diff --git a/src/skillspector/cli.py b/src/skillspector/cli.py
index 838f838c..aea12cb9 100644
--- a/src/skillspector/cli.py
+++ b/src/skillspector/cli.py
@@ -494,6 +494,13 @@ def scan(
             help="Exit 1 when relevant analysis is partial or incomplete.",
         ),
     ] = False,
+    fail_on_findings: Annotated[
+        bool,
+        typer.Option(
+            "--fail-on-findings",
+            help="Exit 1 when the scan reports one or more active findings.",
+        ),
+    ] = False,
     verbose: Annotated[
         bool,
         typer.Option(
@@ -628,6 +635,7 @@ def scan(
                 yara_dir=yara_dir,
                 verbose=verbose,
                 fail_on_incomplete=fail_on_incomplete,
+                fail_on_findings=fail_on_findings,
             )
             return
         if detection.complete and not detection.has_root_skill and len(detection.skills) == 0:
@@ -702,6 +710,8 @@ def scan(
         )
         if fail_on_incomplete and not is_complete:
             raise typer.Exit(code=1)
+        if fail_on_findings and effective_findings(result):
+            raise typer.Exit(code=1)
         if (result.get("risk_score") or 0) > RISK_THRESHOLD:
             raise typer.Exit(code=1)
     except typer.Exit:
@@ -2075,6 +2085,7 @@ def _scan_multi_skill(
     yara_dir: str | None = None,
     verbose: bool = False,
     fail_on_incomplete: bool = False,
+    fail_on_findings: bool = False,
     **legacy_kwargs: object,
 ) -> None:
     """Scan each detected sub-skill independently and produce a combined report."""
@@ -2097,6 +2108,7 @@ def _scan_multi_skill(
     transitive_finding_count = 0
     transitive_sources: set[str] = set()
     analysis_incomplete = not detection.complete
+    has_findings = False
     aggregate_limitations = [
         f"recursive discovery {limitation.resource} limit reached"
         for limitation in detection.limitations[:256]
@@ -2152,6 +2164,7 @@ def _scan_multi_skill(
             result_body = _result_body(result)
             result_characters = len(result_body)
             result_records = _multi_skill_public_record_count(result)
+            has_findings = has_findings or bool(effective_findings(result))
             if (
                 retained_public_records + result_records > _MULTI_SKILL_MAX_PUBLIC_RECORDS
                 or retained_report_characters + result_characters
@@ -2396,6 +2409,8 @@ def _scan_multi_skill(
         raise typer.Exit(code=2)
     if fail_on_incomplete and analysis_incomplete:
         raise typer.Exit(code=1)
+    if fail_on_findings and has_findings:
+        raise typer.Exit(code=1)
     if max_score > RISK_THRESHOLD:
         raise typer.Exit(code=1)
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_cli.py b/tests/unit/test_cli.py
index 9302c1f9..c6d27784 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_cli.py
@@ -220,6 +220,33 @@ def test_cli_fail_on_incomplete_exits_one_after_writing_report(
     assert output.exists()
 
 
+def test_cli_fail_on_findings_exits_one_below_risk_threshold(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Path
+) -> None:
+    """Active findings can gate automation even when aggregate risk remains low."""
+    (tmp_path / "SKILL.md").write_text("# Safe", encoding="utf-8")
+    output = tmp_path / "report.json"
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        "skillspector.cli.graph.invoke",
+        lambda state, config: {
+            "report_body": '{"issues": []}',
+            "execution_successful": True,
+            "analysis_completeness": {"is_complete": True},
+            "risk_score": 0,
+            "findings": [_finding("T1", "active finding")],
+            "filtered_findings": [_finding("T1", "active finding")],
+        },
+    )
+
+    result = runner.invoke(
+        app,
+        ["scan", str(tmp_path), "-f", "json", "-o", str(output), "--fail-on-findings"],
+    )
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 1
+    assert output.exists()
+
+
 def test_recursive_scan_exits_two_after_writing_all_child_reports(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     """Recursive mode aggregates child execution failures after producing output."""
     s1 = SkillDirectory(path=tmp_path / "one", name="one", relative_path="one")
@@ -914,6 +941,28 @@ def _bounded_recursive_result(label: str, *, finding_count: int = 1) -> dict[str
     }
 
 
+def test_recursive_fail_on_findings_exits_one_below_risk_threshold(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Path
+) -> None:
+    """Recursive scans gate on active child findings, not only aggregate score."""
+    skill = SkillDirectory(tmp_path / "one", "one", "one")
+    detection = MultiSkillDetectionResult(is_multi_skill=True, skills=[skill])
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        cli.graph, "invoke", lambda *_args, **_kwargs: _bounded_recursive_result("one")
+    )
+
+    with pytest.raises(typer.Exit) as exit_info:
+        _scan_multi_skill(
+            detection,
+            FormatChoice.json,
+            None,
+            no_llm=True,
+            fail_on_findings=True,
+        )
+
+    assert exit_info.value.exit_code == 1
+
+
 def test_recursive_json_uses_one_global_public_record_budget(
     monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Path
 ) -> None: