) but the optional platform binary itself is NOT materialized - the
+ * common wrong-platform case - so there is no on-disk proof the override took. OA006
+ * fires on the latent coupling. Per issue #37 it suppresses only when a materialized
+ * copy actually satisfies the override; with the binary absent, OA004 (needs a
+ * surpassing installed version) and OA008 (needs a below-floor copy) both stay
+ * silent, isolating the tier-2 (proposed) relocate fix.
+ *
+ * The parent/binary use fixture-only names so the CVE scan stays clean regardless of
+ * the advisory DB state (issue #726). looksLikePlatformBinary() keys off the "linux"
+ * token, not the package identity, so the synthetic binary still drives OA006.
  */
 function makeOa006Project(): string {
   const dir = mkProject(
     npmProject(
-      { name: "oa6", overrides: { "@esbuild/linux-x64": "0.25.0" } },
-      { esbuild: "0.25.12", "@esbuild/linux-x64": "0.25.0" }
+      { name: "oa6", overrides: { [SAFE_PLATFORM_BINARY]: "0.0.1" } },
+      { [SAFE_PLATFORM_PARENT]: "0.0.2", [SAFE_PLATFORM_BINARY]: "0.0.1" }
     )
   );
-  installedManifest(dir, "esbuild", {
-    name: "esbuild",
-    version: "0.25.12",
-    optionalDependencies: { "@esbuild/linux-x64": "0.25.12" },
+  installedManifest(dir, SAFE_PLATFORM_PARENT, {
+    name: SAFE_PLATFORM_PARENT,
+    version: "0.0.2",
+    optionalDependencies: { [SAFE_PLATFORM_BINARY]: "0.0.2" },
   });
   return dir;
 }
 
-/** Project with a single orphan override (OA001): `gone` is not in the lockfile. */
+/** Project with a single orphan override (OA001): `gone` is not in the lockfile.
+ *  The resolved dependency is a fixture-only name so the CVE scan stays clean
+ *  regardless of the advisory DB state (issue #726); OA001 still fires because
+ *  `gone` is absent from the tree, which is the only thing this fixture asserts. */
 function makeOrphanProject(): string {
   return mkProject(
-    npmProject({ name: "x", overrides: { gone: "1.0.0" } }, { lodash: "4.17.21" })
+    npmProject({ name: "x", overrides: { gone: "1.0.0" } }, { [SAFE_PKG]: "1.0.0" })
   );
 }
 
@@ -104,11 +114,11 @@ describe("e2e: overrides --fix tiering", () => {
       const fix = runCli(["overrides", dir, "--fix"]);
       expect(fix.status).toBe(0);
 
-      // The override must still be present and unrelocated: no /dependencies/esbuild
-      // floor was written, and the binary override value is unchanged.
+      // The override must still be present and unrelocated: no /dependencies floor
+      // was written, and the binary override value is unchanged.
       const pkg = readPkg(dir);
       const overrides = pkg.overrides as Record<string, unknown>;
-      expect(overrides["@esbuild/linux-x64"]).toBe("0.25.0");
+      expect(overrides[SAFE_PLATFORM_BINARY]).toBe("0.0.1");
       expect(pkg.dependencies).toBeUndefined();
 
       // And OA006 still fires on a re-run (the proposed fix was not consumed).
diff --git a/tests/e2e/harness.ts b/tests/e2e/harness.ts
index 838e71b..0755c6d 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/harness.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/harness.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,17 @@ import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 const here = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 export const CLI = join(here, "..", "..", "dist", "index.js");
 
+// Fixture package names that no advisory will ever match, so a fixture that
+// asserts a clean (exit 0) scan stays clean regardless of the synced advisory
+// DB state. Real package names (lodash, express, ...) flip e2e exit-code
+// assertions whenever a new CVE lands for the pinned version - see issue #726.
+export const SAFE_PKG = "cve-lite-fixture-safe-pkg";
+// A platform-binary pair for OA006 fixtures: the override fights the parent's
+// exact pin on a native binary. looksLikePlatformBinary() keys off the "linux"
+// token, not the package identity, so a fixture-only name triggers OA006 too.
+export const SAFE_PLATFORM_PARENT = "cve-lite-fixture-native";
+export const SAFE_PLATFORM_BINARY = "@cve-lite-fixture/linux-x64";
+
 export interface CliResult {
   stdout: string;
   stderr: string;
diff --git a/tests/e2e/validation-and-outputs.test.ts b/tests/e2e/validation-and-outputs.test.ts
index b174685..7494bc8 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/validation-and-outputs.test.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/validation-and-outputs.test.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 
 import { readdirSync, readFileSync, existsSync } from "node:fs";
 import { join } from "node:path";
-import { runCli, mkProject, rmProject, npmProject } from "./harness.js";
+import { runCli, mkProject, rmProject, npmProject, SAFE_PKG } from "./harness.js";
 
 const CI_ENV = { CI: "1" } as const;
 
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ const CI_ENV = { CI: "1" } as const;
 function orphanOverrideProject(): string {
   const files = npmProject(
     { name: "outproj", version: "1.0.0", overrides: { lodash: "4.17.21" } },
-    { express: "4.18.2" },
+    { [SAFE_PKG]: "1.0.0" },
   );
   return mkProject(files);
 }
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ function findByExt(dir: string, ext: string): string[] {
 describe("validation conflicts", () => {
   let proj: string;
   beforeAll(() => {
-    proj = mkProject(npmProject({ name: "vproj" }, { express: "4.18.2" }));
+    proj = mkProject(npmProject({ name: "vproj" }, { [SAFE_PKG]: "1.0.0" }));
   });
   afterAll(() => rmProject(proj));
 
@@ -71,14 +71,17 @@ describe("validation conflicts", () => {
 });
 
 describe("output channels", () => {
-  // Terminal default: human-readable scan summary on stdout, exit 0.
+  // Terminal default: human-readable scan output on stdout, exit 0. The fixture
+  // resolves a CVE-free name so the clean exit does not depend on the advisory DB
+  // state (issue #726); the assertions key off markers the terminal writer always
+  // prints, not the "Summary" block that only renders when findings exist.
   it("terminal default (--offline) prints human-readable content to stdout", () => {
-    const proj = mkProject(npmProject({ name: "termproj" }, { express: "4.18.2" }));
+    const proj = mkProject(npmProject({ name: "termproj" }, { [SAFE_PKG]: "1.0.0" }));
     try {
       const r = runCli([proj, "--offline"], { env: CI_ENV });
       expect(r.status).toBe(0);
       expect(r.stdout).toContain("CVE Lite CLI");
-      expect(r.stdout).toContain("Summary");
+      expect(r.stdout).toContain("Scan complete");
       // Not JSON: stdout should not parse as a JSON document.
       expect(() => JSON.parse(r.stdout)).toThrow();
     } finally {