diff --git a/tests/boundary/filesystem/mipsAbiFlags.test.ts b/tests/boundary/filesystem/mipsAbiFlags.test.ts
index 6d26ac4ec6..b7b071121a 100644
--- a/tests/boundary/filesystem/mipsAbiFlags.test.ts
+++ b/tests/boundary/filesystem/mipsAbiFlags.test.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { parseBinaryTarget } from "../../../src/application/BinaryTargetResolver
 import { AnalysisCancelledError } from "../../../src/domain/analysisErrorCore.js";
 import { jsonObjectSchema } from "../../../src/domain/jsonValue.js";
 import { createTestTempDirectory } from "../../fixtures/temporaryDirectory.js";
+import { expectBinaryTargetError } from "../../fixtures/binaryTargetAdmission.js";
 import type { MipsElfMetadata } from "../../../src/domain/binaryTargetTypes.js";
 import { readMipsElfMetadata } from "../../../src/application/MipsElfMetadata.js";
 import { ok } from "../../../src/domain/result.js";
@@ -134,6 +135,26 @@ const resolveFixture = async (bytes: Buffer) => {
   assert.deepEqual(await readFile(path), bytes);
   return result.value;
 };
+const refuseFixture = async (bytes: Buffer, reason: string) => {
+  const path = await writeFixture(bytes);
+  const error = expectBinaryTargetError(await parseBinaryTarget(path));
+  assert.equal(error.constraint, "file_format_rejected");
+  assert.equal(error.reason, reason);
+  assert.deepEqual(await readFile(path), bytes);
+};
+const withoutSectionTable = (source: Buffer, little = true): Buffer => {
+  const bytes = Buffer.from(source);
+  if (little) {
+    bytes.writeUInt32LE(0, 32);
+    bytes.writeUInt16LE(0, 48);
+    bytes.writeUInt16LE(0, 50);
+  } else {
+    bytes.writeUInt32BE(0, 32);
+    bytes.writeUInt16BE(0, 48);
+    bytes.writeUInt16BE(0, 50);
+  }
+  return bytes;
+};
 const inspectDeclarations = async (
   bytes: Buffer,
   little = true,
@@ -203,45 +224,70 @@ for (const little of [true, false]) {
   });
 }
 
-it("supports stripped section tables using PT_MIPS_ABIFLAGS", async () => {
-  const bytes = fixture();
-  bytes.writeUInt32LE(0, 32);
-  bytes.writeUInt16LE(0, 48);
-  const result = await inspect(bytes);
-  assert.ok(result.ok);
-  assert.equal(result.value?.fpAbi, 5);
-});
 for (const little of [true, false]) {
+  it(`admits a ${little ? "LE" : "BE"} ELF with no section table using PT_MIPS_ABIFLAGS`, async () => {
+    const bytes = withoutSectionTable(fixture(little), little);
+    const resolved = await resolveFixture(bytes);
+    assert.equal(resolved.mips.abiFlags?.fpAbi, 5);
+    assert.equal(resolved.mips.limitations, undefined);
+    assert.equal(ghidraMipsUnsupportedReason(resolved), null);
+  });
   for (const availableBytes of [0, 7, 47]) {
-    it(`resolves a carved ${little ? "LE" : "BE"} ELF with ${availableBytes} captured section-table bytes`, async () => {
+    it(`refuses a carved ${little ? "LE" : "BE"} ELF retaining a truncated section table with ${availableBytes} captured bytes`, async () => {
       const original = fixture(little);
       const bytes = Buffer.concat([original, Buffer.alloc(availableBytes)]);
       const sectionOffset = original.length + (availableBytes === 0 ? 1 : 0);
       if (little) bytes.writeUInt32LE(sectionOffset, 32);
       else bytes.writeUInt32BE(sectionOffset, 32);
-      const resolved = await resolveFixture(bytes);
-      assert.equal(resolved.mips.abiFlags?.fpAbi, 5);
+      await refuseFixture(
+        bytes,
+        `truncated ELF section header table: declared file range ${sectionOffset}..${sectionOffset + 80} exceeds the ${bytes.length}-byte file`,
+      );
+      // The specialized evidence reader may still inspect captured ABI facts.
+      // Its partial facts do not authorize opening this damaged target.
+      const declarations = await inspectDeclarations(bytes, little);
+      assert.ok(declarations.ok);
+      assert.equal(declarations.value.abiFlags?.fpAbi, 5);
+      const partial = target({ ...metadata(little), ...declarations.value });
       assert.match(
-        ghidraMipsUnsupportedReason(resolved) ?? "",
+        ghidraMipsUnsupportedReason(partial) ?? "",
         /ABI declaration inspection is incomplete/u,
       );
       assert.match(
-        resolved.mips.limitations?.join(" ") ?? "",
-        /section header table/u,
+        declarations.value.limitations.join(" "),
+        new RegExp(
+          `section header table.*examined ${Math.floor(availableBytes / 40)} of 2 complete headers`,
+          "u",
+        ),
       );
     });
   }
 }
-it("keeps declarations in uncaptured section headers unknown when program ABI data is absent", async () => {
+it("refuses uncaptured section declarations while retaining unknown ABI evidence and admitting an explicit no-table recordless control", async () => {
   const bytes = fixture();
   bytes.writeUInt32LE(bytes.length + 1, 32);
   bytes.writeUInt32LE(0, 52);
-  const resolved = await resolveFixture(bytes);
-  assert.equal(resolved.mips.abiFlags, null);
+  await refuseFixture(
+    bytes,
+    `truncated ELF section header table: declared file range ${bytes.length + 1}..${bytes.length + 81} exceeds the ${bytes.length}-byte file`,
+  );
+  const declarations = await inspectDeclarations(bytes);
+  assert.ok(declarations.ok);
+  assert.equal(declarations.value.abiFlags, null);
   assert.match(
-    ghidraMipsUnsupportedReason(resolved) ?? "",
+    ghidraMipsUnsupportedReason(
+      target({ ...metadata(), ...declarations.value }),
+    ) ?? "",
     /ABI declaration inspection is incomplete.*unavailable headers remain unknown/u,
   );
+  const recordless = withoutSectionTable(bytes);
+  recordless.writeUInt32LE(0, 28);
+  recordless.writeUInt16LE(0, 44);
+  recordless.writeUInt32LE(0x50000001, 36); // Explicit legacy MIPS32 lane.
+  const resolved = await resolveFixture(recordless);
+  assert.equal(resolved.mips.abiFlags, null);
+  assert.equal(resolved.mips.limitations, undefined);
+  assert.equal(ghidraMipsUnsupportedReason(resolved), null);
 });
 for (const failure of ["conflicting", "outside", "duplicate"]) {
   it(`retains ${failure} ABI errors in a partly captured section table`, async () => {
@@ -425,17 +471,16 @@ it("keeps missing ABI data unknown through the public target resolver", async ()
   assert.match(ghidraMipsUnsupportedReason(resolved) ?? "", /inspected ABI/u);
 });
 
-it("projects a malformed out-of-probe ABI record as a target error", async () => {
-  const directory = await createTestTempDirectory("rea-mips-resolution-");
-  const path = join(directory, "fixture.elf");
+it("refuses a declared out-of-file ABI payload before specialized ABI inspection", async () => {
   const bytes = fixture();
   bytes.writeUInt32LE(0xfffffff0, 56);
-  await writeFile(path, bytes);
-  const result = await parseBinaryTarget(path);
-  if (result.ok) throw new Error("Malformed ABI extent was accepted");
-  assert.equal(result.error._tag, "BinaryTargetError");
-  assert.match(result.error.message, /ABI record lies outside the file/u);
-  assert.deepEqual(await readFile(path), bytes);
+  await refuseFixture(
+    bytes,
+    `truncated ELF program 0: declared file range 4294967280..4294967304 exceeds the ${bytes.length}-byte file`,
+  );
+  const specialized = await inspect(bytes);
+  assert.ok(!specialized.ok);
+  assert.match(specialized.error, /ABI record lies outside the file/u);
 });
 
 for (const little of [true, false]) {