diff --git a/scripts/lib/session-aliases.js b/scripts/lib/session-aliases.js
index 675e644af..2e4e109d4 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/session-aliases.js
+++ b/scripts/lib/session-aliases.js
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ function loadAliases() {
     const data = JSON.parse(content);
 
     // Validate structure
-    if (!data.aliases || typeof data.aliases !== 'object') {
+    if (!data.aliases || typeof data.aliases !== 'object' || Array.isArray(data.aliases)) {
       log('[Aliases] Invalid aliases file structure, resetting');
       return getDefaultAliases();
     }
diff --git a/tests/lib/session-aliases.test.js b/tests/lib/session-aliases.test.js
index d2b1c964e..d1ade7036 100644
--- a/tests/lib/session-aliases.test.js
+++ b/tests/lib/session-aliases.test.js
@@ -1310,15 +1310,8 @@ function runTests() {
     assert.strictEqual(aliases.resolveAlias('zero-title'), null);
   })) passed++; else failed++;
 
-  // ── Round 103: loadAliases with array aliases in JSON (typeof [] === 'object' bypass) ──
-  console.log('\nRound 103: loadAliases (array aliases — typeof bypass):');
-  if (test('loadAliases accepts array aliases because typeof [] === "object" passes validation', () => {
-    // session-aliases.js line 58: `typeof data.aliases !== 'object'` is the guard.
-    // Arrays are typeof 'object' in JavaScript, so {"aliases": [1,2,3]} passes
-    // validation.  The returned data.aliases is an array, not a plain object.
-    // Downstream code (Object.keys, Object.entries, bracket access) behaves
-    // differently on arrays vs objects but doesn't crash — it just produces
-    // unexpected results like numeric string keys "0", "1", "2".
+  console.log('\nArray alias maps:');
+  if (test('recovers an invalid array map without losing newly saved aliases', () => {
     resetAliases();
     const aliasesPath = aliases.getAliasesPath();
     fs.writeFileSync(aliasesPath, JSON.stringify({
@@ -1327,15 +1320,11 @@ function runTests() {
       metadata: { totalCount: 3, lastUpdated: new Date().toISOString() }
     }));
     const data = aliases.loadAliases();
-    // The array passes the typeof 'object' check and is returned as-is
-    assert.ok(Array.isArray(data.aliases),
-      'data.aliases should be an array (typeof [] === "object" bypasses guard)');
-    assert.strictEqual(data.aliases.length, 3,
-      'Array should have 3 elements');
-    // Object.keys on an array returns ["0", "1", "2"] — numeric index strings
-    const keys = Object.keys(data.aliases);
-    assert.deepStrictEqual(keys, ['0', '1', '2'],
-      'Object.keys of array returns numeric string indices, not named alias keys');
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(data.aliases, {});
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(aliases.listAliases(), []);
+    assert.strictEqual(aliases.setAlias('recovered', '/session/recovered').success, true);
+    assert.strictEqual(aliases.resolveAlias('recovered').sessionPath, '/session/recovered');
+    assert.strictEqual(aliases.loadAliases().metadata.totalCount, 1);
   })) passed++; else failed++;
 
   // ── Round 104: resolveSessionAlias with path-traversal input (passthrough without validation) ──