[kmanisk]

Scope

• Require the protected host-controller activation marker to match the freshly signed Full System lease, reverting to STANDARD if verification fails.
• Have the CLI check local signed lease/controller state after the operator returns before treating bridge-dev mode sudo as successful.
• Avoid asserting gateway acknowledgment based solely on the operator; document the separate MCP agent_status acceptance check and stale launcher diagnosis.
• Extend operator fixture coverage for truthful status reporting.

Safety

GitHub source-only change. No live sudo activation, deployment, host service restart, or policy relaxation. Existing managed production remains on 8479250.

Validation

Run CI for test:cli, test:policy, test:portable and tool count manifest. Real host-root/MCP acknowledgment still requires separate independent operator acceptance.