diff --git a/src/host/aec/mod.rs b/src/host/aec/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ffe78be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/host/aec/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,261 @@
+//! Phase 4 — the AEC identity validation state machine (impl plan §4, design
+//! v3.4 §5.2/§5.3).
+//!
+//! peerspeak's echo canceller (`module-echo-cancel`) creates four graph nodes
+//! that all carry `pulse.module.id == <the index pactl returned>`, and the
+//! playback leg among them is a `Stream/Output/Audio` node wired straight to
+//! the speakers — a fan-out candidate that would copy the whole remote call
+//! into the share unless it is excluded (v3.4 §5.2, measured ≈desktop level).
+//! The taint engine (phase 2) already excludes it *given* the module index in
+//! [`ExclusionCtx::aec_module_id`](crate::host::taint::ExclusionCtx); this
+//! module is what decides, at runtime and fail-closed, whether that index may
+//! be trusted and handed over.
+//!
+//! **Why a state machine and not a one-shot check (v3.4 §5.3).** The identity
+//! is an *observed correlation on PipeWire 1.6.8*, not a documented contract,
+//! and a start-time enumeration races in both directions: peerspeak's
+//! `enable()` returns before the playback hazard leg is even in the graph, and
+//! pixelpass's capture spawns lazily on the first viewer, at a moment peerspeak
+//! does not control. So validation is a bounded epoch, and the identity can be
+//! *lost* mid-share (the module unloads) as well as *gained*.
+//!
+//! **The two traps this is shaped around:**
+//!
+//! - **Revocation is loss of the whole module identity, not one leg corking**
+//!   (v3.4 §5.3). Each [`AecValidator::observe`] rescans the snapshot for *any*
+//!   node bearing the index; [`AecState::Validated`] drops to
+//!   [`AecState::Revoked`] only when that set becomes **empty**. A single leg
+//!   corking or relinking (still ≥1 present) stays `Validated` — getting this
+//!   wrong turns a normal cork into a spurious share-wide audio stop.
+//! - **Module indices are reused verbatim across unload/reload** (v3.4 §5.2
+//!   correction 3 — both a reload's module index *and* its `node.link-group`
+//!   came back byte-identical, and node ids were recycled *and reassigned
+//!   across legs*). So [`AecState::Failed`] and [`AecState::Revoked`] are
+//!   **sticky terminal**: a later node reappearing with the same index does
+//!   **not** un-revoke and alias onto the new module. A genuine reload gets a
+//!   *fresh* [`AecValidator`] (peerspeak re-tells pixelpass the index on every
+//!   load), never a resurrected one.
+//!
+//! **Scope.** This is the validation state machine + `--aec` parsing only.
+//! Foreign / second-AEC detection (a non-owned `echo-cancel-*` group, v3.4
+//! §5.4 / D3) and the `foreign_aec_warning`/`aec_failed`/`aec_revoked` status
+//! *events* are phase 6's, which reads this machine's [`AecState`]. Wiring the
+//! parsed [`AecConfig`] out of the CLI and calling [`AecValidator::observe`]
+//! in the recompute loop is integration (phases 5/8). The node-side
+//! `pulse.module.id` parse (JSON-number-vs-string, u64-not-u32) is phase 3's
+//! adapter; this module consumes the already-parsed
+//! [`NodeProps::pulse_module_id`](crate::host::taint::snapshot::NodeProps).
+
+#![allow(dead_code)] // Wired into `--aec` parsing + the recompute loop by later phases.
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests;
+
+use crate::host::observer::Millis;
+use crate::host::taint::snapshot::GraphSnapshot;
+
+/// The parsed `--aec=off|pulse-module:<idx>` argument (decision D5).
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum AecConfig {
+    /// `--aec=off` — peerspeak's AEC is not in play, so there is nothing to
+    /// exclude and fan-out proceeds with no AEC identity. Not the same as an
+    /// *absent* argument (that default is the caller's; see [`parse_aec_arg`]).
+    Off,
+    /// `--aec=pulse-module:<idx>` — validate this live module index before
+    /// trusting it. The index is compared as `u64`, never `u32` (v3.4 §5.2).
+    PulseModule(u64),
+}
+
+/// Why an `--aec` argument was rejected. Rejection is fatal at the CLI edge —
+/// there is no fail-closed *default* index, because a wrong index would exclude
+/// the wrong node (or nothing), so a malformed value must not silently become
+/// "no AEC".
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum AecParseError {
+    /// The value was empty.
+    Empty,
+    /// Not `off` and not `pulse-module:...`.
+    UnknownForm,
+    /// `pulse-module:` with nothing after the colon.
+    MissingIndex,
+    /// The index was not a bare `u64` decimal (sign, whitespace, non-digit, or
+    /// `> u64::MAX`).
+    InvalidIndex,
+}
+
+/// Parse one `--aec` value. `off` and `pulse-module:<idx>` are the only forms.
+///
+/// The index accepts values `> u32::MAX` (v3.4 §5.2: `pulse.module.id` sits
+/// next to the `object.serial` u32-truncation bug, so it is only ever compared
+/// as `u64`) and rejects anything Rust's [`u64`] parser rejects — a leading
+/// sign, surrounding or interior whitespace, non-decimal digits, and overflow.
+/// Matching is exact and case-sensitive: the argument is machine-generated by
+/// peerspeak from `EchoCancelGuard::module_index`, not typed by a user.
+pub fn parse_aec_arg(value: &str) -> Result<AecConfig, AecParseError> {
+    if value.is_empty() {
+        return Err(AecParseError::Empty);
+    }
+    if value == "off" {
+        return Ok(AecConfig::Off);
+    }
+    if let Some(index) = value.strip_prefix("pulse-module:") {
+        if index.is_empty() {
+            return Err(AecParseError::MissingIndex);
+        }
+        // A bare decimal only: reject a leading sign (Rust's `u64` parser
+        // accepts `+7`), interior/surrounding whitespace, and any non-digit,
+        // before letting the parser catch overflow. Leading zeros are harmless.
+        if !index.bytes().all(|b| b.is_ascii_digit()) {
+            return Err(AecParseError::InvalidIndex);
+        }
+        return index
+            .parse::<u64>()
+            .map(AecConfig::PulseModule)
+            .map_err(|_| AecParseError::InvalidIndex);
+    }
+    Err(AecParseError::UnknownForm)
+}
+
+/// The validation epoch (v3.4 §5.3, verbatim).
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum AecState {
+    /// `--aec=off` — no AEC identity, fan-out proceeds with no exclusion.
+    /// Terminal.
+    NotConfigured,
+    /// Waiting for the first node bearing the index. **No fan-out occurs here**
+    /// — silence is the safe direction. Ends at `Validated` on first sight, or
+    /// `Failed` once the graph is fully enumerated and the bounded deadline
+    /// passes with the index never seen.
+    Validating,
+    /// The index was observed live. Fan-out is permitted, excluding that
+    /// identity transitively (phase 2 / v3.4 §6.1).
+    Validated,
+    /// The deadline expired with the index never observed. **Fail closed** — no
+    /// fan-out; the caller reports a capability failure rather than sharing.
+    /// Sticky terminal.
+    Failed,
+    /// The whole module identity disappeared mid-share (every node bearing the
+    /// index gone). **Stop fan-out now** and drop the owned link proxies; do
+    /// not keep the numeric index and hope, because it is reused. Sticky
+    /// terminal — see the module header's second trap.
+    Revoked,
+}
+
+/// The bounded, read-only AEC identity validator. Fold the live graph in with
+/// [`AecValidator::observe`] once per recompute; read the result with
+/// [`AecValidator::state`], [`AecValidator::fan_out_permitted`], and
+/// [`AecValidator::validated_module_id`].
+#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
+pub struct AecValidator {
+    /// The index to validate. `None` iff [`AecConfig::Off`] (state stays
+    /// [`AecState::NotConfigured`] forever).
+    target: Option<u64>,
+    state: AecState,
+    /// The `Validating → Failed` budget, applied *after* the deadline is armed.
+    timeout: Millis,
+    /// The absolute `Failed` deadline, armed the first time the graph reports
+    /// ready (the "registry sync barrier" of v3.4 §5.3) and never re-armed —
+    /// `graph_ready` is dynamic and can flap, but the epoch budget must not
+    /// restart. `None` until then: while the initial enumeration is still in
+    /// flight, a not-yet-seen index is *unknown*, not *absent*, so it must not
+    /// time out to `Failed`.
+    deadline: Option<Millis>,
+}
+
+impl AecValidator {
+    /// `timeout` is the `Validating → Failed` budget, counted from the moment
+    /// the graph first becomes ready (not from construction). An `Off` config
+    /// starts (and stays) [`AecState::NotConfigured`].
+    pub fn new(config: AecConfig, timeout: Millis) -> Self {
+        match config {
+            AecConfig::Off => Self {
+                target: None,
+                state: AecState::NotConfigured,
+                timeout,
+                deadline: None,
+            },
+            AecConfig::PulseModule(index) => Self {
+                target: Some(index),
+                state: AecState::Validating,
+                timeout,
+                deadline: None,
+            },
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn state(&self) -> AecState {
+        self.state
+    }
+
+    /// The validated index to place in
+    /// [`ExclusionCtx::aec_module_id`](crate::host::taint::ExclusionCtx) —
+    /// `Some` **only** in [`AecState::Validated`]. `None` everywhere else,
+    /// including `NotConfigured` (no AEC ⇒ nothing to exclude) and the
+    /// fail-closed states (whose `None` must be paired with
+    /// [`Self::fan_out_permitted`] `== false`, i.e. no fan-out at all — *not*
+    /// a fan-out that merely skips AEC exclusion).
+    pub fn validated_module_id(&self) -> Option<u64> {
+        match self.state {
+            AecState::Validated => self.target,
+            _ => None,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Whether fan-out may proceed at all right now. True only in
+    /// [`AecState::NotConfigured`] (fan out, no exclusion) and
+    /// [`AecState::Validated`] (fan out, excluding the identity). `Validating`,
+    /// `Failed` and `Revoked` all forbid it — silence over echo.
+    pub fn fan_out_permitted(&self) -> bool {
+        matches!(self.state, AecState::NotConfigured | AecState::Validated)
+    }
+
+    /// Fold one recompute's view of the graph into the machine.
+    ///
+    /// `graph_ready` is the observer's dynamic readiness
+    /// ([`Projection::graph_ready`](crate::host::observer::Projection)); `now`
+    /// is a monotonic millisecond clock. Positive evidence (a node bearing the
+    /// index) is authoritative and validates regardless of `graph_ready` —
+    /// seeing the node *is* seeing it — but the `Failed` deadline only begins
+    /// once `graph_ready` has first become true, so a slow initial enumeration
+    /// can never masquerade as a genuinely-absent module.
+    pub fn observe(&mut self, snapshot: &GraphSnapshot, graph_ready: bool, now: Millis) {
+        // `Off` (NotConfigured) and both sticky terminals are no-ops: there is
+        // nothing to look for, and a reappearing reused index must not revive a
+        // Failed/Revoked epoch (v3.4 §5.2 correction 3).
+        let Some(target) = self.target else {
+            return;
+        };
+        match self.state {
+            AecState::Validating => {
+                if self.index_present(snapshot, target) {
+                    self.state = AecState::Validated;
+                    return;
+                }
+                // Arm the deadline once, on the first ready graph.
+                if self.deadline.is_none() && graph_ready {
+                    self.deadline = Some(now.saturating_add(self.timeout));
+                }
+                if self.deadline.is_some_and(|deadline| now >= deadline) {
+                    self.state = AecState::Failed;
+                }
+            }
+            AecState::Validated => {
+                // Revocation is the whole identity gone, not one leg corking.
+                if !self.index_present(snapshot, target) {
+                    self.state = AecState::Revoked;
+                }
+            }
+            AecState::NotConfigured | AecState::Failed | AecState::Revoked => {}
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Whether any node in the snapshot bears the target module index. The same
+    /// exact-`u64`-equality predicate the taint engine roots on
+    /// (`taint/mod.rs`), kept here so "is the identity live?" has one
+    /// definition.
+    fn index_present(&self, snapshot: &GraphSnapshot, target: u64) -> bool {
+        snapshot
+            .nodes()
+            .any(|node| node.props.pulse_module_id == Some(target))
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/host/aec/tests.rs b/src/host/aec/tests.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..35b538f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/host/aec/tests.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,324 @@
+//! Phase 4 exit gate (impl plan §4): a fake-clock / event-sequence transition
+//! matrix, because these are timing semantics a live poke cannot cover.
+
+use super::*;
+use crate::host::taint::snapshot::{
+    GlobalId, GraphSnapshot, MediaRole, NodeProps, NodeSnapshot, Serial,
+};
+
+/// A `Stream/Output/Audio` node carrying `pulse.module.id == module` (or none).
+/// Only the fields the validator reads matter; the rest take their defaults.
+fn node(serial: u64, module: Option<u64>) -> NodeSnapshot {
+    NodeSnapshot {
+        serial: Serial(serial),
+        id: GlobalId(serial as u32),
+        name: None,
+        role: MediaRole::StreamOutput,
+        props: NodeProps {
+            pulse_module_id: module,
+            ..NodeProps::default()
+        },
+    }
+}
+
+/// A snapshot holding exactly the given nodes (no ports/links/clients — the
+/// validator reads only nodes).
+fn snapshot(nodes: Vec<NodeSnapshot>) -> GraphSnapshot {
+    GraphSnapshot::new(nodes, vec![], vec![], vec![])
+}
+
+fn empty() -> GraphSnapshot {
+    snapshot(vec![])
+}
+
+const IDX: u64 = 536_870_919; // 0x20000007 — a real pipewire-pulse module index.
+const TIMEOUT: Millis = 2_000;
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Parsing (D5): off / pulse-module:<idx> / > u32::MAX / absent / malformed.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#[test]
+fn parses_off() {
+    assert_eq!(parse_aec_arg("off"), Ok(AecConfig::Off));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn parses_pulse_module_index() {
+    assert_eq!(
+        parse_aec_arg("pulse-module:536870919"),
+        Ok(AecConfig::PulseModule(536_870_919)),
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn parses_index_beyond_u32() {
+    // v3.4 §5.2: compare as u64, never u32. A value one past u32::MAX must
+    // round-trip, not truncate or reject.
+    let big = u64::from(u32::MAX) + 1;
+    assert_eq!(
+        parse_aec_arg(&format!("pulse-module:{big}")),
+        Ok(AecConfig::PulseModule(big)),
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        parse_aec_arg(&format!("pulse-module:{}", u64::MAX)),
+        Ok(AecConfig::PulseModule(u64::MAX)),
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn rejects_empty() {
+    assert_eq!(parse_aec_arg(""), Err(AecParseError::Empty));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn rejects_unknown_form() {
+    assert_eq!(parse_aec_arg("on"), Err(AecParseError::UnknownForm));
+    assert_eq!(parse_aec_arg("module:5"), Err(AecParseError::UnknownForm));
+    assert_eq!(parse_aec_arg("536870919"), Err(AecParseError::UnknownForm));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn rejects_missing_index() {
+    assert_eq!(
+        parse_aec_arg("pulse-module:"),
+        Err(AecParseError::MissingIndex),
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn rejects_malformed_index() {
+    for bad in [
+        "pulse-module:-1",                   // sign
+        "pulse-module:+7",                   // sign
+        "pulse-module: 7",                   // leading whitespace
+        "pulse-module:7 ",                   // trailing whitespace
+        "pulse-module:0x7",                  // hex
+        "pulse-module:7.0",                  // non-integer
+        "pulse-module:abc",                  // non-numeric
+        "pulse-module:18446744073709551616", // u64::MAX + 1 (overflow)
+    ] {
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_aec_arg(bad),
+            Err(AecParseError::InvalidIndex),
+            "{bad} should be InvalidIndex",
+        );
+    }
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// NotConfigured (--aec=off): benign, terminal, fan-out with no exclusion.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#[test]
+fn off_is_not_configured_and_permits_fan_out_with_no_identity() {
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::Off, TIMEOUT);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::NotConfigured);
+    assert!(v.fan_out_permitted());
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), None);
+
+    // Even a snapshot full of module nodes never moves it off NotConfigured.
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(1, Some(IDX))]), true, 10_000);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::NotConfigured);
+    assert!(v.fan_out_permitted());
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), None);
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Row: Validating → Validated on first matching node; no fan-out before.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#[test]
+fn validating_forbids_fan_out_and_exposes_no_identity() {
+    let v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validating);
+    assert!(!v.fan_out_permitted());
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), None);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn validating_to_validated_on_first_matching_node() {
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    // A node with a *different* index does not validate.
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(1, Some(IDX + 1))]), true, 0);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validating);
+
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(2, Some(IDX))]), true, 100);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validated);
+    assert!(v.fan_out_permitted());
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), Some(IDX));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn positive_evidence_validates_even_before_graph_ready() {
+    // Seeing the node is authoritative; readiness only gates the Failed clock.
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(1, Some(IDX))]), false, 0);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validated);
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), Some(IDX));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn validated_index_is_compared_beyond_u32() {
+    let big = u64::from(u32::MAX) + 7;
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(big), TIMEOUT);
+    // A node whose id equals `big` only in its low 32 bits must not match.
+    v.observe(
+        &snapshot(vec![node(1, Some(big & u64::from(u32::MAX)))]),
+        true,
+        0,
+    );
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validating);
+
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(2, Some(big))]), true, 1);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validated);
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), Some(big));
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Row: Validating → Failed on deadline expiry; and the deadline is armed only
+// once the graph is ready (the registry sync barrier).
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#[test]
+fn validating_to_failed_on_deadline_expiry() {
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    v.observe(&empty(), true, 0); // arms deadline at 0 + 2000
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validating);
+
+    v.observe(&empty(), true, TIMEOUT - 1);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validating);
+
+    v.observe(&empty(), true, TIMEOUT); // now >= deadline
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Failed);
+    assert!(!v.fan_out_permitted());
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), None);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn deadline_is_not_armed_until_graph_ready() {
+    // The whole point of arming-on-ready: a slow initial enumeration is
+    // "unknown", not "absent", and must never time out to Failed.
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    // Long past the would-be deadline, but the graph has never been ready.
+    v.observe(&empty(), false, 10 * TIMEOUT);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validating);
+    // Still no Failed even much later, as long as ready stays false.
+    v.observe(&empty(), false, 100 * TIMEOUT);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validating);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn deadline_armed_once_survives_ready_flapping() {
+    // graph_ready is dynamic (it drops back to false while a Link is binding).
+    // The epoch budget must be armed on the *first* ready and not restarted.
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    v.observe(&empty(), true, 1_000); // arm at 1000 → deadline 3000
+    v.observe(&empty(), false, 2_000); // ready flaps off; must not disarm
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validating);
+    // At the original deadline it fails, even though ready is false now — the
+    // budget did not restart from the flap.
+    v.observe(&empty(), false, 3_000);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Failed);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn failed_is_sticky_even_if_the_index_reappears() {
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    v.observe(&empty(), true, 0);
+    v.observe(&empty(), true, TIMEOUT);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Failed);
+
+    // A node bearing the index shows up late — must not resurrect the epoch.
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(1, Some(IDX))]), true, TIMEOUT + 1);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Failed);
+    assert!(!v.fan_out_permitted());
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), None);
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Row: partial-node disappearance ⇒ stays Validated; all gone ⇒ Revoked.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#[test]
+fn partial_leg_disappearance_stays_validated() {
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    // The module's four nodes all carry the index.
+    let four = snapshot(vec![
+        node(1, Some(IDX)),
+        node(2, Some(IDX)),
+        node(3, Some(IDX)),
+        node(4, Some(IDX)),
+    ]);
+    v.observe(&four, true, 0);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validated);
+
+    // Three legs cork/relink away; one still bears the index → still Validated.
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(4, Some(IDX))]), true, 10);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validated);
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), Some(IDX));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn all_nodes_gone_revokes() {
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(1, Some(IDX))]), true, 0);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validated);
+
+    // The whole identity unloads: no node bears the index any more.
+    v.observe(&empty(), true, 10);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Revoked);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn revoked_stops_fan_out_and_exposes_no_identity() {
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(1, Some(IDX))]), true, 0);
+    v.observe(&empty(), true, 10);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Revoked);
+    assert!(!v.fan_out_permitted());
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), None);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn a_node_that_merely_changes_index_revokes() {
+    // Not a disappearance in the id sense, but the *identity* is gone: no node
+    // bears our index any more, even though a same-serial node lingers.
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(1, Some(IDX))]), true, 0);
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(1, Some(IDX + 1))]), true, 10);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Revoked);
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Row: a retained stale index does not alias onto a reloaded module — indices
+// ARE reused (v3.4 §5.2 correction 3). This is the sharpest safety property.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#[test]
+fn revoked_index_does_not_alias_onto_a_reloaded_module() {
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(1, Some(IDX))]), true, 0);
+    v.observe(&empty(), true, 10);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Revoked);
+
+    // A *different* module later reloads and pactl hands it the very same
+    // index (measured: 536870919 came back verbatim). A resurrecting machine
+    // would silently start excluding this unrelated module's node. Ours must
+    // stay Revoked and fail closed; a real reload gets a fresh validator.
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(99, Some(IDX))]), true, 20);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Revoked);
+    assert!(!v.fan_out_permitted());
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), None);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn a_fresh_validator_re_validates_the_reused_index() {
+    // The counterpart: because peerspeak re-tells pixelpass the index on every
+    // load, the correct response to a reload is a new machine, which validates
+    // the reused index cleanly — proving stickiness costs nothing legitimate.
+    let mut v = AecValidator::new(AecConfig::PulseModule(IDX), TIMEOUT);
+    v.observe(&snapshot(vec![node(1, Some(IDX))]), true, 0);
+    assert_eq!(v.state(), AecState::Validated);
+    assert_eq!(v.validated_module_id(), Some(IDX));
+}
diff --git a/src/host/mod.rs b/src/host/mod.rs
index ec59cd3..8f8ca5d 100644
--- a/src/host/mod.rs
+++ b/src/host/mod.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+pub mod aec;
 pub mod audio;
 mod capture;
 mod observer;