diff --git a/scripts/e2e/lib/plugin-update/probe.mjs b/scripts/e2e/lib/plugin-update/probe.mjs
index 11e001be35b..4876ca1b8d4 100644
--- a/scripts/e2e/lib/plugin-update/probe.mjs
+++ b/scripts/e2e/lib/plugin-update/probe.mjs
@@ -132,9 +132,6 @@ function assertCorruptPluginResult(pluginJsonPath, pluginId) {
 function assertCorruptPluginTolerated(plugins, pluginId) {
   const evidence = collectPluginEvidence(plugins, pluginId);
   if (plugins.status === "ok") {
-    if (isCorruptPluginDisabledAfterUpdate(evidence, pluginId)) {
-      return;
-    }
     assertCorruptPluginCleanOrRepaired(evidence);
     return;
   }
@@ -174,9 +171,10 @@ function assertCorruptPluginCleanOrRepaired(evidence) {
 function assertCorruptPluginDetails(plugins, pluginId) {
   const evidence = collectPluginEvidence(plugins, pluginId);
   const outcome = evidence.outcome;
+  const disabledAfterFailure = isCorruptPluginDisabledAfterUpdate(evidence, pluginId);
   if (
     !outcome ||
-    (outcome.status !== "error" && !isCorruptPluginDisabledAfterUpdate(evidence, pluginId))
+    (outcome.status !== "error" && !disabledAfterFailure)
   ) {
     throw new Error(
       `expected error or disabled-after-failure outcome for ${pluginId}, got ${JSON.stringify({
@@ -187,21 +185,28 @@ function assertCorruptPluginDetails(plugins, pluginId) {
       })}`,
     );
   }
-  if (isCorruptPluginDisabledAfterUpdate(evidence, pluginId)) {
-    return;
-  }
   const warning = evidence.warning;
   if (!warning) {
     throw new Error(
       `expected warning for ${pluginId}, got ${JSON.stringify(plugins.warnings ?? [])}`,
     );
   }
-  const text = JSON.stringify({ outcome, warning });
-  for (const expected of [
-    "package.json is missing",
-    "Run openclaw doctor --fix to attempt automatic repair.",
-    `Run openclaw plugins inspect ${pluginId} --runtime --json for details.`,
-  ]) {
+  const text = [outcome.message, warning.reason, warning.message, ...(warning.guidance ?? [])]
+    .filter(Boolean)
+    .join(" ");
+  const expectedFragments = disabledAfterFailure
+    ? [
+        `Disabled "${pluginId}" after plugin update failure`,
+        "OpenClaw will continue without it",
+        "Run openclaw doctor --fix to attempt automatic repair.",
+        `Run openclaw plugins inspect ${pluginId} --runtime --json for details.`,
+      ]
+    : [
+        "package.json is missing",
+        "Run openclaw doctor --fix to attempt automatic repair.",
+        `Run openclaw plugins inspect ${pluginId} --runtime --json for details.`,
+      ];
+  for (const expected of expectedFragments) {
     if (!text.includes(expected)) {
       throw new Error(`expected update output to include ${expected}: ${text}`);
     }
diff --git a/test/scripts/plugin-update-unchanged-docker.test.ts b/test/scripts/plugin-update-unchanged-docker.test.ts
index b3ffeb5826f..4d5f3566ed4 100644
--- a/test/scripts/plugin-update-unchanged-docker.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/plugin-update-unchanged-docker.test.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,49 @@
-import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { execFileSync, spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import { mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
 const PLUGIN_UPDATE_DOCKER_SCRIPT = "scripts/e2e/plugin-update-unchanged-docker.sh";
 const PLUGIN_UPDATE_SCENARIO_SCRIPT = "scripts/e2e/lib/plugin-update/unchanged-scenario.sh";
 const PLUGIN_UPDATE_PROBE_SCRIPT = "scripts/e2e/lib/plugin-update/probe.mjs";
+const CORRUPT_PLUGIN_ID = "demo-corrupt-plugin";
+
+function runProbe(command: string, payload: unknown): void {
+  const root = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), "openclaw-plugin-update-probe-"));
+  const payloadPath = path.join(root, "payload.json");
+  try {
+    writeFileSync(payloadPath, `${JSON.stringify(payload, null, 2)}\n`);
+    execFileSync("node", [PLUGIN_UPDATE_PROBE_SCRIPT, command, payloadPath, CORRUPT_PLUGIN_ID], {
+      encoding: "utf8",
+      stdio: "pipe",
+    });
+  } finally {
+    rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+}
+
+function runProbeStatus(
+  command: string,
+  payload: unknown,
+): { status: number | null; stderr: string } {
+  const root = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), "openclaw-plugin-update-probe-"));
+  const payloadPath = path.join(root, "payload.json");
+  try {
+    writeFileSync(payloadPath, `${JSON.stringify(payload, null, 2)}\n`);
+    const result = spawnSync(
+      "node",
+      [PLUGIN_UPDATE_PROBE_SCRIPT, command, payloadPath, CORRUPT_PLUGIN_ID],
+      {
+        encoding: "utf8",
+        stdio: "pipe",
+      },
+    );
+    return { status: result.status, stderr: result.stderr };
+  } finally {
+    rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+}
 
 describe("plugin update unchanged Docker E2E", () => {
   it("seeds current plugin install ledger state before checking config stability", () => {
@@ -31,4 +71,41 @@ describe("plugin update unchanged Docker E2E", () => {
     expect(script).toContain('"--- plugin update output ---"');
     expect(script).toContain('"--- local registry output ---"');
   });
+
+  it("requires disabled-after-failure corrupt plugin updates to stay warnings", () => {
+    const disabledAfterFailure = {
+      status: "ok",
+      npm: {
+        outcomes: [
+          {
+            pluginId: CORRUPT_PLUGIN_ID,
+            status: "skipped",
+            message:
+              `Disabled "${CORRUPT_PLUGIN_ID}" after plugin update failure; OpenClaw will continue without it. Failed to update ${CORRUPT_PLUGIN_ID}: registry timeout`,
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+    };
+
+    const acceptedOkResult = runProbeStatus("assert-corrupt-plugin-result", disabledAfterFailure);
+
+    expect(acceptedOkResult.status).not.toBe(0);
+    expect(acceptedOkResult.stderr).toContain("expected clean or repaired corrupt plugin state");
+    expect(() =>
+      runProbe("assert-corrupt-plugin-result", {
+        ...disabledAfterFailure,
+        status: "warning",
+        warnings: [
+          {
+            pluginId: CORRUPT_PLUGIN_ID,
+            message:
+              `Plugin "${CORRUPT_PLUGIN_ID}" could not be processed after the core update: ` +
+              disabledAfterFailure.npm.outcomes[0].message +
+              " Run openclaw doctor --fix to attempt automatic repair. " +
+              `Run openclaw plugins inspect ${CORRUPT_PLUGIN_ID} --runtime --json for details.`,
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+    ).not.toThrow();
+  });
 });