diff --git a/docs/nat/active-active.md b/docs/nat/active-active.md
index c7c8f436..2e416a92 100644
--- a/docs/nat/active-active.md
+++ b/docs/nat/active-active.md
@@ -105,7 +105,10 @@ hashed mode with more than three NAT64 prefixes in
 - **A shard counts only while it is reachable.** A dead node's `EgressShard`
   status goes stale, but its BGP session drops and the route to its SID is
   withdrawn. A candidate takes tenants only while its SID resolves to a
-  neighbor on an SRv6 uplink. `galactic-cni` rebuilds the groups on every
+  neighbor on an SRv6 uplink through a route more specific than the
+  default: once the SID's route is withdrawn, a lookup that falls through
+  to a default route, even one over an uplink, counts as unreachable.
+  `galactic-cni` rebuilds the groups on every
   route or neighbor change that can affect a candidate, and every 30 seconds
   as a backstop, so failover takes as long as BGP takes to withdraw the
   route, plus a fraction of a second.
diff --git a/internal/plumbing/ebpf/egressroutemap/egressroute.go b/internal/plumbing/ebpf/egressroutemap/egressroute.go
index 6e5f33b9..dd2a0e15 100644
--- a/internal/plumbing/ebpf/egressroutemap/egressroute.go
+++ b/internal/plumbing/ebpf/egressroutemap/egressroute.go
@@ -183,6 +183,9 @@ func resolveLinkAndL2(sid net.IP) (linkIndex int, dmac, smac net.HardwareAddr, e
 				"(the fabric has most likely not advertised this SID yet and the lookup fell through to a "+
 				"default route)", sid, linkIndex)
 	}
+	if err := rejectDefaultRoute(sid); err != nil {
+		return 0, nil, nil, err
+	}
 	nextHop := routes[0].Gw
 	if nextHop == nil {
 		nextHop = sid // gateway itself is on-link
@@ -201,6 +204,34 @@ func resolveLinkAndL2(sid net.IP) (linkIndex int, dmac, smac net.HardwareAddr, e
 	return linkIndex, dmac, smac, nil
 }
 
+// rejectDefaultRoute fails when the route sid matches is a default route,
+// even one leaving through an SRv6 uplink. The fabric advertises every SID it
+// can reach as a specific route, so a lookup that only finds the default has
+// lost that advertisement: the SID's node is gone, and the upstream router
+// behind the default has never heard of its locator. Accepting it would keep
+// a dead shard reachable and its tenants pinned to it for as long as the node
+// is down.
+//
+// A kernel that cannot answer a FIB-match lookup cannot tell the two apart, so
+// the check is skipped there rather than failing every SID.
+func rejectDefaultRoute(sid net.IP) error {
+	matched, err := netlink.RouteGetWithOptions(sid, &netlink.RouteGetOptions{FIBMatch: true})
+	if err != nil || len(matched) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if dst := matched[0].Dst; dst == nil || isDefault(dst) {
+		return fmt.Errorf(
+			"no route to %s over an SRv6 uplink: only a default route matches it, so the fabric no longer "+
+				"advertises it", sid)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func isDefault(dst *net.IPNet) bool {
+	ones, _ := dst.Mask.Size()
+	return ones == 0
+}
+
 // resolveNeighbor returns nextHop's resolved L2 address on linkIndex, actively
 // soliciting the kernel to populate it when a passive cache read finds
 // nothing.
diff --git a/internal/plumbing/ebpf/egressroutemap/resolve_default_test.go b/internal/plumbing/ebpf/egressroutemap/resolve_default_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..800f2b3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/plumbing/ebpf/egressroutemap/resolve_default_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+// Copyright 2026 Datum Cloud, Inc.
+//
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+
+package egressroutemap
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"net"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/containernetworking/plugins/pkg/ns"
+	"github.com/vishvananda/netlink"
+)
+
+func TestResolveLinkAndL2_RejectsADefaultRouteOverAnUplink(t *testing.T) {
+	requireRoot(t)
+
+	nearNS, linkIndex, farIP := setUpVethPair(t,
+		"vrfdr0", "fd00:beef:3::1/64",
+		"vrfdr0p", "fd00:beef:3::2/64")
+
+	restore := uplinkIndexesFn
+	uplinkIndexesFn = func() (map[int]struct{}, error) { return map[int]struct{}{linkIndex: {}}, nil }
+	t.Cleanup(func() { uplinkIndexesFn = restore })
+
+	sid := net.ParseIP("2001:db8:ff02:2002:e001::")
+	_, locator, _ := net.ParseCIDR("2001:db8:ff02:2002::/64")
+
+	var defaultErr, specificErr error
+	err := nearNS.Do(func(_ ns.NetNS) error {
+		if err := netlink.RouteAdd(&netlink.Route{LinkIndex: linkIndex, Gw: farIP}); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("add default route: %w", err)
+		}
+		_, _, _, defaultErr = resolveLinkAndL2(sid)
+
+		if err := netlink.RouteAdd(&netlink.Route{LinkIndex: linkIndex, Dst: locator, Gw: farIP}); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("add locator route: %w", err)
+		}
+		_, _, _, specificErr = resolveLinkAndL2(sid)
+		return nil
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if defaultErr == nil || !strings.Contains(defaultErr.Error(), "only a default route matches") {
+		t.Errorf("resolve through only a default route over an uplink: err = %v, want a default-route rejection", defaultErr)
+	}
+	if specificErr != nil {
+		t.Errorf("resolve through the advertised locator: %v", specificErr)
+	}
+}