diff --git a/docs/feedpak-spec-gate.md b/docs/feedpak-spec-gate.md
index 3d1cadb..7df5222 100644
--- a/docs/feedpak-spec-gate.md
+++ b/docs/feedpak-spec-gate.md
@@ -104,18 +104,21 @@ branch.
 
 Known, and worth fixing in follow-ups rather than blocking on:
 
-- **Layer 1 is name-heuristic.** It recognises manifest dicts bound to locals named in `MANIFEST_VARS`
-  (`manifest`, `mf`) plus the `load_manifest(...)` call form. This works because the loaders use a uniform
-  idiom, but it is fragile against a refactor that renames the local. The `readers-complete` guard limits the
-  blast radius — a module that touches manifest keys can't go unscanned — but a *renamed local inside a
-  scanned module* would still slip. The hardening step is to route all manifest access through a single
-  declared `KNOWN_MANIFEST_KEYS` registry in `lib/sloppak.py`; the gate then compares registry against schema
-  exactly instead of inferring.
+- **Layer 1's receiver detection is heuristic.** Locals *assigned from* `load_manifest(...)` are discovered
+  flow-aware whatever they're called (chart.py's `m` taught us that), and the inline
+  `(load_manifest(p) or {}).get(...)` form is recognised — but a manifest that arrives as a **function
+  parameter** is only recognised by name (`MANIFEST_VARS`: `manifest`, `mf`). A parameter called something
+  else would slip. The hardening step is to route all manifest access through a single declared
+  `KNOWN_MANIFEST_KEYS` registry in `lib/sloppak.py`; the gate then compares registry against schema exactly
+  instead of inferring.
 - **Layer 1 covers top-level keys only.** Nested structure (`arrangements[].file`, `.id`, `.notation`) isn't
   checked. Extending to it means walking the schema's `$ref` subschemas.
 - **Layer 1 recognises `get`, `setdefault`, and subscripts** as key access. `update()` and `pop()` aren't
   used against a feedpak manifest anywhere in the tree, so they're deliberately not special-cased rather than
-  speculatively handled — but note `KEY_OPS` (which drives `readers-complete`) doesn't look for them either.
+  speculatively handled. `readers-complete` reuses the same scanner (`keys_touched()`), so this blind spot is
+  shared, not doubled: a module using only unrecognised access forms would evade both. Keys passed as literal
+  *call arguments* to helpers (`_gap_fill_manifest_absent(manifest, "album")` in `lib/routers/song.py`) are
+  likewise unseen.
 - **Layer 4 can't catch unknown keys**, because `manifest.schema.json` sets `additionalProperties: true` and
   the reference validator deliberately "treats unknown keys/files as forward-compatible". Fixing this
   properly belongs in the spec (tighten the schema, or give the validator a `--strict` mode). Until then,
diff --git a/tests/test_spec_gate.py b/tests/test_spec_gate.py
index 29027a2..dc31d24 100644
--- a/tests/test_spec_gate.py
+++ b/tests/test_spec_gate.py
@@ -105,6 +105,19 @@ def test_duplicate_exception_key_is_rejected():
         gate._parse_exceptions(textwrap.dedent(doc), "test")
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("doc", [
+    "- just\n- a\n- list\n",                 # list at top level
+    "exceptions: not-a-list\n",              # scalar where list expected
+    "exceptions:\n  - just-a-string\n",      # non-mapping entry
+    "exceptions: [\n",                       # invalid YAML
+])
+def test_malformed_exceptions_fail_legibly(doc):
+    # Malformed shapes must exit with a ::error::, not an AttributeError
+    # traceback — CI output has to say what to fix.
+    with pytest.raises(SystemExit):
+        gate._parse_exceptions(doc, "test")
+
+
 def test_exception_without_issue_is_rejected():
     # No tracking issue, no exception — entries are debt and debt is tracked.
     doc = """
diff --git a/tools/check_spec_conformance.py b/tools/check_spec_conformance.py
index cfa31d0..9ca13b6 100644
--- a/tools/check_spec_conformance.py
+++ b/tools/check_spec_conformance.py
@@ -182,9 +182,25 @@ def _parse_exceptions(text: str, origin: str) -> dict[str, str]:
     """Parse an exceptions document into {key: tracking issue}."""
     import yaml  # runtime dep (PyYAML is already in requirements.txt)
 
-    data = yaml.safe_load(text) or {}
+    try:
+        data = yaml.safe_load(text) or {}
+    except yaml.YAMLError as e:
+        _fail(f"{origin}: not valid YAML — {e}")
+        sys.exit(1)
+    # A malformed shape (list/string at top level, non-mapping entry) must fail
+    # with a CI-legible error, not an AttributeError traceback.
+    if not isinstance(data, dict):
+        _fail(f"{origin}: top level must be a mapping with an 'exceptions' list, got {type(data).__name__}")
+        sys.exit(1)
+    entries = data.get("exceptions") or []
+    if not isinstance(entries, list):
+        _fail(f"{origin}: 'exceptions' must be a list, got {type(entries).__name__}")
+        sys.exit(1)
     out: dict[str, str] = {}
-    for entry in data.get("exceptions") or []:
+    for entry in entries:
+        if not isinstance(entry, dict):
+            _fail(f"{origin}: each exception must be a mapping with 'key' and 'issue', got {type(entry).__name__}")
+            sys.exit(1)
         key, issue = entry.get("key"), entry.get("issue")
         if not key or not issue:
             _fail(f"{origin}: every exception needs both 'key' and 'issue'")