diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 65ffabd..75a35bc 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,19 @@
+## v0.79.0 — SLICE 3: escrow upload carries sha256 of the sealed restic password (2026-07-09)
+
+The hub-verified escrow auto-confirm chain, agent third: the escrow-create ceremony now records WHICH
+offsite repo password the blob covers — as a non-reversible sha256 (a 256-bit random secret's hash is safe
+to store/serve; the password itself is never logged or uploaded).
+
+- `internal/escrow.HashResticPassword` — the CANONICAL hasher: sha256 hex over the TRIMMED password string
+  (exactly the value `AttachResticPassword` seals into the blob). **Pinned cross-repo test vector**
+  (`TestHashResticPassword_PinnedVector`, same vector asserted in felhom-controller) so the two hashers can
+  never drift silently.
+- `cmd/felhom-agent`: `escrowUploadRequest` gains `restic_pw_sha256,omitempty` — set only when a staged
+  password was folded in (no staged file → field OMITTED → the hub stores NULL → the controller stays
+  pending; correct, the blob doesn't cover the key). `TestEscrowUploadContract` updated (the hub mirrors it
+  in the same commit-pair) + asserts the omitted-when-unstaged behavior.
+- Ceremony flow (create / self-verify / R-banner / staged-file wipe) otherwise untouched.
+
 ## v0.78.0 — fork-4 hygiene: DELETE /escrow/stage-secret (staged-secret wipe) (2026-07-09)
 
 Part of the offsite-provisioning hardening bundle (pairs with controller v0.107.0 + hub v0.39.0). The staged
diff --git a/cmd/felhom-agent/escrow_contract_test.go b/cmd/felhom-agent/escrow_contract_test.go
index 6f137ce..45cc492 100644
--- a/cmd/felhom-agent/escrow_contract_test.go
+++ b/cmd/felhom-agent/escrow_contract_test.go
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import (
 // struct (felhom-hub api.escrowUploadRequest). Cross-repo, no shared module — this is the agent
 // half of the contract guard; the hub has the mirror in its own test.
 func TestEscrowUploadContract(t *testing.T) {
-	b, _ := json.Marshal(escrowUploadRequest{BlobB64: "x", KeyFingerprint: "y", Posture: "z", CreatedAt: "t"})
+	b, _ := json.Marshal(escrowUploadRequest{BlobB64: "x", KeyFingerprint: "y", Posture: "z", CreatedAt: "t", ResticPwSHA256: "h"})
 	var m map[string]any
 	if err := json.Unmarshal(b, &m); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
@@ -21,8 +21,16 @@ func TestEscrowUploadContract(t *testing.T) {
 		got = append(got, k)
 	}
 	sort.Strings(got)
-	want := []string{"blob_b64", "created_at", "key_fingerprint", "posture"}
+	want := []string{"blob_b64", "created_at", "key_fingerprint", "posture", "restic_pw_sha256"}
 	if !reflect.DeepEqual(got, want) {
 		t.Fatalf("escrow wire contract drift: got %v want %v (must match the hub ingest struct)", got, want)
 	}
+	// SLICE 3: no staged password folded in → the hash field is OMITTED on the wire (the hub stores NULL →
+	// the controller never matches → stays pending; correct — the blob doesn't cover the key).
+	b2, _ := json.Marshal(escrowUploadRequest{BlobB64: "x", KeyFingerprint: "y", Posture: "z", CreatedAt: "t"})
+	var m2 map[string]any
+	_ = json.Unmarshal(b2, &m2)
+	if _, present := m2["restic_pw_sha256"]; present {
+		t.Fatal("restic_pw_sha256 must be omitted when no staged password was sealed")
+	}
 }
diff --git a/cmd/felhom-agent/main.go b/cmd/felhom-agent/main.go
index fae88b8..194432f 100644
--- a/cmd/felhom-agent/main.go
+++ b/cmd/felhom-agent/main.go
@@ -1714,6 +1714,7 @@ func runSelftestEscrowCreate(ctx context.Context, cfg config.Config, logger *slo
 	// into the escrowed identity, so DR can recover the offsite DATA key with the one recovery code R.
 	// Field NAME only in logs. No staged file → clean no-attach (pre-fork-4 behavior). Wiped after create.
 	resticStaged := false
+	resticPwSHA256 := "" // SLICE 3: sha256 of the sealed password (safe to upload/serve; value never logged)
 	{
 		probe := identity
 		if probe == nil {
@@ -1727,6 +1728,9 @@ func runSelftestEscrowCreate(ctx context.Context, cfg config.Config, logger *slo
 		if attached {
 			identity = probe
 			resticStaged = true
+			// Hash EXACTLY the value sealed into the blob — the controller matches this against
+			// sha256(its local repo_password) to auto-confirm the escrow (hub-verified, SLICE 3).
+			resticPwSHA256 = escrow.HashResticPassword(probe.ResticRepoPassword)
 			logger.Info("escrow: identity bundle: +restic_repo_password")
 		}
 	}
@@ -1781,7 +1785,7 @@ func runSelftestEscrowCreate(ctx context.Context, cfg config.Config, logger *slo
 		fmt.Printf("  identity escrow: %d bytes (age-wrapped {tunnel,pbs} under the same R) · self-verify OK\n", len(res.IdentityBlob))
 	}
 	if upload {
-		if err := uploadEscrowBlob(ctx, cfg, res, directive); err != nil {
+		if err := uploadEscrowBlob(ctx, cfg, res, directive, resticPwSHA256); err != nil {
 			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "  [FAIL] upload escrow to hub:", err)
 			return 1
 		}
@@ -1896,12 +1900,16 @@ type escrowUploadRequest struct {
 	IdentityBlobB64 string          `json:"identity_blob_b64,omitempty"`
 	DirectiveJSON   json.RawMessage `json:"directive,omitempty"`
 	CreatedAt       string          `json:"created_at"` // RFC3339
+	// SLICE 3 — sha256 hex of the offsite restic repo password sealed in the identity blob (present only
+	// when a staged password was folded in). Non-reversible hash of a 256-bit random secret — safe to
+	// store/serve; lets the controller VERIFY "the escrow covers the CURRENT key" and auto-confirm.
+	ResticPwSHA256 string `json:"restic_pw_sha256,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // uploadEscrowBlob PUTs the opaque blob (and, for 10D, the identity blob + non-secret directive) to
 // the hub, authed with the per-host key. The hub stores ciphertext + non-secret fields; no usable
 // secret leaves the agent.
-func uploadEscrowBlob(ctx context.Context, cfg config.Config, res escrow.CreateResult, directive json.RawMessage) error {
+func uploadEscrowBlob(ctx context.Context, cfg config.Config, res escrow.CreateResult, directive json.RawMessage, resticPwSHA256 string) error {
 	if cfg.Hub.URL == "" || cfg.Hub.HostID == "" || cfg.Hub.APIKey == "" {
 		return fmt.Errorf("hub not configured (url/host_id/api_key)")
 	}
@@ -1910,6 +1918,7 @@ func uploadEscrowBlob(ctx context.Context, cfg config.Config, res escrow.CreateR
 		KeyFingerprint: res.KeyFingerprint,
 		Posture:        string(res.Posture),
 		CreatedAt:      time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339),
+		ResticPwSHA256: resticPwSHA256, // "" when no staged password was folded in → omitted on the wire
 	}
 	if len(res.IdentityBlob) > 0 {
 		upReq.IdentityBlobB64 = base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(res.IdentityBlob)
diff --git a/internal/escrow/identity.go b/internal/escrow/identity.go
index 5a7f05a..16530b0 100644
--- a/internal/escrow/identity.go
+++ b/internal/escrow/identity.go
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ package escrow
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"crypto/sha256"
 	"encoding/base64"
+	"encoding/hex"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
@@ -53,6 +55,17 @@ func WipeStagedResticPassword() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// HashResticPassword is the CANONICAL hasher for the offsite restic repo password (SLICE 3 hub-verified
+// escrow auto-confirm): sha256 hex of the TRIMMED password string — exactly the value AttachResticPassword
+// seals into the blob and the value the controller uses (both sides TrimSpace their file reads, so the
+// trimmed string is the drift-free convention; pinned by the SAME test vector in felhom-agent and
+// felhom-controller). The hash of a 256-bit random secret is non-reversible and non-brute-forceable —
+// safe to store on the hub and serve in report ACKs; the PASSWORD itself is never logged or served.
+func HashResticPassword(pw string) string {
+	sum := sha256.Sum256([]byte(strings.TrimSpace(pw)))
+	return hex.EncodeToString(sum[:])
+}
+
 // AttachResticPassword injects the offsite restic repo password from the staged 0600 file into the bundle
 // when it exists (fork-4 escrow-create auto-inject). Returns whether it attached. The VALUE is validated
 // (non-empty) but NEVER logged by callers — log the field NAME only (mirrors AttachWGKey). A missing file
diff --git a/internal/escrow/identity_test.go b/internal/escrow/identity_test.go
index 9b48909..3bb9c3d 100644
--- a/internal/escrow/identity_test.go
+++ b/internal/escrow/identity_test.go
@@ -97,6 +97,21 @@ func TestIdentity_RoundTrip_CarriesResticPassword(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// PINNED CROSS-REPO TEST VECTOR (SLICE 3): the same vector is asserted in felhom-controller — if either
+// side drifts (trailing newline, encoding, trim behavior), its half of this test fails and auto-confirm
+// can never silently mismatch. Convention: sha256 hex over the TRIMMED password string.
+func TestHashResticPassword_PinnedVector(t *testing.T) {
+	const vector = "cafef00ddeadbeef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef"
+	const want = "dbfc02f987e1ac0c91911d5761267089b1144628745a3343e4d96194e43c08e4"
+	if got := HashResticPassword(vector); got != want {
+		t.Fatalf("pinned vector drift: got %s want %s", got, want)
+	}
+	// trim convention: surrounding whitespace/newlines do not change the hash (both sides trim)
+	if got := HashResticPassword("  " + vector + "\n"); got != want {
+		t.Fatalf("whitespace must not change the hash (trim convention), got %s", got)
+	}
+}
+
 // AttachResticPassword: missing file → clean no-attach; staged file → trimmed value attached; empty → error.
 func TestAttachResticPassword(t *testing.T) {
 	b := &IdentityBundle{}