diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/quality.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/quality.yaml
index 036564c..d5dc2ae 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/quality.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/quality.yaml
@@ -322,12 +322,11 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@11bd71901bbe5b1630ceea73d27597364c9af683 # v4.2.2
-      - name: Install isolated Linux smoke prerequisites
-        run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y iproute2 nftables iptables ipset python3 curl util-linux coreutils
-      - name: Run shipped agent in isolated network and mount namespaces
+      - name: Run shipped agent in a dedicated namespace-capable helper
+        timeout-minutes: 10
         run: |
-          python3 scripts/ci/linux-agent-fixture.test.py
-          sudo bash scripts/ci/linux-netns-smoke.sh
+          sh scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-smoke.test.sh
+          sh scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-smoke.sh
 
   docker-check:
     needs: [changes]
diff --git a/docs/runtime-validation.md b/docs/runtime-validation.md
index 0fb12b9..be038c5 100644
--- a/docs/runtime-validation.md
+++ b/docs/runtime-validation.md
@@ -4,7 +4,17 @@ Docker/Linux runtime and RouterOS hardware are unavailable in this Windows works
 
 Local verification: `node --test scripts/ci/sqlite-backup.test.mjs` passed on Windows / Node 25.5.0 (1 test): committed WAL contents, refusal to overwrite a backup, offline restore requirement, removal of stale sidecars and preservation of the old destination when the input is invalid. Windows sandbox denied atomic rename; the identical test passed after an approved sandbox escalation. Bash syntax and workflow YAML parsing passed. These checks do not verify Alpine, Node 22 or the container image.
 
-## Build and publication
+## Containerized Gitea Linux-agent runner correction
+
+The first pushed `linux-agent-smoke` job failed at `unshare: Operation not permitted`: its Gitea job container did not have the kernel capabilities needed by the nested namespace harness. The workflow now builds `scripts/ci/linux-agent-smoke.Dockerfile` and launches it using `linux-agent-container-smoke.sh`. Prerequisites and the checked-out agent/fixture/harness are copied into the helper image, so a remote Docker daemon needs no runner filesystem bind mounts.
+
+The helper has its own network/PID/mount namespaces, `--network none`, a read-only image filesystem and a bounded temporary filesystem. It drops all capabilities except `SYS_ADMIN` (namespace/mount operations) and `NET_ADMIN` (veth, nftables and ipset inside the test namespaces). It retains Docker's default seccomp policy, enables no-new-privileges and never receives privileged mode, host networking/PIDs, host mounts or a Docker socket. On AppArmor-enabled daemons only this helper uses `apparmor=unconfined`, because Docker's default AppArmor policy denies the required mounts. See Docker's [capability guidance](https://docs.docker.com/engine/containers/run/) and [AppArmor policy guidance](https://docs.docker.com/engine/security/apparmor/).
+
+The original harness still creates and verifies separate network/mount/PID namespaces before firewall mutations. A preflight namespace probe fails clearly when the daemon/kernel does not support the required isolation; there is no skip, privileged retry or host-firewall fallback. The daemon must support namespaces, IPv6, veth, nftables, iptables and ipset; the helper cannot load missing host kernel modules. Its immutable image ID is used for execution and its container/image are cleaned up while preserving the original test exit code.
+
+Because the harness masks `/etc`, the helper resolves all six Debian iptables/ip6tables/save/restore alternatives to direct binary links at build time. Only public protocol/service name databases from the helper image are restored into the private `/etc`; no runner `/etc` files or credentials are copied. Local validation covers YAML and shell syntax, the fixture ACK unit test and a fake-Docker wrapper regression (isolation flags, build-context behavior, cleanup and nonzero exit propagation). Docker is unavailable locally, so the corrected native helper run remains pending CI.
+
+## Image build and publication
 
 2026-10-26 checkpoint: Docker CLI is still absent and `wsl --status` reports WSL is not installed. Local checks passed for the full-size fresh fixture/reuse refusal, selected-platform manifest validation and generated-schema drift check. These are not native container results. The load runner requires zero telemetry history/watermarks/totals, checks three unique raw reports and 200/400 deltas per agent plus 20000/40000 fleet totals, and reports report-ingestion and timeseries p95 independently. The first v2 counter establishes a baseline, so it contributes no fabricated traffic.
 
diff --git a/scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-entry.sh b/scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-entry.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a4ced4e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-entry.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -Eeuo pipefail
+# Fail before any firewall work if the daemon/kernel still forbids namespaces.
+if ! unshare --net --mount --pid --fork --mount-proc true; then
+  echo 'Linux agent helper cannot create required namespaces. A rootful Docker daemon with namespace/netfilter support and the documented helper capabilities is required; smoke was not run.' >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+python3 -B scripts/ci/linux-agent-fixture.test.py
+export EVOFW_TEST_ETC_DATA=/work/helper-etc
+exec bash scripts/ci/linux-netns-smoke.sh
diff --git a/scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-smoke.sh b/scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-smoke.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d26275
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-smoke.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+# Run from the checkout root. Build context is sent to Docker, never bind-mounted.
+set -eu
+command -v docker >/dev/null
+[ "$(docker info --format '{{.OSType}}')" = linux ] || { echo 'A Linux Docker daemon is required for the agent namespace smoke' >&2; exit 1; }
+tmp="$(mktemp -d)"
+name="evofw-linux-smoke-${GITHUB_RUN_ID:-local}-${GITHUB_RUN_ATTEMPT:-1}-$$"
+image=''
+cleanup() {
+  result=$?
+  trap - EXIT HUP INT TERM
+  docker rm -f "$name" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+  if [ -n "$image" ]; then docker image rm "$image" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; fi
+  rm -rf "$tmp"
+  exit "$result"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+trap 'exit 129' HUP
+trap 'exit 130' INT
+trap 'exit 143' TERM
+docker build --file scripts/ci/linux-agent-smoke.Dockerfile --iidfile "$tmp/image-id" .
+image="$(cat "$tmp/image-id")"
+printf '%s\n' "$image" | grep -Eq '^sha256:[0-9a-f]{64}$' || { echo 'Missing immutable helper image ID' >&2; exit 1; }
+set -- docker run --rm --name "$name" --network none \
+  --cap-drop ALL --cap-add SYS_ADMIN --cap-add NET_ADMIN \
+  --security-opt no-new-privileges:true \
+  --read-only --tmpfs /tmp:rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,size=64m \
+  --pids-limit 256 --cpus 2 --memory 512m
+# docker-default AppArmor denies the mount operations used by unshare/ip-netns.
+# Only this disposable, networkless helper gets the mount-capable exception.
+# Default seccomp remains enabled and adapts to the two granted capabilities.
+security="$(docker info --format '{{json .SecurityOptions}}')"
+if printf '%s' "$security" | grep -q apparmor; then
+  set -- "$@" --security-opt apparmor=unconfined
+fi
+set -- "$@" "$image"
+"$@"
diff --git a/scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-smoke.test.sh b/scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-smoke.test.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0940f33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-smoke.test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+# Exercise the wrapper without a Docker daemon or any firewall operation.
+set -eu
+wrapper="$(pwd)/scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-smoke.sh"
+tmp="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$tmp"' EXIT HUP INT TERM
+mkdir "$tmp/bin"
+cat >"$tmp/bin/docker" <<'DOCKER'
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+set -eu
+printf '%s\n' "$*" >>"$FAKE_LOG"
+case "$1" in
+  info)
+    case "$*" in
+      *SecurityOptions*) if [ "$FAKE_APPARMOR" = true ]; then printf '["name=apparmor","name=seccomp,profile=default"]\n'; else printf '["name=seccomp,profile=default"]\n'; fi ;;
+      *) printf 'linux\n' ;;
+    esac ;;
+  build)
+    while [ "$#" -gt 0 ]; do
+      if [ "$1" = --iidfile ]; then shift; printf 'sha256:%064d\n' 0 >"$1"; break; fi
+      shift
+    done ;;
+  run) exit "$FAKE_RUN_EXIT" ;;
+  rm|image) exit 0 ;;
+  *) exit 98 ;;
+esac
+DOCKER
+chmod +x "$tmp/bin/docker"
+for expected in 0 23; do
+  log="$tmp/docker-$expected.log"
+  apparmor=false; [ "$expected" = 0 ] || apparmor=true
+  if PATH="$tmp/bin:$PATH" FAKE_LOG="$log" FAKE_APPARMOR="$apparmor" FAKE_RUN_EXIT="$expected" sh "$wrapper"; then actual=0; else actual=$?; fi
+  [ "$actual" = "$expected" ] || { echo 'Wrapper did not preserve the container exit code' >&2; exit 1; }
+  grep -F 'build --file scripts/ci/linux-agent-smoke.Dockerfile --iidfile ' "$log" >/dev/null
+  grep -F ' --network none --cap-drop ALL --cap-add SYS_ADMIN --cap-add NET_ADMIN ' "$log" >/dev/null
+  grep -F ' --security-opt no-new-privileges:true --read-only --tmpfs /tmp:' "$log" >/dev/null
+  grep -F 'image rm sha256:' "$log" >/dev/null
+  grep -E '^rm -f evofw-linux-smoke-' "$log" >/dev/null
+  if grep -E -- '(--privileged|--network host|--pid host|--mount|--volume|docker.sock|seccomp=)' "$log" >/dev/null; then echo 'Unsafe helper isolation flags' >&2; exit 1; fi
+  if [ "$apparmor" = true ]; then grep -F ' --security-opt apparmor=unconfined ' "$log" >/dev/null
+  elif grep -F 'apparmor=unconfined' "$log" >/dev/null; then echo 'Unneeded AppArmor exception' >&2; exit 1
+  fi
+done
+echo 'Helper wrapper regression passed (flags, remote context, exit status, cleanup)'
diff --git a/scripts/ci/linux-agent-smoke.Dockerfile b/scripts/ci/linux-agent-smoke.Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed279aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/linux-agent-smoke.Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+FROM debian:bookworm-slim
+RUN apt-get update \
+    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+      bash ca-certificates coreutils curl iproute2 ipset iptables netbase nftables python3 util-linux \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+# The harness masks /etc. Debian's public xtables links normally traverse
+# /etc/alternatives, so resolve them while that directory is still visible.
+RUN set -eu; for tool in iptables iptables-save iptables-restore ip6tables ip6tables-save ip6tables-restore; do \
+      binary="$(readlink -f "$(command -v "$tool")")"; \
+      test -x "$binary"; \
+      case "$binary" in /etc/*) exit 1;; esac; \
+      ln -sf "$binary" "/usr/sbin/$tool"; \
+      test "$(readlink -f "/usr/sbin/$tool")" = "$binary"; \
+    done
+WORKDIR /work
+# Public protocol/service name databases only; never copy the runner's /etc.
+RUN mkdir helper-etc && cp /etc/protocols /etc/services helper-etc/
+# COPY makes this work with a remote Docker daemon; no runner path is mounted.
+COPY apps/api/src/agent-scripts/evofw-firewall.sh apps/api/src/agent-scripts/evofw-firewall.sh
+COPY scripts/ci/linux-netns-smoke.sh scripts/ci/linux-agent-fixture.py scripts/ci/linux-agent-fixture.test.py scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-entry.sh scripts/ci/
+RUN bash -n scripts/ci/linux-netns-smoke.sh scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-entry.sh \
+    && python3 -B scripts/ci/linux-agent-fixture.test.py
+ENTRYPOINT ["bash", "scripts/ci/linux-agent-container-entry.sh"]
diff --git a/scripts/ci/linux-netns-smoke.sh b/scripts/ci/linux-netns-smoke.sh
index b909a3c..ecd1c9c 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/linux-netns-smoke.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/linux-netns-smoke.sh
@@ -24,6 +24,10 @@ export NO_PROXY='*'
 mount --make-rprivate /
 # Agent hardcoded config/state/log paths are private mounts, never host writes.
 for directory in /etc /var/lib /var/log /run; do mount -t tmpfs tmpfs "$directory"; done
+if [[ -n "${EVOFW_TEST_ETC_DATA:-}" ]]; then
+  [[ "$EVOFW_TEST_ETC_DATA" == /work/helper-etc ]]
+  cp "$EVOFW_TEST_ETC_DATA/protocols" "$EVOFW_TEST_ETC_DATA/services" /etc/
+fi
 mkdir -p /etc/evofw /var/lib/evofw
 ip link set lo up
 ip netns add client