diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
index 345f745..67f8fb2 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
@@ -274,14 +274,30 @@ jobs:
         # through the same unreliable transport and made a transient crash persistent.
         # Assertion/configuration failures remain terminal and always block deployment.
         run: |
+          smoke_log="$(mktemp)"
           set +e
-          npm run test:e2e
-          smoke_status=$?
+          npm run test:e2e 2>&1 | tee "$smoke_log"
+          smoke_status=${PIPESTATUS[0]}
           set -e
 
           if [ "$smoke_status" -eq 0 ]; then
             exit 0
           fi
+
+          # This self-hosted runner has occasionally mutated Axe's installed JavaScript after a
+          # checksum-valid npm download (`true` became `tr<garbage>e`, or a stray `break` appeared).
+          # Retry only that unmistakable source-corruption signature from a new isolated cache.
+          # Ordinary Axe violations and application assertions remain terminal.
+          if grep -q "AxeBuilder.analyze" "$smoke_log" \
+            && grep -Eq "page\.evaluate: (ReferenceError|SyntaxError)" "$smoke_log"; then
+            echo "Axe runtime source appears corrupted — reinstalling the locked dependencies from a fresh cache and retrying the complete suite once..."
+            rm -rf node_modules
+            npm_cache="$(mktemp -d)"
+            npm ci --no-audit --no-fund --cache "$npm_cache"
+            npm run test:e2e
+            exit $?
+          fi
+
           if [ "$smoke_status" -ne 139 ]; then
             exit "$smoke_status"
           fi