diff --git a/.changeset/fls-keys-release-sync-d11.md b/.changeset/fls-keys-release-sync-d11.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..12f3b820c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fls-keys-release-sync-d11.md
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+---
+"@objectstack/lint": minor
+"@objectstack/example-showcase": patch
+"@objectstack/spec": patch
+---
+
+Permission-zoo audit follow-ups:
+
+**FLS keys must be object-qualified (`security-fls-unqualified-key`, error).**
+The runtime evaluator matches field-permission keys by `<object>.<field>`
+prefix — a bare `budget` key matches NOTHING and the declared masking
+silently never enforces. The showcase itself shipped exactly that bug: its
+contributor FLS block (bare `budget`/`spent`/`budget_remaining`) was a
+runtime no-op, and the "FLS proof" in earlier verification was actually a
+validation-rule rejection. Fixed: keys qualified
+(`showcase_project.budget` …), a new D7 lint rule rejects bare keys at
+compile time with a fix-it, and the permission-zoo dogfood now proves the
+served pipeline denies a contributor's budget write while allowing ordinary
+field edits.
+
+**Release pipeline: PROTOCOL_VERSION auto-sync.** `changeset version` now
+runs `scripts/sync-protocol-version.mjs`, regenerating the handshake
+constant from the spec package major. Release PRs opened by
+changesets/action with the default GITHUB_TOKEN never trigger CI (GitHub's
+anti-recursion rule), so the lockstep guard could only fire AFTER a release
+merged — the drift class that broke main at 14.0.0 (#2769) is now fixed at
+version time, the one spot that cannot be skipped.
+
+**D11 `externalSharingModel` honestly marked.** The dial has no runtime
+consumer yet (authoring lint + Studio badges only); its liveness entry
+moves from a bespoke `authorable` status to the documented `planned` +
+`authorWarn`, and the sharing docs / design doc / showcase comments now say
+explicitly that evaluation of external principals lands with the
+principal-taxonomy phase (#2696).
diff --git a/content/docs/permissions/sharing-rules.mdx b/content/docs/permissions/sharing-rules.mdx
index 6191c95480..120a74f1fe 100644
--- a/content/docs/permissions/sharing-rules.mdx
+++ b/content/docs/permissions/sharing-rules.mdx
@@ -56,6 +56,13 @@ externalSharingModel: 'private',        // external principals: own + shares onl
 - "External" is a property of the **principal** (`audience: 'external'`),
   never of the object. The BU depth axis does not apply to externals; their
   visibility = own records + explicit shares + the external OWD.
+- **Status: declared, not yet evaluated at runtime.** Today the dial is
+  authoring-validated (the linter above) and surfaced in Studio (the `Ext`
+  badge per object row); the evaluator branch that substitutes it for
+  external principals lands with the principal-taxonomy semantics phase
+  (tracked on #2696, liveness: `planned`). Until then no request is
+  evaluated as external — authoring the dial prepares your model without
+  changing behavior.
 
 ## Criteria-Based Sharing Rules
 
diff --git a/docs/design/permission-model.md b/docs/design/permission-model.md
index e7dda352ec..181f85814a 100644
--- a/docs/design/permission-model.md
+++ b/docs/design/permission-model.md
@@ -110,6 +110,10 @@ declare `externalSharingModel` (same four values, ADR-0090 D11). It defaults to
 **never be wider than the internal one** — e.g. accounts can be `public_read` for employees while
 staying `private` for dealer-portal users, who then see only records they own or were explicitly
 shared. If your object has no external audience, ignore this field entirely.
+*Status:* the dial is authoring-validated (D7 lint `security-external-wider-than-internal`) and
+surfaced in Studio; the runtime evaluator branch that applies it to `audience: 'external'`
+principals lands with the principal-taxonomy semantics phase (#2696, liveness `planned` +
+author-warning). No request evaluates as external today.
 
 ## 4. Worked example — a CRM package
 
diff --git a/examples/app-showcase/src/data/objects/account.object.ts b/examples/app-showcase/src/data/objects/account.object.ts
index 8145b9e039..59a294a4e2 100644
--- a/examples/app-showcase/src/data/objects/account.object.ts
+++ b/examples/app-showcase/src/data/objects/account.object.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ export const Account = ObjectSchema.create({
   // [ADR-0090 D11] External principals may READ accounts (portal users see
   // the customer directory) but never write them — a non-default external
   // dial that is still strictly ≤ the internal `public_read_write`.
+  // Authoring-validated + Studio-surfaced today; runtime evaluation lands
+  // with the principal-taxonomy phase (#2696, liveness `planned`).
   externalSharingModel: 'public_read',
   label: 'Account',
   pluralLabel: 'Accounts',
diff --git a/examples/app-showcase/src/data/objects/announcement.object.ts b/examples/app-showcase/src/data/objects/announcement.object.ts
index 0ed9376792..0ec0fa42ba 100644
--- a/examples/app-showcase/src/data/objects/announcement.object.ts
+++ b/examples/app-showcase/src/data/objects/announcement.object.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,9 @@ export const Announcement = ObjectSchema.create({
   // announcements are public_read for employees but PRIVATE to external
   // users — an external portal user sees only announcements they own or were
   // explicitly shared. Must never be wider than the internal model
-  // (validated: external ≤ internal).
+  // (validated: external ≤ internal). NOTE the dial is authoring-validated +
+  // Studio-surfaced today; runtime evaluation of external principals lands
+  // with the principal-taxonomy phase (#2696, liveness `planned`).
   externalSharingModel: 'private',
 
   fields: {
diff --git a/examples/app-showcase/src/security/permission-sets.ts b/examples/app-showcase/src/security/permission-sets.ts
index 93069c7fce..2aa50a78b1 100644
--- a/examples/app-showcase/src/security/permission-sets.ts
+++ b/examples/app-showcase/src/security/permission-sets.ts
@@ -44,10 +44,14 @@ export const ContributorPermissionSet = definePermissionSet({
     showcase_invoice_line: { allowRead: true, allowCreate: true, allowEdit: true, allowDelete: false },
   },
   // Field-level security — contributors can read but not edit budget figures.
+  // Keys MUST be `<object>.<field>` qualified: the runtime evaluator matches
+  // by object prefix, so a bare `budget` key silently enforces NOTHING (the
+  // showcase shipped exactly that bug — caught by the permission-zoo audit,
+  // now rejected at compile time by `security-fls-unqualified-key`).
   fields: {
-    budget: { readable: true, editable: false },
-    spent: { readable: true, editable: false },
-    budget_remaining: { readable: true, editable: false },
+    'showcase_project.budget': { readable: true, editable: false },
+    'showcase_project.spent': { readable: true, editable: false },
+    'showcase_project.budget_remaining': { readable: true, editable: false },
   },
   // Row-level security — contributors only see tasks assigned to them.
   rowLevelSecurity: [
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index dac1db4f06..1364e2d4b9 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
     "test:e2e": "turbo run test:e2e",
     "clean": "turbo run clean && rm -rf dist",
     "setup": "pnpm install && pnpm --filter @objectstack/spec build",
-    "version": "changeset version",
+    "version": "changeset version && node scripts/sync-protocol-version.mjs",
     "release": "pnpm run build && bash scripts/build-console.sh && bash scripts/release-publish.sh",
     "docs:dev": "pnpm --filter @objectstack/docs dev",
     "docs:build": "pnpm --filter @objectstack/docs build",
diff --git a/packages/dogfood/test/showcase-permission-zoo.dogfood.test.ts b/packages/dogfood/test/showcase-permission-zoo.dogfood.test.ts
index 451c608639..76ba262f67 100644
--- a/packages/dogfood/test/showcase-permission-zoo.dogfood.test.ts
+++ b/packages/dogfood/test/showcase-permission-zoo.dogfood.test.ts
@@ -211,4 +211,40 @@ describe('showcase: ADR-0090 permission-model zoo', () => {
     });
     expect(r.status, 'read-only + create-intake set passes the guest tier').toBeLessThan(300);
   });
+
+  // ── FLS enforcement — object-qualified keys (permission-zoo audit) ───────
+  // The contributor set masks the project budget figures read-only. The keys
+  // were originally BARE (`budget`) — which the evaluator silently ignores
+  // (it matches `<object>.<field>` prefixes), so the declared masking never
+  // enforced. Qualified keys + the `security-fls-unqualified-key` lint close
+  // that; this proves the served pipeline actually denies the write now.
+  it('FLS: a contributor can edit a project but NOT its budget fields', async () => {
+    const plain = await ql.findOne('sys_user', { where: { email: 'zoo-plain@verify.test' }, context: SYS });
+    const contribSet = await ql.findOne('sys_permission_set', { where: { name: 'showcase_contributor' }, context: SYS });
+    await ql.insert('sys_user_permission_set', { user_id: plain.id, permission_set_id: contribSet.id }, { context: SYS })
+      .catch(() => { /* already granted by an earlier step — idempotent */ });
+
+    const projects = await ql.find('showcase_project', { limit: 1, context: SYS });
+    const projectId = projects?.[0]?.id;
+    expect(projectId, 'seeded project available').toBeTruthy();
+    const budgetBefore = projects[0].budget;
+
+    // Editable field → allowed (allowEdit on showcase_project).
+    const nameEdit = await stack.apiAs(plainTok, 'PATCH', `/data/showcase_project/${projectId}`, {
+      name: 'Renamed by contributor (FLS probe)',
+    });
+    expect(nameEdit.status, 'ordinary field edit passes').toBeLessThan(300);
+
+    // Masked field → denied. A LARGE budget keeps the spent_within_budget
+    // validation rule satisfied, so a rejection here can only be the FLS
+    // write-deny — before the key qualification this returned 2xx (the bare
+    // key was silently ignored).
+    const budgetEdit = await stack.apiAs(plainTok, 'PATCH', `/data/showcase_project/${projectId}`, {
+      budget: 999999999,
+    });
+    expect(budgetEdit.status, 'editable:false field write is denied').not.toBeLessThan(300);
+
+    const after = await ql.findOne('showcase_project', { where: { id: projectId }, context: SYS });
+    expect(after.budget, 'budget unchanged after the denied write').toBe(budgetBefore);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/packages/lint/src/validate-security-posture.test.ts b/packages/lint/src/validate-security-posture.test.ts
index d3c3cf4a7d..b02f1dde67 100644
--- a/packages/lint/src/validate-security-posture.test.ts
+++ b/packages/lint/src/validate-security-posture.test.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 
 import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
 import {
+  SECURITY_FLS_UNQUALIFIED_KEY,
   validateSecurityPosture,
   SECURITY_OWD_UNSET,
   SECURITY_OWD_ALIAS,
@@ -122,6 +123,37 @@ describe('validateSecurityPosture (ADR-0090 D7)', () => {
     ).toEqual([]);
   });
 
+  // ── Rule: security-fls-unqualified-key (permission-zoo audit) ───────
+  it('errors on a bare FLS key — the runtime evaluator silently ignores it', () => {
+    const findings = validateSecurityPosture({
+      permissions: [
+        {
+          name: 'contrib',
+          objects: { crm_opportunity: { allowRead: true, allowEdit: true } },
+          fields: { cost_internal: { readable: true, editable: false } },
+        },
+      ],
+    }).filter((f) => f.rule === SECURITY_FLS_UNQUALIFIED_KEY);
+    expect(findings).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(findings[0].severity).toBe('error');
+    expect(findings[0].message).toMatch(/silently IGNORED/);
+    expect(findings[0].hint).toMatch(/crm_opportunity\.cost_internal/);
+  });
+
+  it('accepts object-qualified FLS keys', () => {
+    expect(
+      rulesOf({
+        permissions: [
+          {
+            name: 'contrib',
+            objects: { crm_opportunity: { allowRead: true } },
+            fields: { 'crm_opportunity.cost_internal': { readable: false, editable: false } },
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+    ).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
   // ── Rule: security-anchor-high-privilege (ADR-0090 D5/D9) ───────────
   it('errors when an isDefault (everyone-suggested) set carries high-privilege bits', () => {
     const findings = validateSecurityPosture({
diff --git a/packages/lint/src/validate-security-posture.ts b/packages/lint/src/validate-security-posture.ts
index a895e89ff7..420cb8cefe 100644
--- a/packages/lint/src/validate-security-posture.ts
+++ b/packages/lint/src/validate-security-posture.ts
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ export const SECURITY_ROLE_WORD = 'security-role-word';
 export const SECURITY_BOOK_AUDIENCE_UNKNOWN_SET = 'security-book-audience-unknown-set';
 export const SECURITY_PRIVATE_NO_READSCOPE = 'security-private-no-readscope';
 export const SECURITY_MASTER_DETAIL_UNGRANTED = 'security-master-detail-ungranted';
+export const SECURITY_FLS_UNQUALIFIED_KEY = 'security-fls-unqualified-key';
 export const SECURITY_GRANT_EXPIRED_AT_AUTHORING = 'security-grant-expired-at-authoring';
 export const SECURITY_DELEGATION_MISSING_REASON = 'security-delegation-missing-reason';
 
@@ -252,6 +253,27 @@ export function validateSecurityPosture(stack: AnyRec, opts?: { nowMs?: number }
     const psPath = `permissions[${i}]`;
     const objectsMap = (ps.objects && typeof ps.objects === 'object' ? ps.objects : {}) as AnyRec;
 
+    // [#19 / permission zoo audit] FLS keys MUST be `<object>.<field>`
+    // qualified. The runtime evaluator matches keys by object prefix
+    // (`getFieldPermissions`: `key.startsWith(objectName + '.')`), so a bare
+    // `budget` key matches NOTHING — the declared masking silently never
+    // enforces (the worst declared-≠-enforced class, ADR-0049). The showcase
+    // itself shipped this bug for months.
+    const flsMap = (ps.fields && typeof ps.fields === 'object' ? ps.fields : {}) as AnyRec;
+    for (const flsKey of Object.keys(flsMap)) {
+      if (flsKey.includes('.')) continue;
+      findings.push({
+        severity: 'error',
+        rule: SECURITY_FLS_UNQUALIFIED_KEY,
+        where: `permission set "${psName}"`,
+        path: `${psPath}.fields["${flsKey}"]`,
+        message:
+          `field-permission key '${flsKey}' is not object-qualified — the runtime matches FLS keys ` +
+          `by '<object>.<field>' prefix, so a bare key is silently IGNORED and the declared masking never enforces.`,
+        hint: `Qualify the key with its object, e.g. 'crm_opportunity.${flsKey}': { readable: true, editable: false }.`,
+      });
+    }
+
     const wildcard = objectsMap['*'] as AnyRec | undefined;
     if (wildcard && (wildcard.viewAllRecords === true || wildcard.modifyAllRecords === true)) {
       findings.push({
diff --git a/packages/spec/liveness/object.json b/packages/spec/liveness/object.json
index 4f37ff7f1f..85451cb58c 100644
--- a/packages/spec/liveness/object.json
+++ b/packages/spec/liveness/object.json
@@ -248,8 +248,9 @@
       "note": "objectql `$search` executor (ADR-0061: expandSearchToFilter in engine.find) + objectui list/lookup/command-palette; canonical searchable-field source."
     },
     "externalSharingModel": {
-      "status": "authorable",
-      "note": "[ADR-0090 D11] P1 lands the SPEC SHAPE only (validated external<=internal at authoring). Runtime consumption (audience-aware evaluator branch) is scheduled with the principal-taxonomy semantics phase; tracked on the ADR-0090 tracking issue (#2696)."
+      "status": "planned",
+      "authorWarn": true,
+      "note": "[ADR-0090 D11] P1 lands the SPEC SHAPE only (validated external<=internal at authoring; Studio surfaces the Ext badge). Runtime consumption (audience-aware evaluator branch substituting the external dial for external principals) is scheduled with the principal-taxonomy semantics phase; tracked on #2696. `planned` + authorWarn per enforce-or-mark: authors get told the dial does not evaluate yet. Was a bespoke 'authorable' status outside the documented vocabulary."
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/scripts/sync-protocol-version.mjs b/scripts/sync-protocol-version.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..469196e48f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/sync-protocol-version.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
+//
+// Re-sync the PROTOCOL_VERSION handshake constant with @objectstack/spec's
+// package major. Runs as part of the root `version` script (changesets/action
+// calls `pnpm run version` when preparing the release PR), so a spec major
+// bump can never ship without the constant following — the drift class that
+// broke main after the 14.0.0 release (#2769): the lockstep guard
+// (protocol-version.test.ts) exists, but release PRs opened by
+// changesets/action with the default GITHUB_TOKEN do not trigger CI (GitHub's
+// anti-recursion rule), so the guard only fired AFTER the merge. Fixing the
+// value at version time is the only spot that cannot be skipped.
+
+import { readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+import { dirname, join } from 'node:path';
+
+const root = dirname(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)));
+const pkgPath = join(root, 'packages/spec/package.json');
+const constPath = join(root, 'packages/spec/src/kernel/protocol-version.ts');
+
+const pkg = JSON.parse(readFileSync(pkgPath, 'utf8'));
+const major = Number.parseInt(String(pkg.version).split('.')[0], 10);
+if (!Number.isInteger(major) || major < 1) {
+  console.error(`✗ sync-protocol-version: cannot parse major from spec version '${pkg.version}'`);
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+const src = readFileSync(constPath, 'utf8');
+const re = /export const PROTOCOL_VERSION = '(\d+)\.0\.0';/;
+const m = src.match(re);
+if (!m) {
+  console.error(`✗ sync-protocol-version: PROTOCOL_VERSION declaration not found in ${constPath}`);
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+const current = Number.parseInt(m[1], 10);
+if (current === major) {
+  console.log(`✓ PROTOCOL_VERSION already ${major}.0.0 — in lockstep with @objectstack/spec@${pkg.version}`);
+  process.exit(0);
+}
+
+writeFileSync(constPath, src.replace(re, `export const PROTOCOL_VERSION = '${major}.0.0';`));
+console.log(`✓ PROTOCOL_VERSION ${current}.0.0 → ${major}.0.0 (lockstep with @objectstack/spec@${pkg.version})`);