---
id: "bug-337"
status: "fixed"
status_updated: "2026-09-24"
status_note: ""
component: "controller"
severity: "unknown"
timestamp: "2026-06-09T00:02:00Z"
last_seen: "2026-09-19T09:00:00Z"
occurrences: 1
files: ["src/controller/ha.c"]
tags: ["ha", "heartbeat", "liveness", "vote-gate", "dead-field", "gap-analysis"]
related: []
legacy: true
---

# bug-337: Vote-deny gate inert: ha_heartbeat_is_fresh reads ha->last_heartbeat which has no production…

## Description
Vote-deny gate inert: ha_heartbeat_is_fresh reads ha->last_heartbeat which has no production writer after the liveness refactor

## Environment
_Not recorded (migrated from buglog.json)._

## Reproduction
_Not recorded (migrated from buglog.json)._

## Root cause
ha-heartbeat-liveness refactor moved activity tracking to ha->last_activity but ha_heartbeat_is_fresh (ha.c:1762) still reads the orphaned last_heartbeat timespec; only tests write it, so freshness is always stale after ~heartbeat_timeout_ms of uptime and standbys grant votes despite a live primary (gates at ha.c:214 and ha.c:1841)

## Fix
FIXED 2026-06-09: ha_heartbeat_is_fresh now reads ha->last_activity (returns 0 when last_activity==0); dead last_heartbeat field removed from ha_state_t; test_ha_vote_gate.c helper rewritten as set_last_activity_age and fresh/stale tests now also set primary_ctrl_fd. All tests green.

## Verification
_Not recorded (migrated from buglog.json)._

## References
_Not recorded (migrated from buglog.json)._