diff --git a/build/Dockerfile.builder b/build/Dockerfile.builder
index 0465e9b..300ee60 100644
--- a/build/Dockerfile.builder
+++ b/build/Dockerfile.builder
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Install Go (for building cloud-init and update agent)
-ARG GO_VERSION=1.24.0
+ARG GO_VERSION=1.25.5
 RUN curl -fsSL "https://go.dev/dl/go${GO_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz" \
     | tar -C /usr/local -xzf -
 ENV PATH="/usr/local/go/bin:${PATH}"
diff --git a/build/scripts/fetch-components.sh b/build/scripts/fetch-components.sh
index dc933c1..c01a2ee 100755
--- a/build/scripts/fetch-components.sh
+++ b/build/scripts/fetch-components.sh
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ else
     BIN_URL_FALLBACK="https://github.com/portainer/kubesolo/releases/download/${KUBESOLO_VERSION}/kubesolo-${KUBESOLO_VERSION}-${OS}-${ARCH}.tar.gz"
 
     TEMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
-    trap "rm -rf '$TEMP_DIR'" EXIT
+    trap 'rm -rf "$TEMP_DIR"' EXIT
 
     echo "    URL: $BIN_URL"
     if curl -fSL "$BIN_URL" -o "$TEMP_DIR/kubesolo.tar.gz" 2>/dev/null; then
diff --git a/build/scripts/fetch-rpi-firmware.sh b/build/scripts/fetch-rpi-firmware.sh
index 0c03fe1..c3161b8 100755
--- a/build/scripts/fetch-rpi-firmware.sh
+++ b/build/scripts/fetch-rpi-firmware.sh
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ fi
 # --- Extract boot files only ---
 echo "==> Extracting boot files..."
 TEMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
-trap "rm -rf '$TEMP_DIR'" EXIT
+trap 'rm -rf "$TEMP_DIR"' EXIT
 
 # Extract only the boot/ directory from the archive
 # Archive structure: firmware-<tag>/boot/...
diff --git a/hack/dev-vm-arm64.sh b/hack/dev-vm-arm64.sh
index 020beb1..29b2600 100755
--- a/hack/dev-vm-arm64.sh
+++ b/hack/dev-vm-arm64.sh
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ fi
 DATA_DISK="$(mktemp /tmp/kubesolo-arm64-data-XXXXXX).img"
 dd if=/dev/zero of="$DATA_DISK" bs=1M count=1024 2>/dev/null
 "$MKFS_EXT4" -q -L KSOLODATA "$DATA_DISK" 2>/dev/null
-trap "rm -f '$DATA_DISK'" EXIT
+trap 'rm -f "$DATA_DISK"' EXIT
 
 echo "==> Launching ARM64 QEMU VM..."
 echo "    Kernel: $VMLINUZ"
@@ -96,5 +96,5 @@ qemu-system-aarch64 \
     -initrd "$INITRD" \
     -append "console=ttyAMA0 kubesolo.data=/dev/vda kubesolo.debug $EXTRA_APPEND" \
     -drive "file=$DATA_DISK,format=raw,if=virtio" \
-    -net nic,model=virtio \
+    -net "nic,model=virtio" \
     -net "user,hostfwd=tcp::6443-:6443,hostfwd=tcp::2222-:22"
diff --git a/hack/dev-vm.sh b/hack/dev-vm.sh
index 78fe79c..4a010bd 100755
--- a/hack/dev-vm.sh
+++ b/hack/dev-vm.sh
@@ -85,8 +85,8 @@ trap cleanup EXIT
 
 # Build QEMU command
 QEMU_ARGS=(-m 2048 -smp 2 -nographic -cpu max)
-QEMU_ARGS+=(-net nic,model=virtio)
-QEMU_ARGS+=(-net user,hostfwd=tcp::6443-:6443,hostfwd=tcp::2222-:22,hostfwd=tcp::8080-:8080)
+QEMU_ARGS+=(-net "nic,model=virtio")
+QEMU_ARGS+=(-net "user,hostfwd=tcp::6443-:6443,hostfwd=tcp::2222-:22,hostfwd=tcp::8080-:8080")
 
 if [ -n "$DATA_DISK" ]; then
     QEMU_ARGS+=(-drive "file=$DATA_DISK,format=raw,if=virtio")
diff --git a/test/integration/test-security-hardening.sh b/test/integration/test-security-hardening.sh
index 89fcab8..9df7a9d 100755
--- a/test/integration/test-security-hardening.sh
+++ b/test/integration/test-security-hardening.sh
@@ -21,9 +21,11 @@ dd if=/dev/zero of="$DATA_DISK" bs=1M count=1024 2>/dev/null
 mkfs.ext4 -q -L KSOLODATA "$DATA_DISK" 2>/dev/null
 
 QEMU_PID=""
+EXTRACT_DIR=""
 cleanup() {
     [ -n "$QEMU_PID" ] && kill "$QEMU_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
     rm -f "$DATA_DISK" "$SERIAL_LOG"
+    [ -n "$EXTRACT_DIR" ] && rm -rf "$EXTRACT_DIR"
 }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
@@ -35,18 +37,77 @@ echo "    Serial log: $SERIAL_LOG"
 KVM_FLAG=""
 [ -w /dev/kvm ] 2>/dev/null && KVM_FLAG="-enable-kvm"
 
-# Launch QEMU in background
+# Extract kernel + initramfs from ISO (direct kernel boot required for -append)
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/../.." && pwd)"
+ROOTFS_DIR="${ROOTFS_DIR:-$PROJECT_ROOT/build/rootfs-work}"
+EXTRACT_DIR=""
+
+VMLINUZ=""
+INITRAMFS=""
+
+if [ -f "$ROOTFS_DIR/vmlinuz" ] && [ -f "$ROOTFS_DIR/kubesolo-os.gz" ]; then
+    VMLINUZ="$ROOTFS_DIR/vmlinuz"
+    INITRAMFS="$ROOTFS_DIR/kubesolo-os.gz"
+    echo "    Using kernel/initramfs from build directory"
+else
+    EXTRACT_DIR="$(mktemp -d /tmp/kubesolo-extract-XXXXXX)"
+    EXTRACTED=0
+
+    echo "    Extracting kernel/initramfs from ISO..."
+
+    if [ $EXTRACTED -eq 0 ] && command -v bsdtar >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        if bsdtar -xf "$ISO" -C "$EXTRACT_DIR" boot/vmlinuz boot/kubesolo-os.gz 2>/dev/null; then
+            EXTRACTED=1
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    if [ $EXTRACTED -eq 0 ] && command -v isoinfo >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        mkdir -p "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot"
+        isoinfo -i "$ISO" -x "/BOOT/VMLINUZ;1" > "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/vmlinuz" 2>/dev/null || true
+        isoinfo -i "$ISO" -x "/BOOT/KUBESOLO-OS.GZ;1" > "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/kubesolo-os.gz" 2>/dev/null || true
+        if [ -s "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/vmlinuz" ] && [ -s "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/kubesolo-os.gz" ]; then
+            EXTRACTED=1
+        else
+            rm -f "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/vmlinuz" "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/kubesolo-os.gz"
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    if [ $EXTRACTED -eq 0 ] && [ "$(uname)" = "Linux" ]; then
+        ISO_MOUNT="$EXTRACT_DIR/mnt"
+        mkdir -p "$ISO_MOUNT"
+        if mount -o loop,ro "$ISO" "$ISO_MOUNT" 2>/dev/null; then
+            mkdir -p "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot"
+            cp "$ISO_MOUNT/boot/vmlinuz" "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/" 2>/dev/null || true
+            cp "$ISO_MOUNT/boot/kubesolo-os.gz" "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/" 2>/dev/null || true
+            umount "$ISO_MOUNT" 2>/dev/null || true
+            if [ -f "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/vmlinuz" ] && [ -f "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/kubesolo-os.gz" ]; then
+                EXTRACTED=1
+            fi
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    if [ $EXTRACTED -eq 0 ]; then
+        echo "ERROR: Failed to extract kernel/initramfs from ISO."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
+    VMLINUZ="$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/vmlinuz"
+    INITRAMFS="$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/kubesolo-os.gz"
+fi
+
+# Launch QEMU in background with direct kernel boot
 # shellcheck disable=SC2086
 qemu-system-x86_64 \
     -m 2048 -smp 2 \
     -nographic \
     $KVM_FLAG \
-    -cdrom "$ISO" \
-    -boot d \
+    -kernel "$VMLINUZ" \
+    -initrd "$INITRAMFS" \
     -drive "file=$DATA_DISK,format=raw,if=virtio" \
-    -net nic,model=virtio \
+    -net "nic,model=virtio" \
     -net "user,hostfwd=tcp::18080-:8080" \
-    -serial file:"$SERIAL_LOG" \
+    -serial "file:$SERIAL_LOG" \
     -append "console=ttyS0,115200n8 kubesolo.data=/dev/vda kubesolo.debug" \
     &
 QEMU_PID=$!
@@ -56,7 +117,7 @@ echo "    Waiting for boot..."
 ELAPSED=0
 BOOTED=0
 while [ "$ELAPSED" -lt "$TIMEOUT_BOOT" ]; do
-    if grep -q "\[kubesolo-init\] \[OK\] Stage 90-kubesolo.sh complete" "$SERIAL_LOG" 2>/dev/null; then
+    if grep -q "\[kubesolo-init\] \[OK\] KubeSolo is running" "$SERIAL_LOG" 2>/dev/null; then
         BOOTED=1
         break
     fi
diff --git a/test/qemu/run-vm.sh b/test/qemu/run-vm.sh
index 8b04431..f31bf35 100755
--- a/test/qemu/run-vm.sh
+++ b/test/qemu/run-vm.sh
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ if [ "$ARCH" = "arm64" ] || [ "$ARCH" = "aarch64" ]; then
         -m "$MEMORY"
         -smp "$CPUS"
         -nographic
-        -net nic,model=virtio
+        -net "nic,model=virtio"
         -net "user,hostfwd=tcp::${API_PORT}-:6443,hostfwd=tcp::${SSH_PORT}-:22"
         -drive "file=$DATA_DISK,format=raw,if=virtio"
         -serial "file:$SERIAL_LOG"
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ else
         -m "$MEMORY"
         -smp "$CPUS"
         -nographic
-        -net nic,model=virtio
+        -net "nic,model=virtio"
         -net "user,hostfwd=tcp::${API_PORT}-:6443,hostfwd=tcp::${SSH_PORT}-:22"
         -drive "file=$DATA_DISK,format=raw,if=virtio"
         -serial "file:$SERIAL_LOG"
diff --git a/test/qemu/test-boot.sh b/test/qemu/test-boot.sh
index 249e32a..2caba2f 100755
--- a/test/qemu/test-boot.sh
+++ b/test/qemu/test-boot.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 set -euo pipefail
 
 ISO="${1:?Usage: $0 <path-to-iso>}"
-TIMEOUT_BOOT=120   # seconds to wait for boot success marker
+TIMEOUT_BOOT=${TIMEOUT_BOOT:-120}   # seconds to wait for boot success marker
 SERIAL_LOG=$(mktemp /tmp/kubesolo-boot-test-XXXXXX.log)
 
 # Temp data disk
@@ -13,9 +13,13 @@ DATA_DISK=$(mktemp /tmp/kubesolo-data-XXXXXX.img)
 dd if=/dev/zero of="$DATA_DISK" bs=1M count=512 2>/dev/null
 mkfs.ext4 -q -L KSOLODATA "$DATA_DISK" 2>/dev/null
 
+EXTRACT_DIR=""
+QEMU_PID=""
+
 cleanup() {
-    kill "$QEMU_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+    [ -n "$QEMU_PID" ] && kill "$QEMU_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
     rm -f "$DATA_DISK" "$SERIAL_LOG"
+    [ -n "$EXTRACT_DIR" ] && rm -rf "$EXTRACT_DIR"
 }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
@@ -23,16 +27,88 @@ echo "==> Boot test: $ISO"
 echo "    Timeout: ${TIMEOUT_BOOT}s"
 echo "    Serial log: $SERIAL_LOG"
 
-# Launch QEMU in background
+# Extract kernel + initramfs from ISO (direct kernel boot required for -append)
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/../.." && pwd)"
+ROOTFS_DIR="${ROOTFS_DIR:-$PROJECT_ROOT/build/rootfs-work}"
+
+VMLINUZ=""
+INITRAMFS=""
+
+if [ -f "$ROOTFS_DIR/vmlinuz" ] && [ -f "$ROOTFS_DIR/kubesolo-os.gz" ]; then
+    VMLINUZ="$ROOTFS_DIR/vmlinuz"
+    INITRAMFS="$ROOTFS_DIR/kubesolo-os.gz"
+    echo "    Using kernel/initramfs from build directory"
+else
+    EXTRACT_DIR="$(mktemp -d /tmp/kubesolo-extract-XXXXXX)"
+    EXTRACTED=0
+
+    echo "    Extracting kernel/initramfs from ISO..."
+
+    # Method 1: bsdtar
+    if [ $EXTRACTED -eq 0 ] && command -v bsdtar >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        if bsdtar -xf "$ISO" -C "$EXTRACT_DIR" boot/vmlinuz boot/kubesolo-os.gz 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "    Extracted via bsdtar"
+            EXTRACTED=1
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    # Method 2: isoinfo
+    if [ $EXTRACTED -eq 0 ] && command -v isoinfo >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        mkdir -p "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot"
+        isoinfo -i "$ISO" -x "/BOOT/VMLINUZ;1" > "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/vmlinuz" 2>/dev/null || true
+        isoinfo -i "$ISO" -x "/BOOT/KUBESOLO-OS.GZ;1" > "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/kubesolo-os.gz" 2>/dev/null || true
+        if [ -s "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/vmlinuz" ] && [ -s "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/kubesolo-os.gz" ]; then
+            echo "    Extracted via isoinfo"
+            EXTRACTED=1
+        else
+            rm -f "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/vmlinuz" "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/kubesolo-os.gz"
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    # Method 3: loop mount (Linux only)
+    if [ $EXTRACTED -eq 0 ] && [ "$(uname)" = "Linux" ]; then
+        ISO_MOUNT="$EXTRACT_DIR/mnt"
+        mkdir -p "$ISO_MOUNT"
+        if mount -o loop,ro "$ISO" "$ISO_MOUNT" 2>/dev/null; then
+            mkdir -p "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot"
+            cp "$ISO_MOUNT/boot/vmlinuz" "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/" 2>/dev/null || true
+            cp "$ISO_MOUNT/boot/kubesolo-os.gz" "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/" 2>/dev/null || true
+            umount "$ISO_MOUNT" 2>/dev/null || true
+            if [ -f "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/vmlinuz" ] && [ -f "$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/kubesolo-os.gz" ]; then
+                echo "    Extracted via loop mount"
+                EXTRACTED=1
+            fi
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    if [ $EXTRACTED -eq 0 ]; then
+        echo "ERROR: Failed to extract kernel/initramfs from ISO."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
+    VMLINUZ="$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/vmlinuz"
+    INITRAMFS="$EXTRACT_DIR/boot/kubesolo-os.gz"
+fi
+
+# Detect KVM
+KVM_FLAG=""
+if [ -w /dev/kvm ] 2>/dev/null; then
+    KVM_FLAG="-enable-kvm"
+    echo "    KVM acceleration: enabled"
+fi
+
+# Launch QEMU in background with direct kernel boot
 qemu-system-x86_64 \
     -m 2048 -smp 2 \
     -nographic \
-    -cdrom "$ISO" \
-    -boot d \
+    $KVM_FLAG \
+    -kernel "$VMLINUZ" \
+    -initrd "$INITRAMFS" \
     -drive "file=$DATA_DISK,format=raw,if=virtio" \
-    -net nic,model=virtio \
+    -net "nic,model=virtio" \
     -net user \
-    -serial file:"$SERIAL_LOG" \
+    -serial "file:$SERIAL_LOG" \
     -append "console=ttyS0,115200n8 kubesolo.data=/dev/vda kubesolo.debug" \
     &
 QEMU_PID=$!
@@ -41,7 +117,7 @@ QEMU_PID=$!
 echo "    Waiting for boot..."
 ELAPSED=0
 while [ "$ELAPSED" -lt "$TIMEOUT_BOOT" ]; do
-    if grep -q "\[kubesolo-init\] \[OK\] Stage 90-kubesolo.sh complete" "$SERIAL_LOG" 2>/dev/null; then
+    if grep -q "\[kubesolo-init\] \[OK\] KubeSolo is running" "$SERIAL_LOG" 2>/dev/null; then
         echo ""
         echo "==> PASS: KubeSolo OS booted successfully in ${ELAPSED}s"
         exit 0