diff --git a/src-tauri/.cargo/audit.toml b/src-tauri/.cargo/audit.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d403e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src-tauri/.cargo/audit.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# cargo-audit configuration.
+#
+# `cargo audit` reads Cargo.lock, which records optional dependencies even when
+# no enabled feature pulls them into the build. An advisory against such a
+# package fails CI while the vulnerable code is never compiled into the binary.
+# Entries here are for exactly that case and must each carry the evidence.
+#
+# Before adding an ignore, prove the crate is genuinely not built:
+#   cd src-tauri
+#   cargo tree -i <crate> --target all     # must print "nothing to print"
+#   cargo tree --target all | grep <crate> # must find nothing
+# If either finds it, the crate IS in the build and the advisory must be fixed,
+# not ignored.
+
+[advisories]
+ignore = [
+  # RUSTSEC-2026-0235 — rkyv: insufficient archive validation can cause
+  # out-of-bounds reads in archives containing Rc/Arc. Fixed in rkyv >= 0.8.17.
+  #
+  # Not reachable here. rkyv is an OPTIONAL dependency of rust_decimal, which
+  # arrives via tauri-plugin-log -> byte-unit -> rust_decimal. No enabled
+  # feature activates it, so it is present in Cargo.lock but absent from the
+  # build graph. Verified with the two commands above (both find nothing) and
+  # by there being no rkyv artifact in target/.
+  #
+  # There is no upgrade path: rust_decimal 1.42.1 is the newest release and
+  # still pins rkyv 0.7.x, so `cargo update` cannot reach 0.8.17.
+  #
+  # REMOVE THIS as soon as either becomes true:
+  #   - rust_decimal ships a release depending on rkyv >= 0.8.17, or
+  #   - `cargo tree -i rkyv --target all` starts printing a path, which would
+  #     mean the crate is now genuinely compiled and the advisory applies.
+  "RUSTSEC-2026-0235",
+]
diff --git a/src-tauri/Cargo.lock b/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
index 77284dc..7cfc63c 100644
--- a/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
+++ b/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
@@ -4093,7 +4093,7 @@ version = "0.7.6"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "680998035259dcfcafe653688bf2aa6d3e2dc05e98be6ab46afb089dc84f1df8"
 dependencies = [
- "proc-macro-crate 3.5.0",
+ "proc-macro-crate 1.3.1",
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
  "syn 2.0.118",
@@ -6861,7 +6861,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "32497e9a4c7b38532efcdebeef879707aa9f794296a4f0244f6f69e9bc8574bd"
 dependencies = [
  "fastrand",
- "getrandom 0.4.3",
+ "getrandom 0.3.4",
  "once_cell",
  "rustix",
  "windows-sys 0.61.2",
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/vpn_extension_detect/browser_scan.rs b/src-tauri/src/vpn_extension_detect/browser_scan.rs
index 10471ec..2a6223c 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/vpn_extension_detect/browser_scan.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/vpn_extension_detect/browser_scan.rs
@@ -285,6 +285,23 @@ mod tests {
     fs::write(path, contents).unwrap();
   }
 
+  /// Build a Chromium `Preferences` blob for one extension.
+  ///
+  /// Serialized rather than string-interpolated on purpose: a Windows path is
+  /// `C:\Users\...`, and pasting it into a JSON string literal produces invalid
+  /// escape sequences, so the file silently fails to parse and every assertion
+  /// about it passes for the wrong reason.
+  fn preferences_json(crx_id: &str, state: i64, path: &Path) -> String {
+    serde_json::json!({
+      "extensions": {
+        "settings": {
+          crx_id: { "state": state, "path": path.to_string_lossy() }
+        }
+      }
+    })
+    .to_string()
+  }
+
   const VPN_MANIFEST: &str = r#"{"name":"Turbo VPN","version":"2.1.0","permissions":["proxy"]}"#;
   const CRX_ID: &str = "abcdefghijklmnopabcdefghijklmnop";
 
@@ -530,6 +547,22 @@ mod tests {
     assert!(out.is_empty());
   }
 
+  #[test]
+  fn preferences_json_escapes_windows_style_paths() {
+    // The Windows CI failure this guards: a raw `C:\Users\...` pasted into a
+    // JSON string literal is invalid (`\U` is not an escape), so Preferences
+    // failed to parse, `preference_extensions` returned nothing, and the
+    // unpacked extension silently vanished — on Linux the same test passed
+    // because POSIX paths contain no backslashes.
+    let json = preferences_json(CRX_ID, 1, Path::new(r"C:\Users\runner\ext\my-vpn"));
+    let parsed: serde_json::Value =
+      serde_json::from_str(&json).expect("Preferences must be valid JSON on every platform");
+    assert_eq!(
+      parsed["extensions"]["settings"][CRX_ID]["path"],
+      r"C:\Users\runner\ext\my-vpn"
+    );
+  }
+
   #[test]
   fn scan_finds_an_unpacked_developer_mode_extension() {
     // Sideloading via "Load unpacked" is exactly how a VPN extension gets in
@@ -540,10 +573,7 @@ mod tests {
     write(&unpacked.join("manifest.json"), VPN_MANIFEST);
     write(
       &root.join("Default").join("Preferences"),
-      &format!(
-        r#"{{"extensions":{{"settings":{{"{CRX_ID}":{{"state":1,"path":"{}"}}}}}}}}"#,
-        unpacked.to_string_lossy()
-      ),
+      &preferences_json(CRX_ID, 1, &unpacked),
     );
 
     let mut out = Vec::new();
@@ -561,10 +591,7 @@ mod tests {
     write(&unpacked.join("manifest.json"), VPN_MANIFEST);
     write(
       &root.join("Default").join("Preferences"),
-      &format!(
-        r#"{{"extensions":{{"settings":{{"{CRX_ID}":{{"state":0,"path":"{}"}}}}}}}}"#,
-        unpacked.to_string_lossy()
-      ),
+      &preferences_json(CRX_ID, 0, &unpacked),
     );
 
     let mut out = Vec::new();
@@ -580,9 +607,7 @@ mod tests {
     let root = tmp.path();
     write(
       &root.join("Default").join("Preferences"),
-      &format!(
-        r#"{{"extensions":{{"settings":{{"{CRX_ID}":{{"state":1,"path":"{CRX_ID}/2.1.0_0"}}}}}}}}"#
-      ),
+      &preferences_json(CRX_ID, 1, Path::new(&format!("{CRX_ID}/2.1.0_0"))),
     );
 
     let mut out = Vec::new();