diff --git a/src/io/elf_extern_resolve.cpp b/src/io/elf_extern_resolve.cpp
index 3fac718fc..295aa68fd 100644
--- a/src/io/elf_extern_resolve.cpp
+++ b/src/io/elf_extern_resolve.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 // Copyright (c) Prevail Verifier contributors.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+#include <cstdint>
 #include <optional>
 #include <string_view>
 #include <vector>
@@ -83,6 +84,15 @@ bool rewrite_extern_constant_load(std::vector<EbpfInst>& instructions, const siz
         narrowed_value = static_cast<uint64_t>((static_cast<int64_t>(narrowed_value << shift)) >> shift);
     }
 
+    // BPF MOV imm has a 32-bit immediate field that is sign-extended to 64 bits
+    // by the runtime. Bail out if the value cannot survive the int32 → int64
+    // sign-extension round-trip; the caller will fall back to the original
+    // LDDW+LDX instruction sequence.
+    const auto truncated = static_cast<int32_t>(narrowed_value);
+    if (static_cast<uint64_t>(static_cast<int64_t>(truncated)) != narrowed_value) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
     // Use mov-imm to materialize the resolved constant in the destination register of
     // the load, and neutralize the preceding LDDW pair.
     const uint8_t mov_opcode = width == 8 || mode == INST_MODE_MEMSX
@@ -91,7 +101,7 @@ bool rewrite_extern_constant_load(std::vector<EbpfInst>& instructions, const siz
     load_inst.opcode = mov_opcode;
     load_inst.src = 0;
     load_inst.offset = 0;
-    load_inst.imm = gsl::narrow<int32_t>(narrowed_value);
+    load_inst.imm = truncated;
 
     lo_inst.get() = make_mov_reg_nop(lo_inst.get().dst);
     hi_inst.get() = make_mov_reg_nop(hi_inst.get().dst);
diff --git a/src/test/test_elf_loader.cpp b/src/test/test_elf_loader.cpp
index a8baffaa6..e145f7e93 100644
--- a/src/test/test_elf_loader.cpp
+++ b/src/test/test_elf_loader.cpp
@@ -510,6 +510,72 @@ TEST_CASE("ELF loader ignores non-function .ksyms entries", "[elf]") {
     REQUIRE(progs.size() == 1);
 }
 
+// Regression test: rewrite_extern_constant_load must not crash when the resolved value
+// exceeds INT32_MAX and the load instruction is 8-byte width (LDX DW).
+// BPF MOV imm only has a 32-bit immediate; values that don't fit must cause a
+// graceful bail-out (return false), not a gsl::narrowing_error exception.
+TEST_CASE("rewrite_extern_constant_load bails out on values exceeding int32 range", "[elf][hardening]") {
+    // Build a 3-instruction sequence: LDDW pair + LDX DW r2, [r1+0].
+    // This is the pattern clang emits for: extern uint64_t LINUX_KERNEL_VERSION;
+    auto make_instructions = []() {
+        std::vector<EbpfInst> insts(3);
+        insts[0].opcode = INST_OP_LDDW_IMM;
+        insts[0].dst = 1;
+        insts[0].src = 0;
+        insts[0].offset = 0;
+        insts[0].imm = 0;
+        insts[1] = {};
+        // LDX DW = INST_CLS_LDX | INST_MODE_MEM | INST_SIZE_DW = 0x79
+        insts[2].opcode = static_cast<uint8_t>(INST_CLS_LDX | INST_MODE_MEM | INST_SIZE_DW);
+        insts[2].dst = 2;
+        insts[2].src = 1;
+        insts[2].offset = 0;
+        insts[2].imm = 0;
+        return insts;
+    };
+
+    // Verify bail-out returns false, doesn't throw, and leaves instructions unmodified.
+    auto check_bailout_preserves_program = [&](const uint64_t value) {
+        const auto original = make_instructions();
+        auto insts = original;
+        bool result = true;
+        CHECK_NOTHROW(result = rewrite_extern_constant_load(insts, 0, value));
+        CHECK_FALSE(result);
+        CHECK(insts == original);
+    };
+
+    SECTION("small value fits in int32 — rewrite succeeds") {
+        auto insts = make_instructions();
+        REQUIRE(rewrite_extern_constant_load(insts, 0, 42));
+    }
+
+    SECTION("INT32_MAX fits — rewrite succeeds") {
+        auto insts = make_instructions();
+        REQUIRE(rewrite_extern_constant_load(insts, 0, 0x7FFFFFFF));
+    }
+
+    SECTION("-1 (0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF) fits via sign-extension — rewrite succeeds") {
+        auto insts = make_instructions();
+        REQUIRE(rewrite_extern_constant_load(insts, 0, 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFULL));
+    }
+
+    SECTION("0x80000000 exceeds int32 — bails out without mutation") {
+        check_bailout_preserves_program(0x80000000ULL);
+    }
+
+    SECTION("0x100000000 exceeds int32 — bails out without mutation") {
+        check_bailout_preserves_program(0x100000000ULL);
+    }
+
+    SECTION("0xFFFFFFFF exceeds int32 as uint64 — bails out without mutation") {
+        check_bailout_preserves_program(0xFFFFFFFFULL);
+    }
+
+    SECTION("large 64-bit value — bails out without mutation") {
+        check_bailout_preserves_program(0xDEADBEEFCAFEBABEULL);
+    }
+}
+
 // Regression test: read_elf(istream, path) must work when path is not a real file.
 // The load_elf function uses file_size(path) for section-bounds validation, which
 // fails for non-file paths like "memory". The fix falls back to stream size.