diff --git a/src/lib/adapters.test.ts b/src/lib/adapters.test.ts
index a23089d..f38d034 100644
--- a/src/lib/adapters.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/adapters.test.ts
@@ -120,3 +120,40 @@ describe("adaptBounty — field coverage audit (#86)", () => {
     }
   });
 });
+
+
+describe("adaptBounty — status validation and coercion (#279)", () => {
+  it("preserves valid BountyStatus values", () => {
+    const validStatuses = [
+      "open",
+      "funded",
+      "claimed",
+      "in_review",
+      "merged",
+      "paid",
+      "refunded",
+      "expired",
+    ] as const;
+
+    for (const status of validStatuses) {
+      const raw = rawBounty({ status });
+      expect(adaptBounty(raw).status).toBe(status);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("coerces an unrecognized backend status to the safe fallback 'open'", () => {
+    const raw = rawBounty({ status: "some_unrecognized_future_status" as any });
+    expect(adaptBounty(raw).status).toBe("open");
+  });
+
+  it("coerces null or undefined or empty status to 'open'", () => {
+    const rawNull = rawBounty({ status: null as any });
+    expect(adaptBounty(rawNull).status).toBe("open");
+
+    const rawUndefined = rawBounty({ status: undefined as any });
+    expect(adaptBounty(rawUndefined).status).toBe("open");
+
+    const rawEmpty = rawBounty({ status: "" as any });
+    expect(adaptBounty(rawEmpty).status).toBe("open");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/adapters.ts b/src/lib/adapters.ts
index 4bc707d..753c5e5 100644
--- a/src/lib/adapters.ts
+++ b/src/lib/adapters.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type {
   Bounty,
+  BountyStatus,
   Milestone,
   MaintenancePool,
   TeamSplit,
@@ -13,6 +14,27 @@ import {
   validateTeamSplits,
 } from "./utils";
 
+export const VALID_BOUNTY_STATUSES: readonly BountyStatus[] = [
+  "open",
+  "funded",
+  "claimed",
+  "in_review",
+  "merged",
+  "paid",
+  "refunded",
+  "expired",
+] as const;
+
+export function coerceBountyStatus(
+  status: unknown,
+  fallback: BountyStatus = "open",
+): BountyStatus {
+  if (typeof status === "string" && (VALID_BOUNTY_STATUSES as readonly string[]).includes(status)) {
+    return status as BountyStatus;
+  }
+  return fallback;
+}
+
 // Shapes returned by mergefi-backend's TypeORM entities (see
 // mergefi-backend/src/common/entities). These are intentionally loose since
 // we only read the fields the UI needs.
@@ -49,7 +71,7 @@ export interface RawBounty {
   amount: string;
   asset: "USDC" | "XLM";
   difficulty: Difficulty;
-  status: Bounty["status"];
+  status: Bounty["status"] | string;
   deadline: string | null;
   escrowId: string | null;
   issue?: RawIssue;
@@ -107,7 +129,7 @@ export function adaptBounty(raw: RawBounty): Bounty & { teamSplitsValid?: { vali
     reward: coerceNonNegative(raw.amount),
     asset: raw.asset,
     difficulty: raw.difficulty,
-    status: raw.status,
+    status: coerceBountyStatus(raw.status),
     deadline: raw.deadline ?? new Date().toISOString(),
     labels: raw.issue?.labels ?? [],
     claimedBy: raw.claimedBy?.username,