diff --git a/.agents/skills/openclaw-changelog-update/scripts/verify-release-notes.mjs b/.agents/skills/openclaw-changelog-update/scripts/verify-release-notes.mjs
index 96a77f98605c..0391a0b72b9a 100644
--- a/.agents/skills/openclaw-changelog-update/scripts/verify-release-notes.mjs
+++ b/.agents/skills/openclaw-changelog-update/scripts/verify-release-notes.mjs
@@ -1,7 +1,15 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 
 import { execFileSync, spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
-import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, renameSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import {
+  existsSync,
+  mkdirSync,
+  mkdtempSync,
+  readFileSync,
+  renameSync,
+  rmSync,
+  writeFileSync,
+} from "node:fs";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { pathToFileURL } from "node:url";
 import {
@@ -853,6 +861,21 @@ export function resolvedReleasePullRequests(
   );
 }
 
+export function releasePullRequestReferencesToSuppress(
+  currentPullRequests,
+  subject,
+  associatedPullRequests,
+  hasProvenanceOverride,
+) {
+  const candidates = new Set(currentPullRequests);
+  if (hasProvenanceOverride) {
+    for (const match of subject.matchAll(/\(#(\d+)\)\s*$/g)) {
+      candidates.add(Number(match[1]));
+    }
+  }
+  return [...candidates].filter((number) => !associatedPullRequests.includes(number));
+}
+
 function changedPathsForCommit(hash) {
   return new Set(
     git(["diff-tree", "--root", "--no-commit-id", "--name-only", "-r", hash, "--"])
@@ -1130,7 +1153,7 @@ function sourceCommits(base, target, mainRef) {
   );
   const provenanceOverrides = collectReleaseProvenanceOverrides(activeCommits);
   const mainCommits = canonicalMainCommits(base, mainRef);
-  const mainCommit = gitCommit(mainRef, true);
+  const mainCommit = provenanceOverrides.size > 0 ? gitCommit(mainRef, true) : undefined;
   const mainCommitsByHash = new Map(mainCommits.map((commit) => [commit.hash, commit]));
   const mainCommitsBySubject = new Map();
   for (const commit of mainCommits) {
@@ -1233,15 +1256,21 @@ function sourceCommits(base, target, mainRef) {
         (hash) => canonicalMainPullRequests.get(hash) ?? [],
       );
     const matchedMainCommits = canonicalMainCommitsByReleaseCommit.get(commit.hash) ?? [];
+    const provenanceOverride = provenanceOverrides.get(commit.hash);
     const associatedPullRequests = resolvedReleasePullRequests(
       currentPullRequests,
       mainPullRequests,
       matchedMainCommits.length > 0,
-      provenanceOverrides.get(commit.hash),
+      provenanceOverride,
     );
     commit.pullRequests = associatedPullRequests;
     const suppressedBackportPullRequests = new Set(
-      currentPullRequests.filter((number) => !associatedPullRequests.includes(number)),
+      releasePullRequestReferencesToSuppress(
+        currentPullRequests,
+        commit.subject,
+        associatedPullRequests,
+        provenanceOverride !== undefined,
+      ),
     );
     commit.references = commit.references.filter(
       (number) => !suppressedBackportPullRequests.has(number),
@@ -2227,6 +2256,19 @@ function releaseChecks(changelog, version, releaseTags) {
   return checks;
 }
 
+function writeFileAtomic(filePath, contents) {
+  const directory = path.dirname(filePath);
+  mkdirSync(directory, { recursive: true });
+  const tempDirectory = mkdtempSync(path.join(directory, `.${path.basename(filePath)}.tmp-`));
+  const tempPath = path.join(tempDirectory, path.basename(filePath));
+  try {
+    writeFileSync(tempPath, contents);
+    renameSync(tempPath, filePath);
+  } finally {
+    rmSync(tempDirectory, { force: true, recursive: true });
+  }
+}
+
 function main() {
   const options = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2));
   if (options.help) {
@@ -2234,8 +2276,8 @@ function main() {
     return;
   }
   githubSnapshotState = initializeGithubSnapshot(options);
-  let changelog = readFileSync("CHANGELOG.md", "utf8");
-  let section = sectionFor(changelog, options.version);
+  const changelog = readFileSync("CHANGELOG.md", "utf8");
+  const section = sectionFor(changelog, options.version);
   const source = sourceCommits(options.base, options.target, options.mainRef ?? "origin/main");
   const shippedBaselineRecords = options.shippedRefs.map(shippedBaselineFor);
   const shippedExclusions = subtractShippedPullRequests(source, shippedBaselineRecords);
@@ -2396,32 +2438,32 @@ function main() {
     ledger,
     relationships.directCommits,
   );
-
   if (options.manifestPath) {
-    writeFileSync(options.manifestPath, `${JSON.stringify(manifest, null, 2)}\n`);
+    writeFileAtomic(options.manifestPath, `${JSON.stringify(manifest, null, 2)}\n`);
   }
 
+  let candidateChangelog = changelog;
+  let candidateSection = section;
   if (options.writeLedger) {
-    changelog = replaceLedger(
+    candidateChangelog = replaceLedger(
       changelog,
       section,
       ledger.ledger,
       ledger.pullRequests,
       relationships.directCommits,
     );
-    writeFileSync("CHANGELOG.md", changelog);
-    section = sectionFor(changelog, options.version);
+    candidateSection = sectionFor(candidateChangelog, options.version);
   }
 
   const errors = ledgerChecks(
-    section,
+    candidateSection,
     ledger.pullRequests,
     nodes,
     relationships.directCommits,
     source.shippedBaselines,
   );
   const github = options.checkGithub
-    ? releaseChecks(changelog, options.version, options.releaseTags)
+    ? releaseChecks(candidateChangelog, options.version, options.releaseTags)
     : [];
   for (const check of github) {
     if (!check.matches) {
@@ -2430,6 +2472,11 @@ function main() {
       );
     }
   }
+  if (errors.length === 0) {
+    if (options.writeLedger) {
+      writeFileAtomic("CHANGELOG.md", candidateChangelog);
+    }
+  }
 
   const result = {
     base: options.base,
diff --git a/test/external-script-modules.d.ts b/test/external-script-modules.d.ts
index 7e99e5257e69..d40c162c34cb 100644
--- a/test/external-script-modules.d.ts
+++ b/test/external-script-modules.d.ts
@@ -118,6 +118,12 @@ declare module "*openclaw-changelog-update/scripts/verify-release-notes.mjs" {
     hasCanonicalMainCommit: boolean,
     provenanceOverride?: number[],
   ): number[];
+  export function releasePullRequestReferencesToSuppress(
+    currentPullRequests: number[],
+    subject: string,
+    associatedPullRequests: number[],
+    hasProvenanceOverride: boolean,
+  ): number[];
   export function validateReleaseProvenanceOverrides(
     provenanceOverrides: Map<string, number[]>,
     nodes: Map<number, unknown>,
diff --git a/test/scripts/verify-release-notes.test.ts b/test/scripts/verify-release-notes.test.ts
index 5fbddc8bfba0..2bc3b9836ffa 100644
--- a/test/scripts/verify-release-notes.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/verify-release-notes.test.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import {
   highlightCountError,
   persistGithubSnapshot,
   releaseNoteReferences,
+  releasePullRequestReferencesToSuppress,
   releaseProvenanceMarkers,
   renderedContributionRecordReferences,
   resolvedReleasePullRequests,
@@ -78,6 +79,14 @@ describe("release-note verification", () => {
     expect(resolvedReleasePullRequests([104939], [], false, [104905, 102980, 104956])).toEqual([
       104905, 102980, 104956,
     ]);
+    expect(
+      releasePullRequestReferencesToSuppress(
+        [],
+        "test(live): harden GPT-5.6 nonce retries for July (#104939)",
+        [104905, 102980, 104956],
+        true,
+      ),
+    ).toEqual([104939]);
   });
 
   it("rejects malformed, out-of-range, or conflicting release provenance markers", () => {
@@ -720,6 +729,57 @@ describe("release-note verification", () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it("leaves CHANGELOG.md untouched when the rendered ledger fails validation", () => {
+    const cwd = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "openclaw-release-notes-"));
+    try {
+      git(cwd, ["init", "-q"]);
+      const changelog = [
+        "# Changelog",
+        "",
+        "## 2026.7.1",
+        "",
+        "### Highlights",
+        "",
+        "- Only one highlight.",
+        "",
+        "### Changes",
+        "",
+        "### Fixes",
+        "",
+      ].join("\n");
+      writeFileSync(join(cwd, "CHANGELOG.md"), changelog);
+      git(cwd, ["add", "CHANGELOG.md"]);
+      git(cwd, ["commit", "-qm", "initial"]);
+      const manifestPath = join(cwd, "release-manifest.json");
+
+      const result = spawnSync(
+        process.execPath,
+        [
+          verifier,
+          "--base",
+          "HEAD",
+          "--target",
+          "HEAD",
+          "--main-ref",
+          "HEAD",
+          "--manifest",
+          manifestPath,
+          "--version",
+          "2026.7.1",
+          "--write-ledger",
+        ],
+        { cwd, encoding: "utf8" },
+      );
+
+      expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+      expect(result.stdout).toContain("1 errors");
+      expect(JSON.parse(readFileSync(manifestPath, "utf8")).version).toBe("2026.7.1");
+      expect(readFileSync(join(cwd, "CHANGELOG.md"), "utf8")).toBe(changelog);
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(cwd, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
   it("rejects a release base that is not an ancestor of the target", () => {
     const cwd = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "openclaw-release-notes-"));
     try {