diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
index ced6393fd..0019bca29 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
@@ -799,13 +799,25 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
         // the way (we don't want a multi-line ASCII editor in the TUI), but
         // the JSON Schema needs a real union so VS Code stops flagging the
         // documented bare-string form.
+        // The `oneOf` here uses three *mutually exclusive* branches rather
+        // than one permissive object branch, so VS Code rejects nonsense
+        // like `{ path, small, large }` (which the runtime would also
+        // reject — see `normalizeTiers` in `customBanner.ts`).
         jsonSchemaOverride: {
           oneOf: [
             { type: 'string' },
+            // Bare `{path}` — no tier keys allowed.
+            {
+              type: 'object',
+              properties: { path: { type: 'string' } },
+              required: ['path'],
+              additionalProperties: false,
+            },
+            // Width-aware `{small?, large?}` — `path` not allowed at this
+            // level; each tier is itself string-or-`{path}`.
             {
               type: 'object',
               properties: {
-                path: { type: 'string' },
                 small: {
                   oneOf: [
                     { type: 'string' },
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/customBanner.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/customBanner.test.ts
index f220856a3..66a31c614 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/customBanner.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/customBanner.test.ts
@@ -227,6 +227,37 @@ describe('resolveCustomBanner', () => {
     expect(out.asciiArt.small).toBe('ABS\nART');
   });
 
+  it('refuses to open a FIFO at the configured path (POSIX) — must not hang startup', () => {
+    if (process.platform === 'win32') return;
+    const fifoPath = path.join(tmpDir, 'pipe.fifo');
+    // mkfifo via child_process keeps this test self-contained without
+    // pulling in a native dep. If `mkfifo` isn't available (very rare on
+    // POSIX dev boxes) we skip the assertion rather than fail the suite.
+    try {
+      // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-require-imports
+      require('node:child_process').execFileSync('mkfifo', [fifoPath]);
+    } catch {
+      return;
+    }
+    const start = Date.now();
+    const out = resolveCustomBanner(
+      makeSettings({
+        userUi: {
+          customAsciiArt: { path: 'pipe.fifo' } as CustomAsciiArtSetting,
+        },
+        userPath: path.join(tmpDir, 'settings.json'),
+      }),
+    );
+    const elapsedMs = Date.now() - start;
+    // The pre-open lstat() check should reject the FIFO instantly. If the
+    // resolver ever regresses to opening a FIFO read-only, this assertion
+    // will catch it because the open would block until a writer connects
+    // (we never start one) and the test would hang well past 1s.
+    expect(elapsedMs).toBeLessThan(1000);
+    expect(out.asciiArt.small).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(out.asciiArt.large).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
   it('refuses to follow a symlink at the configured path on POSIX', () => {
     if (process.platform === 'win32') return;
     const real = path.join(tmpDir, 'real.txt');
@@ -274,6 +305,73 @@ describe('resolveCustomBanner', () => {
     expect(out.asciiArt.small?.length).toBe(200);
   });
 
+  it('rejects {path} mixed with tier keys (mutually exclusive object branches)', () => {
+    const out = resolveCustomBanner(
+      makeSettings({
+        userUi: {
+          customAsciiArt: {
+            path: 'p.txt',
+            small: 'should-be-rejected',
+          } as unknown as CustomAsciiArtSetting,
+        },
+        userPath: '/home/u/.qwen/settings.json',
+      }),
+    );
+    // The resolver must NOT silently let `path` win — both forms are
+    // dropped and we fall through to the default art.
+    expect(out.asciiArt.small).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(out.asciiArt.large).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('caps art width by terminal cells, not UTF-16 length (CJK fullwidth)', () => {
+    // 200 fullwidth CJK characters render at ~400 cells; before the fix
+    // the .length cap let them through. The cap is now visual width, so
+    // ~100 fullwidth chars max per line.
+    const fullwidth = '一'.repeat(150); // 150 chars × 2 cells = 300 cells
+    const out = resolveCustomBanner(
+      makeSettings({ userUi: { customAsciiArt: fullwidth } }),
+    );
+    const small = out.asciiArt.small ?? '';
+    // Truncated by visual width: each fullwidth char is 2 cells, so
+    // ≤ 100 chars fit under MAX_ART_COLS=200.
+    expect(small.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(100);
+    // And it's a valid string of fullwidth chars (no surrogate / split
+    // mid-codepoint — every char is a full BMP code point here).
+    expect(/^一+$/.test(small)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('falls back when a {path} entry lives in a scope with no associated file path', () => {
+    // `userPath: ''` simulates a path-less scope (e.g. systemDefaults).
+    // A {path} tier in such a scope can't resolve relative paths, so we
+    // soft-fail it specifically instead of silently dropping the whole
+    // scope (which would block inline tiers from path-less scopes too).
+    const out = resolveCustomBanner(
+      makeSettings({
+        userUi: {
+          customAsciiArt: { path: 'art.txt' } as CustomAsciiArtSetting,
+        },
+        userPath: '',
+      }),
+    );
+    expect(out.asciiArt.small).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(out.asciiArt.large).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('still accepts inline string art from a scope with no file path (decoupled from {path} resolution)', () => {
+    // The flip side of the previous test: inline strings don't need an
+    // owning settings directory, so a path-less scope must still
+    // contribute. Before the decoupling, the whole scope was dropped on
+    // `!file.path`, so even inline art would silently disappear.
+    const out = resolveCustomBanner(
+      makeSettings({
+        userUi: { customAsciiArt: 'INLINE-FROM-PATHLESS-SCOPE' },
+        userPath: '',
+      }),
+    );
+    expect(out.asciiArt.small).toBe('INLINE-FROM-PATHLESS-SCOPE');
+    expect(out.asciiArt.large).toBe('INLINE-FROM-PATHLESS-SCOPE');
+  });
+
   it('rejects a malformed customAsciiArt and falls back to default', () => {
     const out = resolveCustomBanner(
       makeSettings({
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/customBanner.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/customBanner.ts
index 751b7c739..163439a34 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/customBanner.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/customBanner.ts
@@ -6,12 +6,19 @@
 
 import * as fs from 'node:fs';
 import * as path from 'node:path';
-import { createDebugLogger } from '@qwen-code/qwen-code-core';
+import {
+  createDebugLogger,
+  stripTerminalControlSequences,
+  TERMINAL_OSC_REGEX,
+  TERMINAL_CSI_REGEX,
+  TERMINAL_SHIFT_DCS_REGEX,
+} from '@qwen-code/qwen-code-core';
 import type { LoadedSettings, SettingsFile } from '../../config/settings.js';
 import type {
   AsciiArtSource,
   CustomAsciiArtSetting,
 } from '../../config/settingsSchema.js';
+import { getCachedStringWidth, toCodePoints } from './textUtils.js';
 
 const debugLogger = createDebugLogger('BANNER');
 
@@ -118,15 +125,37 @@ function collectScopedTiers(settings: LoadedSettings): {
     if (small && large) break;
     const raw = file.settings.ui?.customAsciiArt;
     if (raw === undefined || raw === null) continue;
-    if (!file.path) continue;
     const tiers = normalizeTiers(raw);
     if (!tiers) continue;
-    const dir = path.dirname(file.path);
-    if (!small && tiers.small !== undefined) {
-      small = { source: tiers.small, dir };
+    // `dir` is only meaningful for `{path}` entries (relative paths
+    // resolve against the file that declared them). Inline-string tiers
+    // don't need it, so a scope with no associated file path (e.g.
+    // `systemDefaults`, future SDK-injected scopes) can still contribute
+    // string art. When a `{path}` lands in a path-less scope we soft-fail
+    // that tier specifically and log a `[BANNER]` warn — dropping the
+    // entire scope was unnecessary coupling.
+    const dir = file.path ? path.dirname(file.path) : '';
+    const considerTier = (
+      tier: AsciiArtSource | undefined,
+      label: 'small' | 'large',
+    ): ScopedSource | undefined => {
+      if (tier === undefined) return undefined;
+      const isPathSource = typeof tier === 'object';
+      if (isPathSource && !dir) {
+        debugLogger.warn(
+          `Ignoring ui.customAsciiArt.${label}: {path} entry has no owning settings file directory to resolve against.`,
+        );
+        return undefined;
+      }
+      return { source: tier, dir };
+    };
+    if (!small) {
+      const next = considerTier(tiers.small, 'small');
+      if (next) small = next;
     }
-    if (!large && tiers.large !== undefined) {
-      large = { source: tiers.large, dir };
+    if (!large) {
+      const next = considerTier(tiers.large, 'large');
+      if (next) large = next;
     }
   }
   return { small, large };
@@ -150,11 +179,25 @@ function normalizeTiers(
     return undefined;
   }
 
-  if ('path' in value && typeof value.path === 'string') {
+  // Mirror the JSON schema's mutually-exclusive object branches: an object
+  // with `path` cannot also carry `small` / `large`, and vice versa. The
+  // schema rejects this shape in VS Code; without the same check at
+  // runtime, JSON parsed at startup would silently let `path` win and
+  // drop the tier keys (or vice versa).
+  const hasPath = 'path' in value && typeof value.path === 'string';
+  const hasTierKeys = 'small' in value || 'large' in value;
+  if (hasPath && hasTierKeys) {
+    debugLogger.warn(
+      'Ignoring ui.customAsciiArt: object combines `path` with `small` / `large`. Use one shape or the other.',
+    );
+    return undefined;
+  }
+
+  if (hasPath) {
     return { small: value, large: value };
   }
 
-  if ('small' in value || 'large' in value) {
+  if (hasTierKeys) {
     const tiered = value as {
       small?: unknown;
       large?: unknown;
@@ -227,14 +270,40 @@ function memo(
 function readArtFile(absolutePath: string): string | undefined {
   let fd: number | undefined;
   try {
-    // O_NOFOLLOW prevents a symlink at the configured path from redirecting
-    // the read to an attacker-controlled file. Not portable to Windows,
-    // where `O_NOFOLLOW` is not defined; fall back to a plain read there.
+    // Step 1: refuse non-regular files BEFORE opening. On POSIX, opening a
+    // FIFO / named pipe read-only blocks until a writer connects — which
+    // means a misconfigured `customAsciiArt: { "path": "/tmp/some-fifo" }`
+    // would hang CLI startup forever. `O_NOFOLLOW` does not help here; it
+    // refuses symlinks at the final path component, not FIFOs / sockets /
+    // devices. `lstatSync` (rather than `statSync`) also covers the
+    // "configured path is itself a symlink" case so we soft-fail before
+    // opening.
+    let preOpenStat: fs.Stats;
+    try {
+      preOpenStat = fs.lstatSync(absolutePath);
+    } catch (err) {
+      debugLogger.warn(
+        `Failed to stat ui.customAsciiArt at ${absolutePath}: ${(err as Error).message}`,
+      );
+      return undefined;
+    }
+    if (!preOpenStat.isFile()) {
+      debugLogger.warn(
+        `Ignoring ui.customAsciiArt: ${absolutePath} is not a regular file.`,
+      );
+      return undefined;
+    }
+
+    // Step 2: open with O_NOFOLLOW (POSIX only) so a TOCTOU symlink swap
+    // between the lstat above and this open also soft-fails. Windows has
+    // no equivalent constant, so it falls back to a plain read.
     const flags =
       typeof fs.constants.O_NOFOLLOW === 'number'
         ? fs.constants.O_RDONLY | fs.constants.O_NOFOLLOW
         : fs.constants.O_RDONLY;
     fd = fs.openSync(absolutePath, flags);
+    // Re-check via fstat on the FD: if anything changed between lstat and
+    // open, refuse rather than reading whatever the FD now points at.
     const stat = fs.fstatSync(fd);
     if (!stat.isFile()) {
       debugLogger.warn(
@@ -268,28 +337,27 @@ function readArtFile(absolutePath: string): string | undefined {
 }
 
 /**
- * Banner-specific sanitizer. Like `stripTerminalControlSequences` but
- * preserves `\n` so multi-line ASCII art survives. Strips OSC/CSI/SS2/SS3
- * sequences and replaces every other C0/C1 control byte (and DEL) with a
- * single space — a hostile or accidental escape can't paint, redirect, or
- * hyperlink in the user's terminal.
+ * Banner-specific sanitizer. Re-uses the OSC / CSI / SS2 / SS3 patterns
+ * exported from `stripTerminalControlSequences` (in
+ * `@qwen-code/qwen-code-core`) so the regexes are authored once, but
+ * preserves `\n` and `\t` — multi-line / tab-aligned ASCII art needs
+ * those, while the shared core helper strips them. The fallback range
+ * here matches the core helper's C0/C1/DEL strip but carves out
+ * `\t` (0x09) and `\n` (0x0a) so they survive into the rendered art.
  */
 function sanitizeArt(input: string): string {
   // Normalize CRLF / CR to LF so the column cap is computed against the
   // same line boundaries the renderer will see.
   let s = input.replace(/\r\n?/g, '\n');
-  /* eslint-disable no-control-regex */
-  // OSC: ESC ] ... (BEL | ESC \)
-  s = s.replace(/\x1b\][^\x07\x1b]*(?:\x07|\x1b\\)/g, ' ');
-  // CSI: ESC [ params final-byte
-  s = s.replace(/\x1b\[[\d;?]*[a-zA-Z]/g, ' ');
-  // SS2/SS3/DCS leaders
-  s = s.replace(/\x1b[NOP]/g, ' ');
+  s = s
+    .replace(TERMINAL_OSC_REGEX, ' ')
+    .replace(TERMINAL_CSI_REGEX, ' ')
+    .replace(TERMINAL_SHIFT_DCS_REGEX, ' ');
   // Remaining C0 controls + DEL + C1 controls (0x80-0x9f, e.g. single-byte
   // CSI 0x9b) → space. Keep \n (0x0a) and \t (0x09) so multi-line ASCII art
   // and tab-aligned art survive.
+  // eslint-disable-next-line no-control-regex
   s = s.replace(/[\x00-\x08\x0b-\x1f\x7f-\x9f]/g, ' ');
-  /* eslint-enable no-control-regex */
 
   const rawLines = s.split('\n');
   const truncatedRows = rawLines.length > MAX_ART_LINES;
@@ -303,11 +371,22 @@ function sanitizeArt(input: string): string {
     // doesn't expand differently per terminal.
     const detabbed = line.replace(/\t/g, '  ');
     const trimmed = detabbed.replace(/\s+$/u, '');
-    if (trimmed.length > MAX_ART_COLS) {
-      truncatedCols = true;
-      return trimmed.slice(0, MAX_ART_COLS);
+    // Cap by *visual* width (terminal cells), not UTF-16 length: 200 CJK
+    // fullwidth characters render as ~400 cells, and a `.length` slice
+    // could split a fullwidth code point or surrogate pair down the
+    // middle. We walk code points until adding the next one would push
+    // the cell width past the cap.
+    if (getCachedStringWidth(trimmed) <= MAX_ART_COLS) {
+      return trimmed;
     }
-    return trimmed;
+    truncatedCols = true;
+    const codePoints = toCodePoints(trimmed);
+    let kept = '';
+    for (const cp of codePoints) {
+      if (getCachedStringWidth(kept + cp) > MAX_ART_COLS) break;
+      kept += cp;
+    }
+    return kept;
   });
 
   // Drop trailing empty lines so width measurement isn't skewed by a
@@ -344,11 +423,12 @@ function sanitizeSubtitle(raw: unknown): string | undefined {
 
 /**
  * Shared cleaner for any single-line info-panel string (title, subtitle).
- * Strips OSC / CSI / SS2 / SS3 leaders, replaces every other C0 / C1
- * control byte (and DEL) with a space, then folds any internal whitespace
- * (including the newlines we just dropped from controls) into a single
- * space and trims the ends. Returns `undefined` for empty input so
- * `<Header />` knows to fall back to its default rendering.
+ * Delegates the escape-sequence + C0/C1 stripping to the core
+ * `stripTerminalControlSequences` helper (which already handles `\n` /
+ * `\t` because single-line fields don't need them), then folds any
+ * remaining whitespace into a single space and trims the ends. Returns
+ * `undefined` for empty input so `<Header />` knows to fall back to its
+ * default rendering.
  */
 function sanitizeSingleLine(
   raw: unknown,
@@ -356,17 +436,7 @@ function sanitizeSingleLine(
   fieldLabel: string,
 ): string | undefined {
   if (typeof raw !== 'string') return undefined;
-  /* eslint-disable no-control-regex */
-  let t = raw
-    .replace(/\x1b\][^\x07\x1b]*(?:\x07|\x1b\\)/g, ' ')
-    .replace(/\x1b\[[\d;?]*[a-zA-Z]/g, ' ')
-    .replace(/\x1b[NOP]/g, ' ')
-    // C0 + DEL + C1 controls. Single-line fields never need newlines or
-    // tabs (they live on a single line of the info panel) so the range is
-    // denser than the art sanitizer's.
-    .replace(/[\x00-\x1f\x7f-\x9f]/g, ' ');
-  /* eslint-enable no-control-regex */
-  t = t.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
+  let t = stripTerminalControlSequences(raw).replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
   if (!t) return undefined;
   if (t.length > maxLength) {
     debugLogger.warn(`Truncated ${fieldLabel} to ${maxLength} characters.`);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.ts
index 6e88c3d38..453a6404b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.ts
@@ -10,16 +10,20 @@ import { stripVTControlCharacters } from 'node:util';
 import stringWidth from 'string-width';
 
 /**
- * Calculates the maximum width of a multi-line ASCII art string.
+ * Calculates the maximum *visual* width (terminal cells) of a multi-line
+ * ASCII art string. Uses `string-width` semantics via `getCachedStringWidth`
+ * so CJK fullwidth characters count as 2 cells and emoji are sized
+ * correctly — `.length` would undercount these and let oversized art slip
+ * past the width budget that `pickAsciiArtTier` applies.
  * @param asciiArt The ASCII art string.
- * @returns The length of the longest line in the ASCII art.
+ * @returns The widest line's terminal-cell width.
  */
 export const getAsciiArtWidth = (asciiArt: string): number => {
   if (!asciiArt) {
     return 0;
   }
   const lines = asciiArt.split('\n');
-  return Math.max(...lines.map((line) => line.length));
+  return Math.max(...lines.map((line) => getCachedStringWidth(line)));
 };
 
 /*
diff --git a/packages/core/src/index.ts b/packages/core/src/index.ts
index 329cbb6fe..063f4f53e 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/index.ts
@@ -147,7 +147,12 @@ export * from './services/gitWorktreeService.js';
 export * from './services/sessionRecap.js';
 export * from './services/sessionService.js';
 export * from './services/sessionTitle.js';
-export { stripTerminalControlSequences } from './utils/terminalSafe.js';
+export {
+  stripTerminalControlSequences,
+  TERMINAL_OSC_REGEX,
+  TERMINAL_CSI_REGEX,
+  TERMINAL_SHIFT_DCS_REGEX,
+} from './utils/terminalSafe.js';
 export * from './services/shellExecutionService.js';
 export * from './services/monitorRegistry.js';
 export * from './services/backgroundShellRegistry.js';
diff --git a/packages/core/src/utils/terminalSafe.ts b/packages/core/src/utils/terminalSafe.ts
index 17951ba51..be97d4dce 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/utils/terminalSafe.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/utils/terminalSafe.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,22 @@
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
  */
 
+/**
+ * Regex constants shared with banner customization (`packages/cli/src/ui/
+ * utils/customBanner.ts`) so the OSC / CSI / SS2 / SS3 patterns are
+ * authored once and stay aligned across call sites. Exported via
+ * `@qwen-code/qwen-code-core` so the CLI sanitizer can re-use them when
+ * it has to preserve `\n` (which `stripTerminalControlSequences` strips).
+ */
+/* eslint-disable no-control-regex */
+/** OSC: `ESC ]` followed by any non-BEL/non-ESC bytes terminated by BEL or `ESC \`. */
+export const TERMINAL_OSC_REGEX = /\x1b\][^\x07\x1b]*(?:\x07|\x1b\\)/g;
+/** CSI: `ESC [` parameters then a final letter (cursor / color / erase family). */
+export const TERMINAL_CSI_REGEX = /\x1b\[[\d;?]*[a-zA-Z]/g;
+/** SS2 / SS3 / DCS leader bytes after ESC. */
+export const TERMINAL_SHIFT_DCS_REGEX = /\x1b[NOP]/g;
+/* eslint-enable no-control-regex */
+
 /**
  * Strip the terminal control sequences from arbitrary text so the result can
  * safely render in a TTY without painting cursor moves, clearing the screen,
@@ -15,29 +31,23 @@
  * - CSI sequences (`\x1b[...<letter>`) — the common "cursor/color/erase"
  *   family.
  * - SS2/SS3 / DCS leaders (`\x1b[NOP]`).
- * - Any remaining C0/C1 control bytes plus DEL, flattened to a space. This
- *   backstop means a bare `\x1b` that wasn't part of a recognized sequence
- *   still can't execute — the terminal only interprets ESC followed by
- *   specific bytes.
+ * - Any remaining C0 controls + DEL + C1 controls (`0x80-0x9F`, e.g.
+ *   single-byte CSI `0x9B`, DCS `0x90`, ST `0x9C`), flattened to a space.
+ *   This backstop means a bare `\x1b` that wasn't part of a recognized
+ *   sequence still can't execute — and 8-bit terminals can't interpret
+ *   the C1 codes that some legacy shells still honor.
  *
  * Used for LLM-returned text that ends up in the session picker (titles);
  * without this, a compromised or prompt-injected fast model could paint on
  * the user's terminal on every render.
  */
 export function stripTerminalControlSequences(s: string): string {
-  // These regexes deliberately match control characters; the whole point of
-  // this module is to neutralize them. The no-control-regex rule is
-  // suppressed per-line rather than file-wide so any future additions still
-  // opt in explicitly.
   return (
     s
+      .replace(TERMINAL_OSC_REGEX, ' ')
+      .replace(TERMINAL_CSI_REGEX, ' ')
+      .replace(TERMINAL_SHIFT_DCS_REGEX, ' ')
       // eslint-disable-next-line no-control-regex
-      .replace(/\x1b\][^\x07\x1b]*(?:\x07|\x1b\\)/g, ' ')
-      // eslint-disable-next-line no-control-regex
-      .replace(/\x1b\[[\d;?]*[a-zA-Z]/g, ' ')
-      // eslint-disable-next-line no-control-regex
-      .replace(/\x1b[NOP]/g, ' ')
-      // eslint-disable-next-line no-control-regex
-      .replace(/[\x00-\x1f\x7f]/g, ' ')
+      .replace(/[\x00-\x1f\x7f-\x9f]/g, ' ')
   );
 }
diff --git a/packages/vscode-ide-companion/schemas/settings.schema.json b/packages/vscode-ide-companion/schemas/settings.schema.json
index 38257e1d4..804e3bbdd 100644
--- a/packages/vscode-ide-companion/schemas/settings.schema.json
+++ b/packages/vscode-ide-companion/schemas/settings.schema.json
@@ -286,7 +286,16 @@
               "properties": {
                 "path": {
                   "type": "string"
-                },
+                }
+              },
+              "required": [
+                "path"
+              ],
+              "additionalProperties": false
+            },
+            {
+              "type": "object",
+              "properties": {
                 "small": {
                   "oneOf": [
                     {