diff --git a/scripts/ci/check-binary-composition.sh b/scripts/ci/check-binary-composition.sh
index b4a0a4c78..15fbbf666 100755
--- a/scripts/ci/check-binary-composition.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/check-binary-composition.sh
@@ -29,6 +29,11 @@
 #   meaningful. Exit 0 = every assertion passed, 1 = at least one failed,
 #   2 = usage error, missing tool, or nothing checkable was found (a vacuous
 #   run is a failure, not a pass).
+#   CBM_COMPOSITION_FIXTURE=1 declares the target a packaging FIXTURE (a stub
+#   compiled by a contract test, not a release link): A1d-bind-now is then
+#   reported n/a instead of asserted, because eager binding is a property of
+#   the release link flags, not of the packaging path the fixture exercises.
+#   Only contract tests set it; release derivation never does.
 set -euo pipefail
 
 case "${1:-}" in
@@ -409,7 +414,19 @@ check_file() {
     # writes the GOT after the loader has already re-protected it. A static
     # binary has no PT_DYNAMIC and nothing to bind at runtime, so GOT coverage
     # is the whole property there — a distinct reported outcome, never a skip.
-    if [ "$fmt" != elf ]; then
+    #
+    # Scope: this is a property of the RELEASE link (-z now in Makefile.cbm).
+    # Contract tests hand the gate a stub compiled straight from a .c file to
+    # exercise packaging, format detection and the needle scans; a stub is not
+    # linked with -z now and never ships, so asserting eager binding on it
+    # tests the fixture's compiler defaults, not the artifact. Such a caller
+    # declares itself with CBM_COMPOSITION_FIXTURE=1 and A1d is reported n/a —
+    # a named exemption, printed on every run, never a silent skip. Every
+    # other assertion still runs on the fixture unchanged.
+    if [ "${CBM_COMPOSITION_FIXTURE:-0}" = 1 ]; then
+        printf 'n/a  %-22s %s: packaging fixture (CBM_COMPOSITION_FIXTURE=1) — eager binding is asserted on release links only\n' \
+            A1d-bind-now "$token"
+    elif [ "$fmt" != elf ]; then
         printf 'n/a  %-22s %s: BIND_NOW is an ELF dynamic-section property\n' \
             A1d-bind-now "$token"
     elif [ "$relro_window" = unsupported ]; then
diff --git a/tests/test_mcpb_bundle_contract.sh b/tests/test_mcpb_bundle_contract.sh
index e20c2bba7..5b6a16040 100755
--- a/tests/test_mcpb_bundle_contract.sh
+++ b/tests/test_mcpb_bundle_contract.sh
@@ -14,7 +14,16 @@
 # the SQLite OMIT_LOAD_EXTENSION marker — live in .rodata. This test packages
 # the same opaque selected bytes under foreign target labels deliberately; this
 # boundary proves it never invokes strip/codesign and never changes bytes.
+#
+# One assertion is scoped out, by name: A1d-bind-now measures eager binding,
+# a property of the RELEASE link (-z now in Makefile.cbm). The stub below is
+# compiled straight from stub.c with the compiler's defaults, so on an ELF leg
+# it would fail A1d for a reason that has nothing to do with packaging.
+# CBM_COMPOSITION_FIXTURE=1 tells the gate this target is a fixture; the gate
+# prints A1d as n/a and runs everything else unchanged. Release derivation
+# never sets it.
 set -euo pipefail
+export CBM_COMPOSITION_FIXTURE=1
 
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
 FIX="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/cbm-mcpb-contract.XXXXXX")"
diff --git a/tests/test_release_candidate_derivation_contract.sh b/tests/test_release_candidate_derivation_contract.sh
index 164dca1c5..9dc00cf05 100755
--- a/tests/test_release_candidate_derivation_contract.sh
+++ b/tests/test_release_candidate_derivation_contract.sh
@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 # Contract: release candidates are two immutable derivations of one linker
 # output. This uses the host's real compiler/strip/signing tools.
 set -euo pipefail
+# The input below is a stub compiled with the compiler's defaults, not a
+# release link: it exercises derivation (strip/codesign/hash binding), not the
+# link flags. Declare it a fixture so the composition gate reports A1d-bind-now
+# (eager binding, a -z now property of Makefile.cbm) as n/a instead of failing
+# on the fixture's own link; every other assertion still runs on it.
+export CBM_COMPOSITION_FIXTURE=1
 
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
 FIX="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/cbm-candidate-derive.XXXXXX")"