diff --git a/scripts/release.py b/scripts/release.py
index e91dd441407..4ccbe2cf6d4 100755
--- a/scripts/release.py
+++ b/scripts/release.py
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ ACP_REGISTRY_MANIFEST = REPO_ROOT / "acp_registry" / "agent.json"
 # Auto-extracted from noreply emails + manual overrides
 AUTHOR_MAP = {
     "256073454+Kolektori@users.noreply.github.com": "Kolektori",  # PR #6436 salvage (require approval for host-bound Docker commands; container guard fast-path)
+    "41764686+LIC99@users.noreply.github.com": "LIC99",  # PR #4682 salvage (warn + default to manual on unknown approvals.mode; #4261)
     "carlosmcejas@gmail.com": "cmcejas",  # PR #41188 salvage (early Telegram auth gate before event build/observe; #40863)
     "ha-agent@homelab.4410.us": "oreoluwa",  # PR #49845 salvage (skip preflight content-type probe for OAuth MCP servers so OAuth discovery runs; Akiflow/Hospitable)
     "prathamesh290504@gmail.com": "PRATHAMESH75",  # PR #37550 salvage (ExecStopPost cgroup-orphan reaper to unblock systemd restart; #37454)
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_approval.py b/tests/tools/test_approval.py
index 37438550379..6f87e0728c3 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_approval.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_approval.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import tools.approval as approval_module
 from hermes_constants import get_hermes_home
 from tools.approval import (
     _get_approval_mode,
+    _normalize_approval_mode,
     _smart_approve,
     approve_session,
     detect_dangerous_command,
@@ -30,6 +31,27 @@ class TestApprovalModeParsing:
         with mock_patch("hermes_cli.config.load_config", return_value={"approvals": {"mode": "off"}}):
             assert _get_approval_mode() == "off"
 
+    def test_valid_modes_pass_through(self):
+        assert _normalize_approval_mode("manual") == "manual"
+        assert _normalize_approval_mode("smart") == "smart"
+        assert _normalize_approval_mode("off") == "off"
+
+    def test_valid_mode_is_case_insensitive_and_trimmed(self):
+        assert _normalize_approval_mode("  SMART  ") == "smart"
+
+    def test_unknown_mode_defaults_to_manual_with_warning(self):
+        with mock_patch.object(approval_module.logger, "warning") as warn:
+            assert _normalize_approval_mode("auto") == "manual"
+            warn.assert_called_once()
+
+    def test_empty_string_defaults_to_manual_without_warning(self):
+        with mock_patch.object(approval_module.logger, "warning") as warn:
+            assert _normalize_approval_mode("") == "manual"
+            warn.assert_not_called()
+
+    def test_yaml_bool_true_maps_to_manual(self):
+        assert _normalize_approval_mode(True) == "manual"
+
 
 class TestSmartApproval:
     def test_smart_approval_uses_call_llm(self):
diff --git a/tools/approval.py b/tools/approval.py
index ee49a6bceeb..3d7a8362af6 100644
--- a/tools/approval.py
+++ b/tools/approval.py
@@ -1097,12 +1097,27 @@ def _normalize_approval_mode(mode) -> str:
     YAML 1.1 treats bare words like `off` as booleans, so a config entry like
     `approvals:\n  mode: off` is parsed as False unless quoted. Treat that as the
     intended string mode instead of falling back to manual approvals.
+
+    Unknown string values (e.g. 'auto') are rejected with a warning rather than
+    being silently accepted and falling through every mode check downstream.
+    Always returns one of 'manual', 'smart', or 'off'.
     """
+    _VALID_MODES = ("manual", "smart", "off")
     if isinstance(mode, bool):
         return "off" if mode is False else "manual"
     if isinstance(mode, str):
         normalized = mode.strip().lower()
-        return normalized or "manual"
+        if not normalized:
+            return "manual"
+        if normalized in _VALID_MODES:
+            return normalized
+        logger.warning(
+            "Unknown approvals.mode %r — defaulting to 'manual'. "
+            "Valid values: %s",
+            mode,
+            ", ".join(_VALID_MODES),
+        )
+        return "manual"
     return "manual"