diff --git a/docs/operator-guide.md b/docs/operator-guide.md
index 38c6b47..aae40b2 100644
--- a/docs/operator-guide.md
+++ b/docs/operator-guide.md
@@ -292,10 +292,15 @@ enabled = false`, `[visitors] enabled = false`, `[highlights] enabled
 
 - `[location] latitude`, `longitude` (default `0.0`): used for sunrise
   and sunset lookups.
-- `[security] pin_hash` (canonical arm/disarm PIN store) and
-  `recovery_passphrase_hash`: both populated by
-  `vigilar config set-pin`. The `[system] arm_pin_hash` field is
-  deprecated; see the `[system]` section above.
+- `[security] pin_hash` (canonical arm/disarm PIN store): populated by
+  `vigilar config set-pin`, which emits a PBKDF2-SHA256 hash to paste
+  into the `[security]` section. The legacy `[system] arm_pin_hash`
+  field is deprecated; see the `[system]` section above.
+- `[security] recovery_passphrase_hash`: used by the web
+  `/system/api/reset-pin` endpoint to authenticate PIN-reset requests.
+  There is no CLI helper for this field today — set it by hashing a
+  passphrase manually with `vigilar.alerts.pin.hash_pin` and pasting
+  the result into `[security]`, or leave it unset to disable recovery.
 
 ## CLI reference
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_config.py b/tests/unit/test_config.py
index 233a2c2..82b0c7c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_config.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_config.py
@@ -157,3 +157,30 @@ def test_deprecation_warning_for_arm_pin_hash(tmp_path, caplog):
     assert any("arm_pin_hash" in m and "deprecated" in m.lower() for m in messages), (
         f"expected deprecation warning mentioning arm_pin_hash, got: {messages}"
     )
+
+
+def test_no_deprecation_warning_when_security_pin_hash_set(tmp_path, caplog):
+    """No warning should fire if [security] pin_hash is populated,
+    regardless of whether [system] arm_pin_hash is also still present.
+    The warning is specifically for un-migrated configs."""
+    import logging
+    cfg_path = tmp_path / "migrated.toml"
+    cfg_path.write_text(
+        '[system]\n'
+        'arm_pin_hash = "pbkdf2_sha256$legacy$value"\n'
+        '\n'
+        '[security]\n'
+        'pin_hash = "pbkdf2_sha256$current$value"\n'
+    )
+    with caplog.at_level(logging.WARNING):
+        from vigilar.config import load_config
+        load_config(str(cfg_path))
+
+    deprecation_messages = [
+        r.message for r in caplog.records
+        if r.levelno >= logging.WARNING and "arm_pin_hash" in r.message
+    ]
+    assert deprecation_messages == [], (
+        f"deprecation warning should not fire on migrated configs, "
+        f"got: {deprecation_messages}"
+    )
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_pin.py b/tests/unit/test_pin.py
index 852ce10..b6691ab 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_pin.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_pin.py
@@ -37,3 +37,14 @@ def test_verify_pin_handles_unicode():
     stored = hash_pin("p@ss!")
     assert verify_pin("p@ss!", stored) is True
     assert verify_pin("p@ss?", stored) is False
+
+
+def test_verify_pin_rejects_malformed_hash():
+    """verify_pin must return False (not raise) on malformed stored hashes.
+    Fail-closed is load-bearing: a misconfigured or partially-migrated
+    [security] pin_hash must lock out transitions, not grant access."""
+    assert verify_pin("1234", "sha256:deadbeef") is False
+    assert verify_pin("1234", "garbage") is False
+    assert verify_pin("1234", "pbkdf2_sha256$only$two$extra") is False
+    # Wrong algo prefix
+    assert verify_pin("1234", "argon2id$salt$dk") is False
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_web.py b/tests/unit/test_web.py
index d8ff59f..4a37471 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_web.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_web.py
@@ -102,3 +102,36 @@ def test_recordings_page_loads():
     with app.test_client() as client:
         resp = client.get("/recordings/")
         assert resp.status_code == 200
+
+
+def test_system_status_reflects_fsm_arm_state(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """system_status must read the current arm state from the DB,
+    not return a hardcoded stub. Regression guard for the web-to-FSM
+    async flow introduced in issue #2."""
+    from vigilar.config import SystemConfig, VigilarConfig
+    import vigilar.storage.db as db_module
+    from vigilar.storage.db import get_db_path
+    from vigilar.storage.schema import metadata
+    from vigilar.storage.queries import insert_arm_state
+    from vigilar.web.app import create_app
+    from sqlalchemy import create_engine
+
+    data_dir = tmp_path / "data"
+    data_dir.mkdir()
+    cfg = VigilarConfig(system=SystemConfig(data_dir=str(data_dir)))
+
+    # Build an isolated engine (bypass the module-level singleton)
+    db_path = get_db_path(str(data_dir))
+    isolated_engine = create_engine(f"sqlite:///{db_path}", echo=False)
+    metadata.create_all(isolated_engine)
+
+    insert_arm_state(isolated_engine, "ARMED_AWAY", "test", None)
+
+    # Patch the singleton so the blueprint's get_engine() returns our engine
+    monkeypatch.setattr(db_module, "_engine", isolated_engine)
+
+    app = create_app(cfg)
+    with app.test_client() as c:
+        resp = c.get("/system/status")
+        assert resp.status_code == 200
+        assert resp.get_json()["arm_state"] == "ARMED_AWAY"
diff --git a/vigilar/web/blueprints/system.py b/vigilar/web/blueprints/system.py
index dccd603..11ced92 100644
--- a/vigilar/web/blueprints/system.py
+++ b/vigilar/web/blueprints/system.py
@@ -36,8 +36,20 @@ def _save_and_reload(new_cfg: VigilarConfig) -> None:
 def system_status():
     """JSON API: overall system health."""
     cfg = _get_cfg()
+
+    arm_state = "DISARMED"
+    try:
+        from vigilar.storage.db import get_db_path, get_engine
+        from vigilar.storage.queries import get_current_arm_state
+        engine = get_engine(get_db_path(cfg.system.data_dir))
+        stored = get_current_arm_state(engine)
+        if stored:
+            arm_state = stored
+    except Exception:
+        current_app.logger.exception("Failed to read arm state from DB")
+
     return jsonify({
-        "arm_state": "DISARMED",
+        "arm_state": arm_state,
         "ups": {"status": "UNKNOWN"},
         "cameras_online": 0,
         "cameras_total": len(cfg.cameras),