diff --git a/bible-local/architecture/runtime-flows.md b/bible-local/architecture/runtime-flows.md
index 5825281..d7e8a61 100644
--- a/bible-local/architecture/runtime-flows.md
+++ b/bible-local/architecture/runtime-flows.md
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 # Runtime Flows — bee
 
+## Network isolation — CRITICAL
+
+**The live CD runs in an isolated network segment with no internet access.**
+All binaries, kernel modules, and tools must be baked into the ISO at build time.
+No `apk add`, no downloads, no package manager calls are allowed at boot.
+DHCP is used only for LAN (operator SSH access). Internet is NOT available.
+
 ## Boot sequence (single ISO)
 
 OpenRC default runlevel, service start order:
diff --git a/bible-local/architecture/system-overview.md b/bible-local/architecture/system-overview.md
index 32acd7e..b6c325d 100644
--- a/bible-local/architecture/system-overview.md
+++ b/bible-local/architecture/system-overview.md
@@ -25,6 +25,16 @@ Fills gaps where Redfish/logpile is blind:
 - Interactive TUI (`bee-tui`) for network setup, service management, GPU tests
 - GPU stress testing via `gpu_burn` (vendor binary, optional)
 
+## Network isolation — CRITICAL
+
+**The live CD runs in an isolated network segment with no internet access.**
+
+- All tools, drivers, and binaries MUST be pre-baked into the ISO at build time
+- No `apk add` at boot — packages are installed during ISO creation, not at runtime
+- No downloads at boot — NVIDIA modules, vendor tools, and all binaries come from the ISO overlay
+- DHCP is used only for LAN access (SSH from operator laptop); internet is NOT assumed
+- Any feature requiring network downloads cannot be added to the live CD
+
 ## Out of scope
 
 - Any writes to the server being audited
@@ -32,6 +42,7 @@ Fills gaps where Redfish/logpile is blind:
 - BMC/IPMI configuration
 - Anything requiring persistent storage on the audited machine
 - Windows support
+- Any functionality requiring internet access at boot
 
 ## Tech stack
 
diff --git a/iso/builder/VERSIONS b/iso/builder/VERSIONS
index a2b316b..3f744b6 100644
--- a/iso/builder/VERSIONS
+++ b/iso/builder/VERSIONS
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
 ALPINE_VERSION=3.21
 KERNEL_VERSION=6.12
+# Exact Alpine package version for linux-lts. Pin this to match builder headers with ISO kernel.
+# To update: check `apk info linux-lts` on the target Alpine 3.21 system, update both here and in
+# build-nvidia-module.sh + mkimg.bee.sh. Do NOT change without rebuilding NVIDIA modules cache.
+KERNEL_PKG_VERSION=6.12.76-r0
 NVIDIA_DRIVER_VERSION=590.48.01
 GO_VERSION=1.23.6
+AUDIT_VERSION=0.1.0
diff --git a/iso/builder/build-nvidia-module.sh b/iso/builder/build-nvidia-module.sh
index 2a7ef23..0ec0695 100644
--- a/iso/builder/build-nvidia-module.sh
+++ b/iso/builder/build-nvidia-module.sh
@@ -16,14 +16,16 @@ set -e
 
 NVIDIA_VERSION="$1"
 DIST_DIR="$2"
+KERNEL_PKG_VERSION="$3"
 
-[ -n "$NVIDIA_VERSION" ] || { echo "usage: $0 <nvidia-version> <dist-dir>"; exit 1; }
-[ -n "$DIST_DIR" ]       || { echo "usage: $0 <nvidia-version> <dist-dir>"; exit 1; }
+[ -n "$NVIDIA_VERSION" ] || { echo "usage: $0 <nvidia-version> <dist-dir> <kernel-pkg-version>"; exit 1; }
+[ -n "$DIST_DIR" ]       || { echo "usage: $0 <nvidia-version> <dist-dir> <kernel-pkg-version>"; exit 1; }
+[ -n "$KERNEL_PKG_VERSION" ] || { echo "usage: $0 <nvidia-version> <dist-dir> <kernel-pkg-version>"; exit 1; }
 
-# Always install linux-lts-dev to ensure headers match the ISO's kernel (Alpine 3.21 = 6.12.x).
-# Without this, a builder with stale 6.6.x headers produces modules for the wrong kernel version.
-echo "=== installing linux-lts-dev ==="
-apk add --quiet linux-lts-dev
+# Install the EXACT pinned linux-lts-dev version so builder headers always match ISO kernel.
+# If this version is unavailable, apk will fail loudly — do NOT use a floating version here.
+echo "=== installing linux-lts-dev=${KERNEL_PKG_VERSION} ==="
+apk add --quiet "linux-lts-dev=${KERNEL_PKG_VERSION}"
 
 # Detect kernel version from installed headers (pick highest version if multiple).
 detect_kver() {
@@ -46,8 +48,8 @@ if [ -d "$CACHE_DIR/modules" ] && [ -f "$CACHE_DIR/bin/nvidia-smi" ]; then
     exit 0
 fi
 
-# Install build dependencies
-apk add --quiet gcc make perl linux-lts-dev wget
+# Install build dependencies (linux-lts-dev pinned to same version as initial install above)
+apk add --quiet gcc make perl "linux-lts-dev=${KERNEL_PKG_VERSION}" wget
 
 # Download official NVIDIA .run installer (proprietary) with sha256 verification
 BASE_URL="https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/${NVIDIA_VERSION}"
diff --git a/iso/builder/build.sh b/iso/builder/build.sh
index 7aa2abe..cfe6c2b 100755
--- a/iso/builder/build.sh
+++ b/iso/builder/build.sh
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
 done
 
 . "${BUILDER_DIR}/VERSIONS"
+export KERNEL_PKG_VERSION
 export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin"
 
 # NOTE: lz4 compression for modloop is disabled — Alpine initramfs may not support lz4 squashfs.
@@ -112,10 +113,25 @@ done
 # --- build NVIDIA kernel modules and inject into overlay ---
 echo ""
 echo "=== building NVIDIA ${NVIDIA_DRIVER_VERSION} modules ==="
-sh "${BUILDER_DIR}/build-nvidia-module.sh" "${NVIDIA_DRIVER_VERSION}" "${DIST_DIR}"
+sh "${BUILDER_DIR}/build-nvidia-module.sh" "${NVIDIA_DRIVER_VERSION}" "${DIST_DIR}" "${KERNEL_PKG_VERSION}"
 
-# Determine kernel version (same as what goes into the ISO — both use linux-lts from same Alpine)
+# Determine kernel version from installed headers (must match KERNEL_PKG_VERSION)
 KVER=$(ls /usr/src/ 2>/dev/null | grep '^linux-headers-' | sed 's/linux-headers-//' | sort -V | tail -1)
+
+# Build-time verification: ensure modules were compiled for the pinned kernel version.
+# KERNEL_PKG_VERSION is like "6.12.76-r0"; KVER is like "6.12.76-0-lts".
+# Extract numeric part from both and compare.
+PINNED_KVER="$(echo "${KERNEL_PKG_VERSION}" | sed 's/-r[0-9]*//')"
+RUNNING_KVER="$(echo "${KVER}" | sed 's/-[0-9]*-lts//')"
+if [ "${PINNED_KVER}" != "${RUNNING_KVER}" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: kernel version mismatch!"
+    echo "  VERSIONS pins: ${KERNEL_PKG_VERSION} (numeric: ${PINNED_KVER})"
+    echo "  Installed headers: ${KVER} (numeric: ${RUNNING_KVER})"
+    echo "  Update KERNEL_PKG_VERSION in iso/builder/VERSIONS to match installed headers."
+    exit 1
+fi
+echo "=== kernel version OK: ${KVER} matches pin ${KERNEL_PKG_VERSION} ==="
+
 NVIDIA_CACHE="${DIST_DIR}/nvidia-${NVIDIA_DRIVER_VERSION}-${KVER}"
 
 # Inject .ko files into overlay at /usr/local/lib/nvidia/ (not /lib/modules/ — modloop squashfs
@@ -176,12 +192,9 @@ if [ -d /var/tmp/bee-iso-work ]; then
         -exec rm -rf {} + 2>/dev/null || true
 fi
 
-# Run from /var/tmp to avoid git repo context conflicts and to ensure enough scratch space.
 # mkinitfs/update-kernel use TMPDIR for initramfs build; tmpfs /tmp is only ~1GB.
-# mkimage.sh sources genapkovl-*.sh from CWD (not from ~/.mkimage), so copy it here too.
+# genapkovl-bee.sh is found by mkimage via ~/.mkimage/ (copied above) — no CWD dependency.
 export TMPDIR=/var/tmp
-cp "${BUILDER_DIR}/genapkovl-bee.sh" /var/tmp/
-cd /var/tmp
 sh /usr/share/aports/scripts/mkimage.sh \
     --tag "v${ALPINE_VERSION}" \
     --outdir "${DIST_DIR}" \
diff --git a/iso/builder/genapkovl-bee.sh b/iso/builder/genapkovl-bee.sh
index adedb4c..be591db 100755
--- a/iso/builder/genapkovl-bee.sh
+++ b/iso/builder/genapkovl-bee.sh
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ rc_add bee-sshsetup default
 rc_add bee-network default
 rc_add dropbear default
 rc_add bee-nvidia default
-rc_add bee-audit-debug default
+rc_add bee-audit default
 
 if [ -d "$OVERLAY/etc" ]; then
     cp -r "$OVERLAY/etc/." "$tmp/etc/"
diff --git a/iso/builder/mkimg.bee.sh b/iso/builder/mkimg.bee.sh
index b6c8058..a9d3131 100755
--- a/iso/builder/mkimg.bee.sh
+++ b/iso/builder/mkimg.bee.sh
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ profile_bee() {
     syslinux_serial="0 115200"
     apks="
         alpine-base
-        linux-lts
+        linux-lts=${KERNEL_PKG_VERSION}
         linux-firmware-none
         linux-firmware-rtl_nic
         linux-firmware-bnx2
diff --git a/iso/builder/smoketest.sh b/iso/builder/smoketest.sh
index 5705619..5154781 100644
--- a/iso/builder/smoketest.sh
+++ b/iso/builder/smoketest.sh
@@ -126,20 +126,30 @@ fi
 
 echo ""
 echo "-- audit last run --"
+# audit binary logs via slog to stderr (bee-audit.log); JSON output goes to bee-audit.json.
+# slog format: time=... level=INFO msg="audit output written" path=...
+if [ -f /var/log/bee-audit.json ] && [ -s /var/log/bee-audit.json ]; then
+    ok "audit: bee-audit.json present and non-empty"
+    info "size: $(du -sh /var/log/bee-audit.json | cut -f1)"
+else
+    fail "audit: bee-audit.json missing or empty"
+fi
+
 if [ -f /var/log/bee-audit.log ]; then
     last_line=$(tail -1 /var/log/bee-audit.log)
     info "last log line: $last_line"
-    if grep -q "audit completed" /var/log/bee-audit.log 2>/dev/null; then
+    # slog writes: msg="audit output written" on success
+    if grep -q "audit output written" /var/log/bee-audit.log 2>/dev/null; then
         ok "audit: completed successfully"
-    elif grep -q "audit started" /var/log/bee-audit.log 2>/dev/null; then
-        warn "audit: started but may not have completed"
+    else
+        warn "audit: 'audit output written' not found in log — may have failed"
     fi
-    # check for nvidia enrichment
-    if grep -q "nvidia: enrichment skipped" /var/log/bee-audit.log 2>/dev/null; then
-        reason=$(grep "nvidia: enrichment skipped" /var/log/bee-audit.log | tail -1)
+    # check for nvidia enrichment skip (slog message from nvidia collector)
+    if grep -q "nvidia: enrichment skipped\|nvidia.*skipped\|enrichment skipped" /var/log/bee-audit.log 2>/dev/null; then
+        reason=$(grep -E "nvidia.*skipped|enrichment skipped" /var/log/bee-audit.log | tail -1)
         fail "audit: nvidia enrichment skipped — $reason"
     else
-        ok "audit: nvidia enrichment OK"
+        ok "audit: nvidia enrichment OK (no skip message)"
     fi
 else
     warn "audit: no log found at /var/log/bee-audit.log"
diff --git a/iso/overlay/etc/motd b/iso/overlay/etc/motd
index ea04205..49ff8df 100644
--- a/iso/overlay/etc/motd
+++ b/iso/overlay/etc/motd
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
   ██████╔╝███████╗███████╗    ██████╔╝███████╗██████╔╝╚██████╔╝╚██████╔╝
   ╚═════╝ ╚══════╝╚══════╝    ╚═════╝ ╚══════╝╚═════╝  ╚═════╝  ╚═════╝
 
-  Hardware Audit LiveCD — DEBUG MODE
+  Hardware Audit LiveCD
   Build: %%BUILD_INFO%%
 
   Logs:          /var/log/bee-audit.json  /var/log/bee-network.log
diff --git a/iso/overlay/root/.profile b/iso/overlay/root/.profile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ecd1535
--- /dev/null
+++ b/iso/overlay/root/.profile
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"