diff --git a/src/client/api/event.c b/src/client/api/event.c
index b75d3475348..83dd9676419 100644
--- a/src/client/api/event.c
+++ b/src/client/api/event.c
@@ -761,6 +761,7 @@ daos_eq_poll(daos_handle_t eqh, int wait_running, int64_t timeout,
 	     unsigned int n_events, struct daos_event **events)
 {
 	struct eq_progress_arg	epa;
+	struct d_fault_attr_t  *fa;
 	int			rc;
 
 	if (n_events == 0 || events == NULL)
@@ -778,6 +779,13 @@ daos_eq_poll(daos_handle_t eqh, int wait_running, int64_t timeout,
 	epa.wait_running = wait_running;
 	epa.count	= 0;
 
+	/* Fault injection: crt_progress failure BEFORE dequeue; caller's evp remains stale. */
+	fa = d_fault_attr_lookup(DAOS_FAULT_EQ_POLL_FAIL);
+	if (fa != NULL && D_SHOULD_FAIL(fa)) {
+		daos_eq_putref(epa.eqx);
+		return -DER_HG;
+	}
+
 	/* pass the timeout to crt_progress() with a conditional callback */
 	rc = crt_progress_cond(epa.eqx->eqx_ctx, timeout, eq_progress_cb, &epa);
 
diff --git a/src/include/daos/common.h b/src/include/daos/common.h
index e605d94eefb..dc1bd4628bd 100644
--- a/src/include/daos/common.h
+++ b/src/include/daos/common.h
@@ -971,6 +971,9 @@ enum {
 #define DAOS_FAULT_POOL_EXT_PADDING       (DAOS_FAIL_SYS_TEST_GROUP_LOC | 0x209)
 #define DAOS_FAULT_POOL_EXT_RESERVED      (DAOS_FAIL_SYS_TEST_GROUP_LOC | 0x20a)
 
+/* Client code fault injection */
+#define DAOS_FAULT_EQ_POLL_FAIL            (DAOS_FAIL_SYS_TEST_GROUP_LOC | 0x1000)
+
 #define DAOS_DTX_SKIP_PREPARE		DAOS_DTX_SPEC_LEADER
 
 #define DAOS_FAIL_CHECK(id) daos_fail_check(id)
diff --git a/src/tests/ftest/pool/autotest_eq_poll_fi.py b/src/tests/ftest/pool/autotest_eq_poll_fi.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..30a215ba306
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/ftest/pool/autotest_eq_poll_fi.py
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+"""
+  (C) Copyright 2026 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP.
+
+  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause-Patent
+"""
+from apricot import TestWithServers
+
+
+class PoolAutotestEqPollFITest(TestWithServers):
+    """Test daos pool autotest robustness under daos_eq_poll() fault injection.
+
+    Validates the DAOS-19016 fix: the kv_put() and kv_get() spin loops in
+    src/utils/daos_autotest.c must handle daos_eq_poll() returning a negative
+    error code without dereferencing the stale event pointer (evp).
+
+    Fault injection point DAOS_FAULT_EQ_POLL_FAIL (ID 135168) injects a
+    -DER_HG return from daos_eq_poll(), exercising the rc < 0 break added by
+    the fix.  The expected outcome is:
+      - daos pool autotest exits with rc == 1 (no crash or hang)
+      - the error message contains DER_HG(-1020)
+
+    :avocado: recursive
+    """
+
+    def test_pool_autotest_eq_poll_fi(self):
+        """Test that daos pool autotest handles daos_eq_poll() errors correctly.
+
+        Run daos pool autotest with fault injection point DAOS_FAULT_EQ_POLL_FAIL
+        (fault ID 135168, enabled via the YAML faults section) active.  Confirm
+        that when daos_eq_poll() returns -DER_HG the autotest exits cleanly with
+        rc == 1 and reports DER_HG(-1020), proving that the stale event pointer
+        fix from DAOS-19016 is working.
+
+        :avocado: tags=all,full_regression
+        :avocado: tags=hw,medium
+        :avocado: tags=pool,daos_cmd,autotest,fault_injection
+        :avocado: tags=test_pool_autotest_eq_poll_fi,PoolAutotestEqPollFITest
+        """
+        self.log_step("Create a pool")
+        self.add_pool()
+        self.pool.set_query_data()
+        daos_cmd = self.get_daos_command()
+
+        # Fault injection is enabled via the YAML 'fault_list' section.
+        # The autotest is expected to fail: disable the exception so that the
+        # CmdResult can be inspected for the expected error signature.
+        self.log_step("Run pool autotest with daos_eq_poll fault injection (DAOS-19016)")
+        daos_cmd.exit_status_exception = False
+        result = daos_cmd.pool_autotest(pool=self.pool.identifier)
+
+        self.log_step("Verify autotest exited with the expected error code")
+        if result.exit_status == 0:
+            self.fail(
+                "daos pool autotest succeeded unexpectedly; "
+                "expected it to fail due to DAOS_FAULT_EQ_POLL_FAIL injection")
+        if result.exit_status != 1:
+            self.fail(
+                f"Expected exit code 1, got {result.exit_status}; "
+                f"stderr: {result.stderr_text}")
+
+        self.log_step("Verify DER_HG(-1020) error in autotest output")
+        if "DER_HG(-1020)" not in result.stderr_text:
+            self.fail(
+                f"Expected 'DER_HG(-1020)' in autotest stderr; "
+                f"got: {result.stderr_text}")
+        self.log.info(
+            "Fault injection correctly propagated DER_HG(-1020) "
+            "without stale event pointer dereference")
+
+        self.log_step("Confirm pool is still healthy after the expected autotest failure")
+        self.pool.set_query_data()
diff --git a/src/tests/ftest/pool/autotest_eq_poll_fi.yaml b/src/tests/ftest/pool/autotest_eq_poll_fi.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c46ac4d50ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/ftest/pool/autotest_eq_poll_fi.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+hosts:
+  test_servers: 1
+  test_clients: 1
+timeout: 600
+setup:
+  start_servers_once: False
+server_config:
+  name: daos_server
+  engines_per_host: 1
+  engines:
+    0:
+      storage: auto
+pool:
+  size: 20G
+faults:
+  fault_list:
+    - DAOS_FAULT_EQ_POLL_FAIL
diff --git a/src/tests/ftest/util/fault_config_utils.py b/src/tests/ftest/util/fault_config_utils.py
index 5dd3071271f..c831c51d6d0 100644
--- a/src/tests/ftest/util/fault_config_utils.py
+++ b/src/tests/ftest/util/fault_config_utils.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """
   (C) Copyright 2019-2024 Intel Corporation.
+  (C) Copyright 2026 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
 
   SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause-Patent
 """
@@ -235,6 +236,12 @@
         'probability_y': '100',
         'interval': '1',
         'max_faults': '1'},
+    'DAOS_FAULT_EQ_POLL_FAIL': {
+        'id': '135168',
+        'probability_x': '1000',
+        'probability_y': '100',
+        'interval': '100',
+        'max_faults': '5'},
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/utils/daos_autotest.c b/src/utils/daos_autotest.c
index 5d9f591b7fa..cc9787ec801 100644
--- a/src/utils/daos_autotest.c
+++ b/src/utils/daos_autotest.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /**
  * (C) Copyright 2020-2022 Intel Corporation.
- * (C) Copyright 2025 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
+ * (C) Copyright 2025-2026 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
  *
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause-Patent
  */
@@ -488,6 +488,7 @@ kv_put(daos_handle_t oh, daos_size_t size)
 			 * Max request in flight reached, wait for one i/o to
 			 * complete to reuse the slot
 			 */
+			evp = NULL;
 			while (1) {
 				rc = daos_eq_poll(eq, 1, DAOS_EQ_NOWAIT, 1, &evp);
 				if (rc > 0)
@@ -497,6 +498,11 @@ kv_put(daos_handle_t oh, daos_size_t size)
 					break;
 				}
 			}
+			/* Poll failure: evp is stale, do not dereference it */
+			if (rc < 0)
+				break;
+			/* Fault injection guard: verify evp is valid to catch stale pointer bugs */
+			D_ASSERT(evp != NULL);
 
 			/** Check if completed operation failed */
 			if (evp->ev_error != DER_SUCCESS) {
@@ -551,8 +557,11 @@ kv_put(daos_handle_t oh, daos_size_t size)
 	num_events = daos_eq_query(eq, DAOS_EQR_ALL, 0, NULL);
 	while (1) {
 		eq_rc = daos_eq_poll(eq, 1, DAOS_EQ_NOWAIT, 1, &evp);
-		if (eq_rc > 0)
+		if (eq_rc > 0) {
 			completions += eq_rc;
+			if (rc == 0 && evp->ev_error != DER_SUCCESS)
+				rc = evp->ev_error;
+		}
 		if (eq_rc < 0) {
 			rc = eq_rc;
 			break;
@@ -628,6 +637,7 @@ kv_get(daos_handle_t oh, daos_size_t size)
 			 * Max request in flight reached, wait for one i/o to
 			 * complete to reuse the slot
 			 */
+			evp = NULL;
 			while (1) {
 				rc = daos_eq_poll(eq, 1, DAOS_EQ_NOWAIT, 1, &evp);
 				if (rc > 0)
@@ -637,6 +647,11 @@ kv_get(daos_handle_t oh, daos_size_t size)
 					break;
 				}
 			}
+			/* Poll failure: evp is stale, do not dereference it */
+			if (rc < 0)
+				break;
+			/* Fault injection guard: verify evp is valid to catch stale pointer bugs */
+			D_ASSERT(evp != NULL);
 
 			/** Check if completed operation failed */
 			if (evp->ev_error != DER_SUCCESS) {