diff --git a/docs/swarm/ci-metrics.md b/docs/swarm/ci-metrics.md
index f37b6b4d..f282a926 100644
--- a/docs/swarm/ci-metrics.md
+++ b/docs/swarm/ci-metrics.md
@@ -18,6 +18,13 @@ none of them on its host. On a host without the store, its leaf
 (`deploy.bao.ciMetricsClientCertFile` and `ciMetricsClientKeyFile`) is the one
 file to copy, as for the CI runner.
 
+With a self-signed gateway, those names serve leaves the swarm's own CA issued.
+The poller reads them through `swarm-ci-metrics-ca-bundle.service`, which joins
+the system CAs and the host's `trust-bundle.pem` into
+`/run/swarm-ci-metrics-ca/trust-bundle.pem` and sets that file as the poller's
+`SSL_CERT_FILE` ([CA](ca.md#the-trust-bundle)). Without it, every pass fails
+with `invalid peer certificate: UnknownIssuer`.
+
 ## What it reads, and as whom
 
 | what                   | where                                                                                   | identity                                                 |
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-ci-metrics.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-ci-metrics.nix
index 931c26dc..483f491f 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-ci-metrics.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-ci-metrics.nix
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 # its store leaf, handed in by `LoadCredential=`; the forge token and its OIDC
 # client secret it reads from the store under that leaf on every pass.
 {
+  pkgs,
   lib,
   config,
   ...
@@ -40,6 +41,16 @@ let
   haveClientIdentity =
     baoDeploy.ciMetricsClientCertFile != null && baoDeploy.ciMetricsClientKeyFile != null;
 
+  # The forge, authelia and the collector serve leaves issued by the swarm's
+  # own CA, which the system store lacks, and the poller's `reqwest`/`rustls`
+  # roots come from `SSL_CERT_FILE`, which replaces that store. `trustBundle`
+  # below sets it to the system CAs plus the hive anchor; without it every
+  # pass fails `invalid peer certificate: UnknownIssuer`.
+  caTrust = import ./lib/hive-ca-trust.nix {
+    inherit lib gatewayCfg;
+    tlsCfg = hyperhiveCfg.deploy.hive-controller.tls;
+  };
+
   credential = id: "/run/credentials/${unit}.service/${id}";
   # Credential id → host path of the poller's store identity.
   storeFiles = {
@@ -51,6 +62,20 @@ let
   };
 in
 {
+  # `hostUnit`: a host service, so the bundle reads the host CA path and waits
+  # on `hive-tls-ca.service`. `enable`: `imports` is unconditional, so without
+  # it a host with the poller off gets the bundle unit and an `ExecStart`-less
+  # `swarm-ci-metrics` service.
+  imports = [
+    (caTrust.trustBundle {
+      inherit pkgs;
+      name = unit;
+      consumers = [ unit ];
+      hostUnit = true;
+      inherit (cfg) enable;
+    })
+  ];
+
   options.services.hyperhive.swarm.ci-metrics.clientId = lib.mkOption {
     type = lib.types.str;
     readOnly = true;
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/ci-metrics.nix b/nix/module-eval/ci-metrics.nix
index a6cddaf7..52a41ad2 100644
--- a/nix/module-eval/ci-metrics.nix
+++ b/nix/module-eval/ci-metrics.nix
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 # `checks.module-eval-ci-metrics` — see ./lib.nix for the shared rationale
 # (why this suite exists, naming convention, "evaluates not executes"). The CI
-# run poller's unit and timer, its default, its collector route and its IdP
-# registration; its store grants are in ./bao-grants.nix beside every other
-# principal's, and its dashboard in ./grafana.nix.
+# run poller's unit and timer, its default, its CA trust, its collector route
+# and its IdP registration; its store grants are in ./bao-grants.nix beside
+# every other principal's, and its dashboard in ./grafana.nix.
 #
 # Every fixture is a shared one, so this cluster evaluates no host of its own.
 {
@@ -78,6 +78,22 @@ let
         && lib.elem "otlp/swarm-ci-metrics" s.service.pipelines."metrics/${otel.producerName}".receivers
         && h.services.nginx.virtualHosts.${otel.domain}.locations ? "/swarm-ci-metrics/";
     }
+    {
+      # The forge, authelia and the collector chain to the swarm's own CA;
+      # without the bundle every pass fails `UnknownIssuer`. hive-c0re's
+      # bundle on the bare host is the control that the absence arm looks up
+      # a unit name the module would write.
+      name = "the poller trusts the swarm's CA through its own bundle, which exists only where the poller does";
+      ok =
+        allLocal.services.hyperhive.gateway.useSelfSigned
+        && (env.SSL_CERT_FILE or null) == "/run/swarm-ci-metrics-ca/trust-bundle.pem"
+        && lib.elem "swarm-ci-metrics-ca-bundle.service" svc.requires
+        && lib.elem "hive-tls-ca.service" (
+          allLocal.systemd.services.swarm-ci-metrics-ca-bundle.requires or [ ]
+        )
+        && bare.systemd.services ? hive-c0re-ca-bundle
+        && !(bare.systemd.services ? swarm-ci-metrics-ca-bundle);
+    }
     {
       name = "the poller's client is registered as a machine, and the publisher carries its secret";
       ok =