diff --git a/.Rbuildignore b/.Rbuildignore
index 8989c62f..14368595 100644
--- a/.Rbuildignore
+++ b/.Rbuildignore
@@ -24,3 +24,4 @@
 ^\.jules(/.*)?$
 ^\.trivyignore\.yaml$
 ^trivy\.yaml$
+^.semgrepignore$
diff --git a/.jules/sentinel.md b/.jules/sentinel.md
index a8207a48..f174cf4d 100644
--- a/.jules/sentinel.md
+++ b/.jules/sentinel.md
@@ -2,3 +2,8 @@
 **Vulnerability:** Unvalidated inputs passed to `if()` statements can cause process crashes (`condition has length > 1`) or unexpected coercion vulnerabilities.
 **Learning:** In R, optional boolean parameters that default to `NULL` should be validated using explicit runtime type validation (e.g., `if (!is.null(flag) && (!is.logical(flag) || length(flag) != 1 || is.na(flag)))`).
 **Prevention:** Always implement explicit runtime type validation for optional boolean parameters.
+
+## 2025-02-12 - Fix missing value where TRUE/FALSE needed vulnerability
+**Vulnerability:** Weak regex `^[0-9]+$` allowing extremely large strings to be interpreted as numbers in `readline()` inputs, causing `NA` coercion by `as.integer()` and crashing `if()` blocks (`missing value where TRUE/FALSE needed`).
+**Learning:** When reading integer inputs via `readline()` in R, avoid weak regex validation like `^[0-9]+$` as large numbers coerce to `NA` via `as.integer()`, breaking `if` conditions and causing unhandled exceptions. Use strictly bounded exact-match regex like `^[12]$` to prevent coercion crashes and DoS vulnerabilities.
+**Prevention:** Always bound expected integer inputs and use strict validation like `^[12]$` when expecting a finite set of answers.
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 63f46ef4..b22c83de 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -110,3 +110,5 @@ Applies to every agent (Claude, Codex, Cursor, opencode, ...) working in this re
   psychometrics literature. Commit paper PDFs only when redistribution is
   permitted; otherwise cite, link, and summarize.
 <!-- END cwl-agent-guidance -->
+
+Strix uses the zero-cost `orchestrator/free` route.
diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index f31d3e1a..c90753c5 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Description: Automates fixed item parameter linking for test linking under
     the item response theory paradigm using mirt package estimates.
 License: GPL-3 | file LICENSE
 Imports: mirt, methods
-Suggests: testthat (>= 3.0.0)
+Suggests: testthat (>= 3.0.0), mockery
 Encoding: UTF-8
 Config/testthat/edition: 3
 Config/roxygen2/version: 8.0.0
diff --git a/R/aFIPC.R b/R/aFIPC.R
index 62546519..918e19b1 100644
--- a/R/aFIPC.R
+++ b/R/aFIPC.R
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ autoFIPC <-
       }
       for (attempt in seq_len(3)) {
         n <- readline(prompt = "Is it correct? (1: Yes 2: No) : ")
-        if (grepl("^[0-9]+$", n)) {
+        if (grepl("^[12]$", n)) {
           return(as.integer(n))
         }
       }
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ autoFIPC <-
               readline(
                 prompt = "Do you want to use default BILOG-MG priors for oldform Data? (1: Yes 2: No) : "
               )
-            if (grepl("^[0-9]+$", n)) {
+            if (grepl("^[12]$", n)) {
               return(as.integer(n))
             }
           }
@@ -390,7 +390,7 @@ autoFIPC <-
               readline(
                 prompt = "Do you want to use default BILOG-MG priors for newform Data? (1: Yes 2: No) : "
               )
-            if (grepl("^[0-9]+$", n)) {
+            if (grepl("^[12]$", n)) {
               return(as.integer(n))
             }
           }
diff --git a/test_dummy.R b/test_dummy.R
deleted file mode 100644
index e6f7019b..00000000
--- a/test_dummy.R
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-source("R/aFIPC.R")
-source("R/surveyFA.R")
diff --git a/test_validation.R b/test_validation.R
deleted file mode 100644
index f0841168..00000000
--- a/test_validation.R
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-source("R/aFIPC.R")
-source("R/surveyFA.R")
-print("Syntax check passed")
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-sentinel-validation.R b/tests/testthat/test-sentinel-validation.R
index 900f0ee3..cad9dd05 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-sentinel-validation.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-sentinel-validation.R
@@ -35,3 +35,21 @@ test_that("autoFIPC validates boolean flags for newformBILOGprior, oldformBILOGp
     "Security Error: confirmCommonItems must be a single non-NA logical value or NULL"
   )
 })
+
+test_that("autoFIPC handles large invalid inputs correctly in interactive sessions without crashing", {
+  # Using mockery to stub base functions properly in the context of autoFIPC
+  mockery::stub(aFIPC::autoFIPC, 'interactive', function() TRUE)
+  mockery::stub(aFIPC::autoFIPC, 'readline', mockery::mock("99999999999999999999", "99999999999999999999", "99999999999999999999"))
+
+  # Should stop after 3 attempts due to the new regex validation correctly ignoring large numbers
+  expect_error(
+    aFIPC::autoFIPC(
+      newformXData = data.frame(A=1),
+      oldformYData = data.frame(A=2),
+      newformCommonItemNames = c('A'),
+      oldformCommonItemNames = c('A'),
+      confirmCommonItems = NULL
+    ),
+    "Too many invalid common item confirmation attempts"
+  )
+})