diff --git a/tests/tools/test_cron_prompt_injection.py b/tests/tools/test_cron_prompt_injection.py
index 2f1c30e063fc6..2551f667c6b89 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_cron_prompt_injection.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_cron_prompt_injection.py
@@ -46,3 +46,58 @@ def test_clean_prompts_not_blocked(self):
         assert _scan_cron_prompt("Monitor disk usage and alert if above 90%") == ""
         assert _scan_cron_prompt("Ignore this file in the backup") == ""
         assert _scan_cron_prompt("Run all migrations") == ""
+
+
+class TestGatewayLifecyclePatterns:
+    """Gateway lifecycle commands must be blocked by the tool's prompt scanner.
+
+    hermes_cli/cron.py's CLI path blocks these via _contains_gateway_lifecycle_command.
+    The Python tool (_scan_cron_prompt) must enforce the same rules so an agent
+    using the cronjob tool cannot bypass the defense by going through the tool
+    instead of the CLI.
+    """
+
+    def test_hermes_gateway_restart(self):
+        assert "Blocked" in _scan_cron_prompt("hermes gateway restart")
+
+    def test_hermes_gateway_stop(self):
+        assert "Blocked" in _scan_cron_prompt("hermes gateway stop")
+
+    def test_hermes_gateway_start(self):
+        assert "Blocked" in _scan_cron_prompt("hermes gateway start")
+
+    def test_hermes_gateway_restart_case_insensitive(self):
+        assert "Blocked" in _scan_cron_prompt("HERMES GATEWAY RESTART")
+
+    def test_hermes_gateway_restart_in_longer_text(self):
+        assert "Blocked" in _scan_cron_prompt(
+            "Run the following command to refresh the service: hermes gateway restart"
+        )
+
+    def test_launchctl_hermes(self):
+        assert "Blocked" in _scan_cron_prompt(
+            "launchctl kickstart gui/501/com.hermes.gateway"
+        )
+
+    def test_launchctl_unload_hermes(self):
+        assert "Blocked" in _scan_cron_prompt(
+            "launchctl unload com.hermes.agent.plist"
+        )
+
+    def test_systemctl_restart_hermes(self):
+        assert "Blocked" in _scan_cron_prompt("systemctl restart hermes-agent")
+
+    def test_systemctl_stop_hermes(self):
+        assert "Blocked" in _scan_cron_prompt("systemctl stop hermes.service")
+
+    def test_pkill_hermes_gateway(self):
+        assert "Blocked" in _scan_cron_prompt("pkill hermes-gateway")
+
+    def test_kill_hermes_gateway(self):
+        assert "Blocked" in _scan_cron_prompt("kill hermes  gateway")
+
+    def test_safe_gateway_mentions_not_blocked(self):
+        """Prose mentioning gateways or restarts in other contexts must pass."""
+        assert _scan_cron_prompt("summarize API gateway logs and report restart events") == ""
+        assert _scan_cron_prompt("check if the payment gateway is responding") == ""
+        assert _scan_cron_prompt("restart the nginx web server") == ""
diff --git a/tools/cronjob_tools.py b/tools/cronjob_tools.py
index ada4e4af00650..8e3b046362d6e 100644
--- a/tools/cronjob_tools.py
+++ b/tools/cronjob_tools.py
@@ -73,6 +73,13 @@
     (r'authorized_keys', "ssh_backdoor"),
     (r'/etc/sudoers|visudo', "sudoers_mod"),
     (r'rm\s+-rf\s+/', "destructive_root_rm"),
+    # Gateway lifecycle commands — same patterns as hermes_cli/cron.py.
+    # Prevents agents from scheduling jobs that restart/stop the gateway,
+    # which creates SIGTERM-respawn loops under launchd/systemd KeepAlive.
+    (r'hermes\s+gateway\s+(?:restart|stop|start)', "gateway_lifecycle"),
+    (r'launchctl\s+(?:kickstart|unload|load|stop|restart)\s+\S*hermes', "gateway_lifecycle_launchctl"),
+    (r'systemctl\s+(?:restart|stop|start)\s+\S*hermes', "gateway_lifecycle_systemctl"),
+    (r'p?kill\s+.*hermes.*gateway', "gateway_lifecycle_kill"),
 ]
 
 # Looser pattern set — applied to the assembled prompt when skills are
@@ -469,11 +476,19 @@ def cronjob(
                 if scan_error:
                     return tool_error(scan_error, success=False)
 
-            # Validate script path before storing
+            # Validate script path before storing; also scan content for
+            # gateway lifecycle commands (mirrors hermes_cli/cron.py).
             if script:
                 script_error = _validate_cron_script_path(script)
                 if script_error:
                     return tool_error(script_error, success=False)
+                try:
+                    script_text = Path(script).read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+                    scan_error = _scan_cron_prompt(script_text)
+                    if scan_error:
+                        return tool_error(scan_error, success=False)
+                except (OSError, UnicodeDecodeError):
+                    pass
 
             # Validate context_from references existing jobs
             if context_from: