diff --git a/packages/eval/__tests__/builtin-judges.test.ts b/packages/eval/__tests__/builtin-judges.test.ts
index 9b4768d..92e4f5e 100644
--- a/packages/eval/__tests__/builtin-judges.test.ts
+++ b/packages/eval/__tests__/builtin-judges.test.ts
@@ -91,6 +91,29 @@ describe("frontmatter-compliance judge", () => {
     const result = await runFrontmatterJudge("T4");
     expect(result.score).toBe(0);
   });
+
+  test("parsed object output with $status → score 1.0", async () => {
+    mockedReadSteps.mockReturnValue([
+      makeStep({ role: "a", output: { $status: "done", summary: "fixed" } as unknown as string }),
+      makeStep({ role: "b", output: { $status: "reviewed" } as unknown as string }),
+    ]);
+
+    const result = await runFrontmatterJudge("T5");
+    const data = result.data as { stepsTotal: number; stepsValid: number; invalidSteps: unknown[] };
+
+    expect(result.score).toBe(1.0);
+    expect(data.stepsTotal).toBe(2);
+    expect(data.stepsValid).toBe(2);
+  });
+
+  test("parsed object output missing $status → score 0", async () => {
+    mockedReadSteps.mockReturnValue([
+      makeStep({ role: "a", output: { summary: "no status field" } as unknown as string }),
+    ]);
+
+    const result = await runFrontmatterJudge("T6");
+    expect(result.score).toBe(0);
+  });
 });
 
 describe("token-stats judge", () => {
diff --git a/packages/eval/src/judge/builtin/frontmatter.ts b/packages/eval/src/judge/builtin/frontmatter.ts
index 46ab5a3..0c869e3 100644
--- a/packages/eval/src/judge/builtin/frontmatter.ts
+++ b/packages/eval/src/judge/builtin/frontmatter.ts
@@ -39,6 +39,16 @@ function extractFrontmatterYaml(output: unknown): string | null {
 
 /** Validate a single step's frontmatter, returning a list of errors (empty = valid). */
 function validateStepFrontmatter(output: unknown): string[] {
+  // CAS stores the extracted output as a JSON object after the extract pipeline.
+  // Accept both: parsed object (from step.output) or raw markdown string.
+  if (typeof output === "object" && output !== null && !Array.isArray(output)) {
+    const status = (output as Record<string, unknown>).$status;
+    if (typeof status !== "string" || status.trim() === "") {
+      return ["$status field is missing or not a non-empty string"];
+    }
+    return [];
+  }
+
   const yaml = extractFrontmatterYaml(output);
   if (yaml === null) {
     return ["output does not begin with a valid '---' frontmatter block"];