fix: enforce utf8 resolution limits

.superpowers/sdd/2026-09-22-control-panel-operational-ux-v1/task-3-report.md

@@ -129,3 +129,44 @@ Result:
 ```
 
 The existing `pytest_asyncio` configuration and `openpyxl` print-area warnings remain unchanged.
+
+## UTF-8 Byte-Length Re-Review Fix
+
+### RED
+
+Added `test_resolution_input_rejects_multibyte_utf8_at_ascii_character_limits` before changing production code. It submits `é` repeated 512 times as `value` and 2000 times as `reason`; both are within the existing character counts but exceed the corresponding UTF-8 byte budgets.
+
+Focused command:
+
+```text
+python -m pytest central/tests/test_blocker_resolution_panel.py -q
+```
+
+RED result:
+
+```text
+1 failed, 9 passed
+```
+
+The failure confirmed character-count validation accepted the multibyte inputs.
+
+### GREEN
+
+- `value` and `reason` limits now use `len(value.encode("utf-8"))` and `len(reason.encode("utf-8"))`.
+- Existing ASCII boundary inputs remain accepted.
+- Multibyte inputs fail closed with explicit UTF-8 byte-limit validation errors, before persistence or audit sanitization.
+- Redaction and remote-write boundaries were not changed.
+
+Focused result:
+
+```text
+10 passed, 1 warning
+```
+
+Full central result:
+
+```text
+266 passed, 1 warning
+```
+
+The existing `pytest_asyncio` configuration and `openpyxl` print-area warnings remain unchanged.

central/app/blocker_resolution.py

@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ def validate_resolution_input(payload):
         return None, "value must be a string"
     if not isinstance(payload.get("reason"), str):
         return None, "reason must be a string"
-    if len(payload["value"]) > MAX_VALUE_LENGTH:
+    if len(payload["value"].encode("utf-8")) > MAX_VALUE_LENGTH:
-        return None, f"value must be at most {MAX_VALUE_LENGTH} characters"
+        return None, f"value must be at most {MAX_VALUE_LENGTH} UTF-8 bytes"
-    if len(payload["reason"]) > MAX_REASON_LENGTH:
+    if len(payload["reason"].encode("utf-8")) > MAX_REASON_LENGTH:
-        return None, f"reason must be at most {MAX_REASON_LENGTH} characters"
+        return None, f"reason must be at most {MAX_REASON_LENGTH} UTF-8 bytes"
 
     normalized, error = validate_entry(payload)
     if error:

central/tests/test_blocker_resolution_panel.py

@@ -161,6 +161,14 @@ def test_resolution_input_rejects_oversized_and_non_string_fields_cleanly():
         assert error
 
 
+def test_resolution_input_rejects_multibyte_utf8_at_ascii_character_limits():
+    base = {"scope": "PRODUCT", "scope_key": "P-001", "key": "service_cfop", "value": "5102", "reason": "reviewed"}
+    for field, value in (("value", "é" * 512), ("reason", "é" * 2000)):
+        normalized, error = validate_resolution_input({**base, field: value})
+        assert normalized is None
+        assert error and "bytes" in error
+
+
 def test_boundary_length_audit_keeps_required_fields_instead_of_truncating_context():
     session_factory = setup_db()
     blocker_id, admin_id, _ = _seed_blocker(session_factory)