diff --git a/hermes_cli/kanban_db.py b/hermes_cli/kanban_db.py
index b4b08d628f8..2918fd2fae3 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/kanban_db.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/kanban_db.py
@@ -3038,15 +3038,24 @@ def complete_task(
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 def _is_managed_scratch_path(p: Path) -> bool:
-    """Return True iff *p* lives inside a kanban-managed scratch root.
+    """Return True iff *p* is a strict descendant of a kanban-managed scratch root.
 
-    A managed root is one of:
+    A managed root is exclusively a ``workspaces/`` directory — never the
+    broader kanban home, a board root, or sibling subtrees like ``logs/`` or
+    ``boards/<slug>/`` itself. Allowed roots:
 
     * ``HERMES_KANBAN_WORKSPACES_ROOT`` when set (worker-side override
       injected by the dispatcher).
-    * The current kanban home's ``kanban/`` subtree, which covers both the
-      legacy default-board scratch root (``<kanban_home>/kanban/workspaces``)
-      and per-board roots (``<kanban_home>/kanban/boards/<slug>/workspaces``).
+    * ``<kanban_home>/kanban/workspaces`` — legacy default-board scratch root.
+    * ``<kanban_home>/kanban/boards/<slug>/workspaces`` for each board slug
+      that currently exists on disk.
+
+    The check requires strict descendancy: a path equal to one of these
+    roots is NOT managed (deleting the workspaces root would wipe every
+    task's scratch dir at once), and a path that resolves to ``<kanban_home>
+    /kanban`` itself, ``<kanban_home>/kanban/logs``, or
+    ``<kanban_home>/kanban/boards/<slug>`` is rejected because those
+    subtrees hold Hermes' own DB, metadata, and logs, not task workspaces.
 
     Used by :func:`_cleanup_workspace` to refuse to ``shutil.rmtree`` paths
     outside Hermes-managed storage. A board ``default_workdir`` pointing at a
@@ -3065,10 +3074,36 @@ def _is_managed_scratch_path(p: Path) -> bool:
         except OSError:
             pass
     try:
-        roots.append((kanban_home() / "kanban").resolve(strict=False))
+        home = kanban_home()
     except OSError:
-        pass
+        home = None
+    if home is not None:
+        try:
+            roots.append((home / "kanban" / "workspaces").resolve(strict=False))
+        except OSError:
+            pass
+        try:
+            boards_parent = (home / "kanban" / "boards").resolve(strict=False)
+        except OSError:
+            boards_parent = None
+        if boards_parent is not None:
+            try:
+                entries = list(boards_parent.iterdir())
+            except OSError:
+                entries = []
+            for entry in entries:
+                try:
+                    if not entry.is_dir():
+                        continue
+                except OSError:
+                    continue
+                try:
+                    roots.append((entry / "workspaces").resolve(strict=False))
+                except OSError:
+                    continue
     for root in roots:
+        if p_abs == root:
+            continue
         try:
             if p_abs.is_relative_to(root):
                 return True
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_kanban_db.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_kanban_db.py
index 5ee08913420..f39c1894e6e 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_kanban_db.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_kanban_db.py
@@ -1561,6 +1561,47 @@ def test_is_managed_scratch_path_rejects_real_source_tree(kanban_home, tmp_path)
     assert not kb._is_managed_scratch_path(real)
 
 
+def test_is_managed_scratch_path_rejects_kanban_metadata_subtrees(kanban_home):
+    """Hermes' own DB/metadata/log subtrees under ``<kanban_home>/kanban`` are NOT managed.
+
+    Regression guard for the Copilot finding on #28819: a scratch task whose
+    ``workspace_path`` was mis-set to the kanban home, the logs dir, or a
+    board's metadata dir (i.e. the board root itself, not its ``workspaces/``
+    child) must be refused. Without this, the containment check would happily
+    ``shutil.rmtree`` Hermes' DB/metadata/logs on task completion.
+    """
+    kanban_root = kanban_home / "kanban"
+    kanban_root.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    assert not kb._is_managed_scratch_path(kanban_root)
+
+    logs_dir = kanban_root / "logs"
+    logs_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    assert not kb._is_managed_scratch_path(logs_dir)
+
+    board_root = kanban_root / "boards" / "my-board"
+    board_root.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    # The board root itself is NOT a managed scratch dir — only the
+    # ``workspaces/`` child (and its descendants) are.
+    assert not kb._is_managed_scratch_path(board_root)
+
+    # Sibling subtrees of ``workspaces/`` under a board (e.g. its kanban.db
+    # or board.json living next to ``workspaces/``) are also not managed.
+    board_logs = board_root / "logs"
+    board_logs.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    assert not kb._is_managed_scratch_path(board_logs)
+
+    # Now create the board's workspaces dir and a task scratch dir under it —
+    # the latter is the only thing the guard should allow.
+    board_workspaces = board_root / "workspaces"
+    board_workspaces.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    # The workspaces root itself is also NOT managed — deleting it would
+    # wipe every task's scratch dir at once.
+    assert not kb._is_managed_scratch_path(board_workspaces)
+    task_dir = board_workspaces / "task-42"
+    task_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    assert kb._is_managed_scratch_path(task_dir)
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Tenancy
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------