diff --git a/packages/core/src/__tests__/task-merge.test.ts b/packages/core/src/__tests__/task-merge.test.ts
index 7e01d11f28..71e36f9fdf 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/__tests__/task-merge.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/__tests__/task-merge.test.ts
@@ -1103,6 +1103,7 @@ while a genuinely rejecting pre-merge review still does.
 describe("getMergeConfirmedFinalizationBlocker", () => {
   const landedWithUnfinishedWork = {
     ...baseTask,
+    mergeDetails: { mergeConfirmed: true, commitSha: "eaa1d47c" } as never,
     steps: [
       { name: "Preflight", status: "in-progress" as StepStatus },
       { name: "Remove the dead CSS custom-property reference", status: "pending" as StepStatus },
@@ -1118,6 +1119,7 @@ describe("getMergeConfirmedFinalizationBlocker", () => {
   it("survives the restart loop that re-plans fresh pending steps", () => {
     const replanned = {
       ...baseTask,
+      mergeDetails: { mergeConfirmed: true, commitSha: "eaa1d47c" } as never,
       steps: Array.from({ length: 7 }, (_, i) => ({ name: `Step ${i}`, status: "pending" as StepStatus })),
     };
     expect(getMergeConfirmedFinalizationBlocker(replanned)).toBeUndefined();
@@ -1125,15 +1127,23 @@ describe("getMergeConfirmedFinalizationBlocker", () => {
 
   /* A no-op merge with no commit sha landed NOTHING, so incomplete steps stay an honest blocker —
      and the executor's no-op branch depends on that reason still firing. */
-  it("still blocks incomplete steps when the merge landed no content", () => {
+  /* The exemption needs a DURABLE merge record naming the landed commit. A no-op merge with no sha
+     landed nothing, and the content-scan recovery path (mergeDetails absent, landing inferred from
+     branch content) must keep the blocker or it would launder an unfinished task to done on a
+     heuristic — see `landed-content-soft-blocker.real-git.test.ts`. */
+  it("still blocks incomplete steps without a durable merge record", () => {
     expect(getMergeConfirmedFinalizationBlocker({
       ...landedWithUnfinishedWork,
-      mergeDetails: { noOpMerge: true } as never,
+      mergeDetails: { mergeConfirmed: true, noOpMerge: true } as never,
+    })).toBe("task has incomplete steps");
+    expect(getMergeConfirmedFinalizationBlocker({
+      ...landedWithUnfinishedWork,
+      mergeDetails: undefined,
     })).toBe("task has incomplete steps");
     // A no-op that still produced a commit did land something; the exemption applies.
     expect(getMergeConfirmedFinalizationBlocker({
       ...landedWithUnfinishedWork,
-      mergeDetails: { noOpMerge: true, commitSha: "abc123" } as never,
+      mergeDetails: { mergeConfirmed: true, noOpMerge: true, commitSha: "abc123" } as never,
     })).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/merge/task-merge.ts b/packages/core/src/merge/task-merge.ts
index ff577a3a79..e650224598 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/merge/task-merge.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/merge/task-merge.ts
@@ -616,13 +616,26 @@ export function getMergeConfirmedFinalizationBlocker(
   options: { reviewColumns?: ReadonlySet<string>; requiredPreMergeStepIds?: ReadonlySet<string> } = {},
 ): string | undefined {
   /*
-  The exemption is scoped to a merge that actually LANDED CONTENT. A no-op merge with no commit sha
-  landed nothing, so its card is not "already done however you look at it" — there incomplete steps
-  are the honest signal that the work is unfinished, and the executor's own no-op branch
-  (`merge-confirmed-finalize.ts`) depends on that blocker still firing.
+  THE EXEMPTION NEEDS A DURABLE MERGE RECORD, not merely a belief that content landed. Two nearby
+  paths look similar and are not:
+
+    - FN-9193's shape: `mergeConfirmed` with the landed `commitSha` — this engine performed the
+      merge and recorded it. Incomplete steps here describe work the landed branch superseded, so
+      they must not hold the card.
+    - The content-scan recovery (`recoverAlreadyMergedReviewTasks`): mergeDetails is ABSENT and the
+      sweep infers landing by finding matching content on the base branch, then synthesizes a
+      record. That heuristic can match a cherry-pick or a similar commit, so exempting steps there
+      would launder a genuinely unfinished task to `done` on a guess. Its own reliability test
+      (`landed-content-soft-blocker.real-git.test.ts`) pins that distinction: soft blockers clear,
+      incomplete steps hold.
+
+  A no-op merge with no commit sha also fails this test, which is what the executor's no-op branch
+  in `merge-confirmed-finalize.ts` depends on.
   */
-  const landedNothing = task.mergeDetails?.noOpMerge === true && !task.mergeDetails?.commitSha;
-  return getTaskHardMergeBlocker(landedNothing ? task : { ...task, steps: [] }, options);
+  const hasDurableMergeRecord = task.mergeDetails?.mergeConfirmed === true
+    && typeof task.mergeDetails.commitSha === "string"
+    && task.mergeDetails.commitSha.length > 0;
+  return getTaskHardMergeBlocker(hasDurableMergeRecord ? { ...task, steps: [] } : task, options);
 }
 
 /** Non-terminal steps on a card being finalized after a proven merge — recorded, never silently dropped. */
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/_project-engine-merge-lane-fixture.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/_project-engine-merge-lane-fixture.ts
index 9a1577df88..bda5c584a4 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/_project-engine-merge-lane-fixture.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/_project-engine-merge-lane-fixture.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ type MergeLaneState = {
   capacityDeferredMerges: Map<string, unknown>;
   coordinatorAdmittedMergeTaskIds: Set<string>;
   pausedReviewTaskIds: Set<string>;
+  mergeSweepHoldReasons: Map<string, string>;
   mergeRunning: boolean;
   mergeRunningSince: number;
   activeMergeSession: { dispose(): void } | null;
@@ -41,6 +42,9 @@ export function seedMergeLaneState<T extends object>(
     capacityDeferredMerges: new Map(),
     coordinatorAdmittedMergeTaskIds: new Set(),
     pausedReviewTaskIds: new Set(),
+    /* FNXC:MergeAuthority 2026-08-23-21:40: the merge-sweep hold-reason log de-duplicator. Empty is
+       the production-equivalent default — a fresh engine has held nothing yet. */
+    mergeSweepHoldReasons: new Map(),
     mergeRunning: false,
     mergeRunningSince: 0,
     activeMergeSession: null,