diff --git a/actions/auto-release/gate.sh b/actions/auto-release/gate.sh
index 1bb293b..6409618 100755
--- a/actions/auto-release/gate.sh
+++ b/actions/auto-release/gate.sh
@@ -8,8 +8,19 @@
 #       exit 0 if any changed file is release-worthy, 1 otherwise
 set -euo pipefail
 
-# Split a comma-separated list into lines, dropping empties.
-_split_csv() { local IFS=','; for x in $1; do [ -n "$x" ] && printf '%s\n' "$x"; done; }
+# Split a comma-separated list into lines, dropping empties. Globbing MUST be
+# off while splitting: the values are path *globs* (e.g. tools/cfl/**), and an
+# unquoted `for x in $1` would pathname-expand them against the gate's CWD — so
+# run from a repo root, tools/cfl/** would match real directory entries and
+# silently corrupt the gate (.github#25). Disable globbing for the split and
+# restore the caller's prior setting.
+_split_csv() {
+  local IFS=',' x restore=0
+  case $- in *f*) ;; *) set -f; restore=1 ;; esac
+  for x in $1; do [ -n "$x" ] && printf '%s\n' "$x"; done
+  [ "$restore" -eq 1 ] && set +f
+  return 0
+}
 
 # Translate a path glob into a bash `case` pattern: ** -> * (case patterns
 # already match across '/', so a single * suffices for "any depth").
diff --git a/actions/auto-release/test_gate.sh b/actions/auto-release/test_gate.sh
index 969c56a..59fa2a8 100755
--- a/actions/auto-release/test_gate.sh
+++ b/actions/auto-release/test_gate.sh
@@ -36,6 +36,28 @@ mp_pass "shared go"          "$REL" "$TOOL" version.txt "shared/util.go"
 mp_fail "other tool"         "$REL" "$TOOL" version.txt "tools/jtk/main.go"
 mp_fail "root doc in mono"   "$REL" "$TOOL" version.txt "README.md"
 
+# --- regression (.github#25): the gate must not depend on its CWD. In CI the
+# gate runs from the repo *root*, where tool-paths like `tools/cfl/**` name real
+# directories. An unquoted glob in _split_csv pathname-expanded them into
+# directory entries, so EVERY change to a monorepo tool was skipped. Re-run the
+# monorepo cases from inside such a tree to lock the behavior. ---
+GATE="$(pwd)/gate.sh"
+fixture="$(mktemp -d)"
+mkdir -p "$fixture/tools/cfl/internal" "$fixture/tools/cfl/cmd/cfl" "$fixture/shared"
+: > "$fixture/tools/cfl/version.txt"; : > "$fixture/tools/cfl/go.mod"
+mp_pass_at() { # label cwd release tool vfile files
+  if ( cd "$2" && printf '%s\n' "$6" | bash "$GATE" match-paths "$3" "$4" "$5" ); then ok "$1"; else bad "$1"; fi
+}
+mp_fail_at() {
+  if ( cd "$2" && printf '%s\n' "$6" | bash "$GATE" match-paths "$3" "$4" "$5" ); then bad "$1"; else ok "$1"; fi
+}
+mp_pass_at "from root: cfl version bump" "$fixture" "$REL" "$TOOL" version.txt "tools/cfl/version.txt"
+mp_pass_at "from root: cfl go file"      "$fixture" "$REL" "$TOOL" version.txt "tools/cfl/internal/foo.go"
+mp_pass_at "from root: cfl go.mod"       "$fixture" "$REL" "$TOOL" version.txt "tools/cfl/go.mod"
+mp_fail_at "from root: other tool"       "$fixture" "$REL" "$TOOL" version.txt "tools/jtk/main.go"
+mp_fail_at "from root: tool doc only"    "$fixture" "$REL" "$TOOL" version.txt "tools/cfl/README.md"
+rm -rf "$fixture"
+
 # --- version validation ---
 bash gate.sh validate-version "3.1"   >/dev/null 2>&1 && ok "ver 3.1"        || bad "ver 3.1"
 bash gate.sh validate-version "v3.1"  >/dev/null 2>&1 && bad "reject v3.1"   || ok "reject v3.1"