diff --git a/src/host/observer/classify.rs b/src/host/observer/classify.rs
index 51c8f08..37080f6 100644
--- a/src/host/observer/classify.rs
+++ b/src/host/observer/classify.rs
@@ -61,9 +61,10 @@ const HARDWARE_PCM_FACTORIES: &[&str] = &[
 /// would let tainted audio loop back untainted (Codex phase-3 review,
 /// finding 2). `factory.name` alone cannot distinguish these from a real
 /// card — `snd_aloop` presents as `api.alsa.pcm.{sink,source}` exactly like
-/// `snd_hda_intel` — so this is a necessary denylist layered under the
-/// factory allowlist, keyed on the one property that does distinguish them
-/// (`alsa.driver_name`, measured present on real ALSA nodes).
+/// `snd_hda_intel` — so a real ALSA terminal must present an `alsa.driver_name`
+/// that is **present and not on this denylist**; a missing driver fails closed
+/// (see [`classify`]). `snd_dummy` is intentionally absent: it is virtual but
+/// does not couple playback to capture, so it is not a loopback hazard.
 const NON_TERMINAL_ALSA_DRIVERS: &[&str] = &["snd_aloop"];
 
 /// The three node properties the classifier reads, exactly as the adapter
@@ -88,8 +89,11 @@ pub struct DeviceClaim {
     /// `alsa.driver_name` — the kernel driver behind an ALSA node (e.g.
     /// `snd_hda_intel`, `snd_usb_audio`, `snd_aloop`). Needed because the
     /// factory allowlist cannot tell a real card from a loopback driver that
-    /// shares the same factory; a driver on [`NON_TERMINAL_ALSA_DRIVERS`]
-    /// forfeits `session_device`. Absent on non-ALSA backends.
+    /// shares the same factory. `session_device` requires this to be
+    /// **present and not** on [`NON_TERMINAL_ALSA_DRIVERS`]; a driver on the
+    /// denylist, or an absent value, both fail closed (see [`classify`]).
+    /// May be absent on non-ALSA backends or on version pairings that do not
+    /// copy `alsa.*` onto the node.
     pub alsa_driver_name: Option<String>,
 }
 
@@ -132,12 +136,21 @@ pub fn classify(claim: &DeviceClaim, device_resolved: bool) -> Classification {
         .factory_name
         .as_deref()
         .is_some_and(|f| HARDWARE_PCM_FACTORIES.contains(&f));
-    let non_terminal_driver = claim
+    // A **present, non-denied** ALSA driver is required — absence fails closed
+    // (Codex phase-3 re-review). `alsa.driver_name` is not copied onto the
+    // node on every PipeWire/WirePlumber version pairing (PipeWire ≥1.2.6
+    // stopped overwriting node props with card props; WirePlumber only began
+    // copying `alsa.*` onto nodes in 0.5.13), so a *missing* value must not be
+    // read as "not a loopback" — that is exactly the hole an `snd_aloop` node
+    // without the property would slip through. A real card whose node lacks
+    // the driver is instead over-excluded (keeps its owner keys — safe);
+    // recovering `session_device` for it needs reading the driver from the
+    // backing Device global, which is owed to a later round.
+    let driver_ok = claim
         .alsa_driver_name
         .as_deref()
-        .is_some_and(|d| NON_TERMINAL_ALSA_DRIVERS.contains(&d));
-    let is_hardware_pcm =
-        claim.device_api.is_some() && on_factory_allowlist && !non_terminal_driver;
+        .is_some_and(|d| !NON_TERMINAL_ALSA_DRIVERS.contains(&d));
+    let is_hardware_pcm = claim.device_api.is_some() && on_factory_allowlist && driver_ok;
     if is_hardware_pcm {
         Classification::SessionDevice
     } else {
diff --git a/src/host/observer/mod.rs b/src/host/observer/mod.rs
index 1f3e367..ced862f 100644
--- a/src/host/observer/mod.rs
+++ b/src/host/observer/mod.rs
@@ -31,10 +31,13 @@
 //!   The adapter drops such a global before it reaches [`RegistryModel`], so
 //!   readiness can reach `Complete` while permanently omitting that Link — an
 //!   invisible edge that could hide tainted ancestry. **Not reachable in
-//!   practice:** every real Link global carries `object.serial` (confirmed by
-//!   the live gate, which only counts links the strict parser admits). A full
-//!   fix needs a pure "required-observation-failed" token that holds readiness
-//!   false; deferred rather than built for a case that does not occur.
+//!   practice:** PipeWire's native protocol defines `object.serial` as the
+//!   unique identity every global carries, so a Link without one requires a
+//!   protocol/server failure, not ordinary churn. (The live gate is
+//!   consistent with this but does not *prove* it — it only counts Links the
+//!   strict parser already admitted.) A full fix needs a pure
+//!   "required-observation-failed" token that holds readiness false; deferred
+//!   rather than built for a case that does not occur.
 //! - *Removal generation ordering assumes no removal is silently lost.* On a
 //!   recycled id with two live claimants, [`Self::on_removed`] retires the
 //!   oldest generation first; if the *first* generation's removal was never
diff --git a/src/host/observer/tests.rs b/src/host/observer/tests.rs
index 014e9de..61db94d 100644
--- a/src/host/observer/tests.rs
+++ b/src/host/observer/tests.rs
@@ -142,6 +142,26 @@ fn classify_invented_bluez_factories_are_not_session_devices() {
     }
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn classify_alsa_without_driver_name_fails_closed() {
+    // Codex re-review: a missing `alsa.driver_name` must NOT grant
+    // session_device — an snd_aloop node whose driver prop was not copied onto
+    // the node would otherwise slip through. Absence fails closed.
+    for factory in ["api.alsa.pcm.sink", "api.alsa.pcm.source"] {
+        let claim = DeviceClaim {
+            device_id: Some(gid(7)),
+            device_api: Some("alsa".to_string()),
+            factory_name: Some(factory.to_string()),
+            alsa_driver_name: None,
+        };
+        assert_eq!(
+            classify(&claim, true),
+            Classification::NotSessionDevice,
+            "absent driver on {factory} must fail closed"
+        );
+    }
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn classify_snd_aloop_is_not_a_session_device() {
     // Finding 2: an ALSA loopback presents with an allowlisted factory and