diff --git a/src/github/backfill.ts b/src/github/backfill.ts
index e2d7ac8fc5..648f1d7ec4 100644
--- a/src/github/backfill.ts
+++ b/src/github/backfill.ts
@@ -2144,7 +2144,7 @@ export async function fetchLivePullRequestReviewDecision(env: Env, repoFullName:
 }
 
 /** The deterministic linked-issue facts the hard-rule evaluator needs (labels / assignees / open-state). */
-export type LinkedIssueFactsResult = { number: number; labels: string[]; assignees: string[]; state: string };
+export type LinkedIssueFactsResult = { number: number; labels: string[]; assignees: string[]; state: string; authorLogin: string | null };
 
 /**
  * FETCH the facts for one linked issue via the REST issues endpoint. FAIL-OPEN: any fetch/parse error returns
@@ -2159,6 +2159,7 @@ export async function fetchLinkedIssueFacts(env: Env, repoFullName: string, issu
     state?: string | null;
     labels?: Array<{ name?: string | null } | string | null> | null;
     assignees?: Array<{ login?: string | null } | null> | null;
+    user?: { login?: string | null } | null;
   }>(env, repoFullName, `/issues/${issueNumber}`, token).catch(() => undefined);
   if (!result) return undefined;
   const data = result.data;
@@ -2172,6 +2173,7 @@ export async function fetchLinkedIssueFacts(env: Env, repoFullName: string, issu
     labels,
     assignees,
     state: String(data.state ?? "open").toLowerCase(),
+    authorLogin: data.user?.login ?? null,
   };
 }
 
diff --git a/src/queue/processors.ts b/src/queue/processors.ts
index 4c9285a188..37d389bfe7 100644
--- a/src/queue/processors.ts
+++ b/src/queue/processors.ts
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ import {
   backfillRepositorySegment,
   enqueueRepositoryOpenDataBackfill,
   fetchAndStorePullRequestFilesForReview,
+  fetchLinkedIssueFacts,
   fetchLiveCiAggregate,
   fetchLivePullRequestMergeState,
   fetchLivePullRequestReviewDecision,
@@ -812,7 +813,7 @@ async function reReviewStoredPullRequest(
   if (!(await prReadyForReview(env, installationId, repoFullName, pr, settings, deliveryId))) return;
   const [otherOpenPullRequests, linkedIssueAuthorLogins] = await Promise.all([
     listOtherOpenPullRequests(env, repoFullName, prNumber),
-    resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, repoFullName, pr.linkedIssues),
+    resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, installationId, repoFullName, pr.linkedIssues, settings.selfAuthoredLinkedIssueGateMode === "block"),
   ]);
   const advisory = buildPullRequestAdvisory(repo, pr, {
     otherOpenPullRequests,
@@ -1569,11 +1570,12 @@ async function processGitHubWebhook(env: Env, deliveryId: string, eventName: str
       if (payload.action === "reopened" && installationId && (await maybeRecloseDisallowedReopen(env, deliveryId, installationId, repoFullName, pr, payload).catch(() => false))) {
         return;
       }
-      const [repo, settings, otherOpenPullRequests, linkedIssueAuthorLogins] = await Promise.all([
+      // Resolve settings first so the self-authored live-fetch fallback only fires when its gate is in block mode.
+      const settings = await resolveRepositorySettings(env, repoFullName);
+      const [repo, otherOpenPullRequests, linkedIssueAuthorLogins] = await Promise.all([
         getRepository(env, repoFullName),
-        resolveRepositorySettings(env, repoFullName),
         listOtherOpenPullRequests(env, repoFullName, pr.number),
-        resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, repoFullName, pr.linkedIssues),
+        resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, installationId, repoFullName, pr.linkedIssues, settings.selfAuthoredLinkedIssueGateMode === "block"),
       ]);
       const advisory = buildPullRequestAdvisory(repo, pr, {
         otherOpenPullRequests,
@@ -1752,14 +1754,25 @@ export function shouldCollectLinkedIssueEvidence(settings: Pick<RepositorySettin
   return settings.requireLinkedIssue || settings.linkedIssueGateMode !== "off" || mergeReadinessGateEnabled(settings);
 }
 
-// Fetch the author login for each linked issue number from the local DB. Returns a parallel array of
-// logins (null when the issue is not in the DB or has no recorded author). Errors are swallowed per-issue
-// so a DB hiccup on one issue never prevents the advisory from running — the detection is fail-open
-// (an unknown author login never triggers the self_authored_linked_issue finding).
-export async function resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env: Env, repoFullName: string, linkedIssues: number[]): Promise<(string | null)[]> {
+// Resolve the author login for each linked issue number. Prefers the local DB cache; on a cache MISS (issue not
+// cached, or no recorded author), falls back to a LIVE GitHub fetch so a stale/missing cache can't silently void
+// the self_authored_linked_issue anti-farming detection (#audit-3.11). The live token is minted lazily — only
+// when at least one issue misses the cache — so the common (fully-cached) path adds no fetch. Each lookup is
+// fail-safe: a per-issue error yields null (the detection stays fail-open only on a genuine inability to resolve).
+export async function resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env: Env, installationId: number | null | undefined, repoFullName: string, linkedIssues: number[], liveFallback = false): Promise<(string | null)[]> {
   if (linkedIssues.length === 0) return [];
-  const results = await Promise.all(linkedIssues.map((n) => getIssue(env, repoFullName, n).then((i) => i?.authorLogin ?? null).catch(() => null)));
-  return results;
+  const cached = await Promise.all(linkedIssues.map((n) => getIssue(env, repoFullName, n).then((i) => i?.authorLogin ?? null).catch(() => null)));
+  // The live-fetch fallback only fires when the self-authored gate can actually BLOCK (caller passes
+  // liveFallback) — so quiet/advisory paths add no API calls, and we pay the fetch only where a cache miss
+  // could otherwise void a hard block.
+  if (!liveFallback || !installationId || cached.every((login) => login != null)) return cached;
+  const token = await createInstallationToken(env, installationId).catch(() => undefined);
+  if (!token) return cached;
+  return Promise.all(
+    cached.map((login, index) =>
+      login != null ? Promise.resolve(login) : fetchLinkedIssueFacts(env, repoFullName, linkedIssues[index]!, token).then((facts) => facts?.authorLogin ?? null).catch(() => null),
+    ),
+  );
 }
 
 export function shouldCollectSlopEvidence(settings: Pick<RepositorySettings, "slopGateMode" | "mergeReadinessGateMode">): boolean {
diff --git a/test/unit/gate-check-policy.test.ts b/test/unit/gate-check-policy.test.ts
index 6f36fd6acc..b531d47034 100644
--- a/test/unit/gate-check-policy.test.ts
+++ b/test/unit/gate-check-policy.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { generateKeyPairSync } from "node:crypto";
+import { clearInstallationTokenCacheForTest } from "../../src/github/app";
 import { gateCheckPolicy, resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins, shouldCollectLinkedIssueEvidence, shouldCollectSlopEvidence, shouldRunSlopAiAdvisory } from "../../src/queue/processors";
 import { createTestEnv } from "../helpers/d1";
 import { upsertIssueFromGitHub, upsertRepositoryFromGitHub } from "../../src/db/repositories";
@@ -371,9 +373,12 @@ describe("focus-manifest policy gate (#555)", () => {
 });
 
 describe("resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins", () => {
+  // Clear the global installation-token cache so each live-fetch test mints deterministically (no cross-test reuse).
+  beforeEach(() => clearInstallationTokenCacheForTest());
+
   it("returns [] immediately for an empty linkedIssues array (no DB work)", async () => {
     const env = createTestEnv();
-    const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, "owner/repo", []);
+    const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, null, "owner/repo", []);
     expect(result).toEqual([]);
   });
 
@@ -383,13 +388,13 @@ describe("resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins", () => {
     await upsertIssueFromGitHub(env, "owner/repo", { number: 10, title: "Bug report", body: "", state: "open", user: { login: "alice" }, labels: [], html_url: "https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/10", created_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z", updated_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z" });
     await upsertIssueFromGitHub(env, "owner/repo", { number: 11, title: "Feature", body: "", state: "open", user: { login: "bob" }, labels: [], html_url: "https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/11", created_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z", updated_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z" });
 
-    const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, "owner/repo", [10, 11]);
+    const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, null, "owner/repo", [10, 11]);
     expect(result).toEqual(["alice", "bob"]);
   });
 
   it("returns null for an issue not in the DB (fail-open: unknown author does not trigger the finding)", async () => {
     const env = createTestEnv();
-    const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, "owner/repo", [99]);
+    const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, null, "owner/repo", [99]);
     expect(result).toEqual([null]);
   });
 
@@ -397,7 +402,69 @@ describe("resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins", () => {
     const env = createTestEnv();
     // Pass a broken DB binding to force a DB error.
     const brokenEnv = { ...env, DB: null } as unknown as typeof env;
-    const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(brokenEnv, "owner/repo", [1]);
+    const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(brokenEnv, null, "owner/repo", [1]);
+    expect(result).toEqual([null]);
+  });
+
+  it("falls back to a LIVE fetch for the author when the issue is not cached (#audit-3.11)", async () => {
+    const { privateKey } = generateKeyPairSync("rsa", { modulusLength: 2048 });
+    const env = createTestEnv({ GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY: privateKey.export({ type: "pkcs1", format: "pem" }).toString(), GITHUB_APP_SLUG: "gittensory" });
+    // Issue #50 is NOT in the local cache; a fresh GitHub fetch must still resolve its author so the
+    // self-authored detection isn't silently voided by a cache miss.
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", async (input: RequestInfo | URL) => {
+      const url = input.toString();
+      if (url.includes("/access_tokens")) return Response.json({ token: "installation-token" });
+      if (url.includes("/issues/50")) return Response.json({ number: 50, state: "open", user: { login: "self-farmer" }, labels: [], assignees: [] });
+      return new Response("not found", { status: 404 });
+    });
+    try {
+      const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, 123, "owner/repo", [50], true);
+      expect(result).toEqual(["self-farmer"]);
+    } finally {
+      vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("returns the cached results unchanged when the live token cannot be minted", async () => {
+    clearInstallationTokenCacheForTest(); // ensure the bad-key mint actually runs (no cached token from a prior test)
+    // createTestEnv's GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY is not a real RSA key → the JWT/token mint throws → fail-safe.
+    const env = createTestEnv();
+    const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, 424242, "owner/repo", [50], true);
     expect(result).toEqual([null]);
   });
+
+  it("yields null for a cache-missed issue whose live fetch returns no facts (fail-safe)", async () => {
+    const { privateKey } = generateKeyPairSync("rsa", { modulusLength: 2048 });
+    const env = createTestEnv({ GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY: privateKey.export({ type: "pkcs1", format: "pem" }).toString(), GITHUB_APP_SLUG: "gittensory" });
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", async (input: RequestInfo | URL) => {
+      const url = input.toString();
+      if (url.includes("/access_tokens")) return Response.json({ token: "t" });
+      return new Response("not found", { status: 404 }); // the issue fetch 404s → no facts → null
+    });
+    try {
+      const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, 555, "owner/repo", [50], true);
+      expect(result).toEqual([null]);
+    } finally {
+      vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("live-fetches only the cache-missed issues, keeping the cached authors (mixed list)", async () => {
+    const { privateKey } = generateKeyPairSync("rsa", { modulusLength: 2048 });
+    const env = createTestEnv({ GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY: privateKey.export({ type: "pkcs1", format: "pem" }).toString(), GITHUB_APP_SLUG: "gittensory" });
+    await upsertRepositoryFromGitHub(env, { name: "repo", full_name: "owner/repo", private: false, owner: { login: "owner" } }, 1);
+    await upsertIssueFromGitHub(env, "owner/repo", { number: 10, title: "Cached", body: "", state: "open", user: { login: "alice" }, labels: [], html_url: "https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/10", created_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z", updated_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z" });
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", async (input: RequestInfo | URL) => {
+      const url = input.toString();
+      if (url.includes("/access_tokens")) return Response.json({ token: "t" });
+      if (url.includes("/issues/11")) return Response.json({ number: 11, state: "open", user: { login: "bob" }, labels: [], assignees: [] });
+      return new Response("not found", { status: 404 });
+    });
+    try {
+      const result = await resolveLinkedIssueAuthorLogins(env, 123, "owner/repo", [10, 11], true);
+      expect(result).toEqual(["alice", "bob"]); // #10 from cache (no fetch), #11 resolved live
+    } finally {
+      vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+    }
+  });
 });