diff --git a/.github/scripts/verify-reproducibility.sh b/.github/scripts/verify-reproducibility.sh
index 5cbadb5..9110283 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/verify-reproducibility.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/verify-reproducibility.sh
@@ -21,7 +21,12 @@ if [[ -z "$TAG" || -z "$PKG" ]]; then
 fi
 
 VERSION="${TAG#v}"
-WORK="$(mktemp -d)"
+# Canonicalize (pwd -P): on macOS mktemp returns a /var/folders/... path, but /var is a
+# symlink to /private/var — and building through the unresolved spelling makes SourceLink's
+# computed source root disagree with the compiler's canonical source paths, so the /_/ path
+# map never applies, absolute paths leak into the deterministic input hash, and verification
+# reports a false MISMATCH for a perfectly reproducible package.
+WORK="$(cd "$(mktemp -d)" && pwd -P)"
 trap 'rm -rf "$WORK"' EXIT
 
 echo "==> Verifying reproducibility for $PKG $VERSION (tag $TAG)"
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f13dac1..0481e4c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -105,6 +105,16 @@ independently re-traced before fixing; none affects any on-disk byte or reader a
   trace on a locked/unreadable file; the pqfe-web page no longer hangs at "Encrypting…"
   forever if the worker crashes mid-operation; the docs-consistency link checker handles
   markdown link titles and URL-encoded targets.
+- **The reproducibility verifier's macOS false-MISMATCH, root-caused and fixed.** On macOS,
+  `mktemp -d` returns a `/var/folders/…` path whose `/var` prefix is a symlink to
+  `/private/var`; building the cloned source through the unresolved spelling made
+  SourceLink's source root disagree with the compiler's canonical paths, so the `/_/` path
+  map never applied and the deterministic input hash shifted — reporting a byte-perfect
+  package as MISMATCH (the earlier external macOS-reproducibility report had the same
+  cause). The script now canonicalizes its work directory (`pwd -P`); `v1.7.1` is verified
+  byte-identical on Linux **and macOS arm64**, and REPRODUCIBLE-BUILDS.md now states the
+  proven cross-OS claim. (Also corrected: AUDIT-SCOPE.md pinned the v1.7.1 annotated-tag
+  object hash as the commit; it now names the actual commit `f062c10`.)
 
 ### Changed (behavior)
 
diff --git a/docs/AUDIT-SCOPE.md b/docs/AUDIT-SCOPE.md
index 526d12f..e8f3f25 100644
--- a/docs/AUDIT-SCOPE.md
+++ b/docs/AUDIT-SCOPE.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ restating.
 | | |
 | --- | --- |
 | Repository | `https://github.com/systemslibrarian/postquantum-file-encryption` |
-| Audit revision | latest release tag — **`v1.7.1`**, commit **`e0d332a`** |
+| Audit revision | latest release tag — **`v1.7.1`**, commit **`f062c10`** |
 | On-disk formats under review | `.pqfe` **v2** container, `.sig` **v1** sidecar, `PQKF` **v1** key file — all **frozen** for the entire `1.x` line |
 
 Pin the engagement to the tag, not to `main`:
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Pin the engagement to the tag, not to `main`:
 ```bash
 git clone https://github.com/systemslibrarian/postquantum-file-encryption
 cd postquantum-file-encryption
-git checkout v1.7.1        # commit e0d332a
+git checkout v1.7.1        # commit f062c10
 # Release provenance: verify the tag's published artifacts against their build-provenance
 # attestations instead — see docs/SUPPLY-CHAIN.md ("gh attestation verify").
 ```
diff --git a/docs/REPRODUCIBLE-BUILDS.md b/docs/REPRODUCIBLE-BUILDS.md
index 86a969a..629e251 100644
--- a/docs/REPRODUCIBLE-BUILDS.md
+++ b/docs/REPRODUCIBLE-BUILDS.md
@@ -53,18 +53,18 @@ What does **not** affect reproducibility (with the above in place):
 - Local NuGet caches. The compiler reads from `obj/`, which is regenerated from the same
   inputs.
 
-What **should not** affect it, but currently does:
-
-- **The operating system of the verifier.** In principle `.gitattributes`-normalised sources
-  plus `Deterministic=true` yield byte-identical assemblies on any OS. In practice, a macOS
-  arm64 rebuild of `v1.7.1` produced managed DLLs that differ from the Linux-built published
-  package — observed with this repository's own verifier, and independently reported. The
-  release-time verification on Linux passed for the same tag, so this is platform/toolchain
-  drift, not evidence of tampering — but it means **Linux (the CI environment) is the
-  demonstrated reproducibility envelope today**. Verify on Linux, or when investigating a
-  mismatch elsewhere, first match the exact SDK (`dotnet --version`) and OS of the release
-  build before suspecting the artifact. Root-causing (and either fixing or permanently
-  scoping) the cross-OS difference is tracked work.
+- **The operating system of the verifier — proven, not just principled.** For `v1.7.1` the
+  rebuild is byte-identical on Linux (x64 release CI and arm64) **and macOS arm64** with SDK
+  `10.0.400`. An earlier macOS "mismatch" — reported externally and initially reproduced
+  here — turned out to be a bug in this repository's own verification script, not in the
+  artifacts: on macOS `mktemp -d` returns a `/var/folders/…` path, but `/var` is a symlink
+  to `/private/var`, and building through the unresolved spelling made SourceLink's computed
+  source root disagree with the compiler's canonical source paths — the `/_/` path map never
+  applied, absolute build paths leaked into the deterministic input hash, and the diff
+  flagged a perfectly reproducible package as MISMATCH. The script now canonicalizes its
+  work directory (`pwd -P`). If you verify by hand, build from a symlink-free (physical)
+  path — a mismatch that appears only under an aliased path is the verifier's environment,
+  not the artifact.
 
 What **does** matter: