diff --git a/desloppify/languages/cxx/cppcheck_diagnostics.py b/desloppify/languages/cxx/cppcheck_diagnostics.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..89a4899db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desloppify/languages/cxx/cppcheck_diagnostics.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+"""Distinguish cppcheck setup/parse failures from reliable code diagnostics."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from dataclasses import replace
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from desloppify.languages._framework.generic_parts.tool_runner import ToolRunResult
+
+_CONFIGURATION_IDS = frozenset({"missingInclude", "missingIncludeSystem", "unknownMacro"})
+
+
+def configuration_checked_result(result: ToolRunResult) -> ToolRunResult:
+    """Fail the invocation when cppcheck could not understand its translation units.
+
+    Cppcheck can exit zero while reporting missing headers or unsupported macros.
+    The security runner retries individual files and preserves regex security
+    fallback; returning an error here activates that coverage accounting.
+    """
+    if result.status == "error":
+        return result
+    for entry in result.entries:
+        message = str(entry.get("message", ""))
+        is_missing_include = "Include file:" in message and "not found" in message
+        is_unknown_macro = "unknown macro here" in message and "configure" in message
+        is_cpp_header_as_c = (
+            "invalid C code" in message
+            and Path(str(entry.get("file", ""))).suffix.lower() in {".h", ".hh", ".hpp", ".hxx"}
+        )
+        if entry.get("check_id") in _CONFIGURATION_IDS or is_missing_include or is_unknown_macro or is_cpp_header_as_c:
+            return replace(
+                result, entries=[], status="error", error_kind="tool_configuration",
+                message=f"cppcheck requires include paths, macro definitions or language configuration: {message}",
+            )
+    return result
diff --git a/desloppify/languages/cxx/detectors/security.py b/desloppify/languages/cxx/detectors/security.py
index 2d4570856..e84ef66f0 100644
--- a/desloppify/languages/cxx/detectors/security.py
+++ b/desloppify/languages/cxx/detectors/security.py
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
     run_tool_result,
 )
 
+from desloppify.languages.cxx.cppcheck_diagnostics import configuration_checked_result
+
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 _SOURCE_SUFFIXES = frozenset({".c", ".cc", ".cpp", ".cxx"})
@@ -248,7 +250,7 @@ def _normalize_kind(check_id: str, message: str) -> str | None:
     ):
         return "command_injection"
 
-    if any(api in text for api in _UNSAFE_C_STRING_APIS):
+    if re.search(r"\b(?:" + "|".join(_UNSAFE_C_STRING_APIS) + r")\b", text):
         return "unsafe_c_string"
     if "unsafebufferhandling" in check:
         return "unsafe_c_string"
@@ -495,6 +497,7 @@ def _run_cppcheck_invocation(scan_root: Path, files: list[str]) -> CxxToolScanRe
         scan_root,
         _parse_cppcheck_output,
     )
+    result = configuration_checked_result(result)
     state = _tool_result_state(result)
     return CxxToolScanResult(
         tool="cppcheck",
diff --git a/desloppify/languages/cxx/tests/test_security.py b/desloppify/languages/cxx/tests/test_security.py
index d18aa4082..a1df6ce36 100644
--- a/desloppify/languages/cxx/tests/test_security.py
+++ b/desloppify/languages/cxx/tests/test_security.py
@@ -611,3 +611,35 @@ def _fake_run_tool_result(cmd, path, parser, **_kwargs):
 
     assert len(result.entries) == 1
     assert result.entries[0]["file"] == str(source.resolve())
+
+
+def test_missing_widget_include_is_not_an_unsafe_gets_call(tmp_path):
+    entry = {
+        "file": str(tmp_path / "controller.cpp"),
+        "line": 11,
+        "severity": "information",
+        "check_id": "missingInclude",
+        "message": 'Include file: "Widgets/Input/SVirtualJoystick.h" not found.',
+        "source": "cppcheck",
+    }
+    assert security_mod._normalize_tool_entry(entry) is None
+
+
+def test_unsafe_string_api_names_require_identifier_boundaries():
+    for api in security_mod._UNSAFE_C_STRING_APIS:
+        assert security_mod._normalize_kind("", f"Calling '{api}()' is unsafe") == "unsafe_c_string"
+        assert security_mod._normalize_kind(f"clang-analyzer-security.insecureAPI.{api}", "") == "unsafe_c_string"
+        assert security_mod._normalize_kind("", f"Include file: my_{api}_wrapper.h not found") is None
+
+
+def test_cppcheck_configuration_failure_keeps_regex_security_fallback(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    source = tmp_path / "unsafe.cpp"
+    source.write_text("void copy(char* a, const char* b) { strcpy(a,b); }\n")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(security_mod.shutil, "which", lambda name: "/usr/bin/cppcheck" if name == "cppcheck" else None)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(security_mod, "run_tool_result", lambda *_: ToolRunResult(entries=[{
+        "file": str(source), "line": 1, "severity": "error", "check_id": "unknownMacro",
+        "message": "Unknown macro requires configuration", "source": "cppcheck",
+    }], status="ok", returncode=0))
+    result = security_mod.detect_cxx_security([str(source)], None)
+    assert result.coverage.status == "reduced"
+    assert any(e["detail"]["kind"] == "unsafe_c_string" and e["detail"]["source"] == "regex" for e in result.entries)