diff --git a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/pyrowave.rs b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/pyrowave.rs
index 9d9becd5..43ccd6eb 100644
--- a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/pyrowave.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/pyrowave.rs
@@ -865,6 +865,13 @@ impl PyroWaveEncoder {
     /// One frame, synchronously: ingest → CSC → pyrowave encode (recorded into our command
     /// buffer) → submit + fence wait (sub-ms) → packetize into an `EncodedFrame`.
     unsafe fn encode_frame(&mut self, frame: &CapturedFrame) -> Result<()> {
+        // A failed `reset()` leaves the encoder destroyed and null. Callers today turn that into
+        // a session error and never resubmit, but a null here would be a use-after-free inside
+        // pyrowave rather than a clean error — so fail loudly instead of relying on that.
+        anyhow::ensure!(
+            !self.pw_enc.is_null(),
+            "pyrowave: encode after a failed reset (encoder was destroyed and not rebuilt)"
+        );
         let dev = self.device.clone();
         let (w, h) = (self.width, self.height);
         dev.begin_command_buffer(
@@ -1195,6 +1202,12 @@ impl Encoder for PyroWaveEncoder {
         unsafe {
             self.device.device_wait_idle().ok();
             pw::pyrowave_encoder_destroy(self.pw_enc);
+            // Publish the null IMMEDIATELY: the create below is fallible, and its failure path
+            // must not leave a freed pointer in the field. `pyrowave_encoder_destroy` is a plain
+            // `delete` (pyrowave_c.cpp) with no null check, so `Drop` running on a stale handle
+            // is a double free — the exact shape this reset hits when the rebuild fails because
+            // the device is already lost, which is the state that made the watchdog fire.
+            self.pw_enc = std::ptr::null_mut();
             let einfo = pw::pyrowave_encoder_create_info {
                 device: self.pw_dev,
                 width: self.width as i32,
@@ -1209,6 +1222,10 @@ impl Encoder for PyroWaveEncoder {
             let r = pw::pyrowave_encoder_create(&einfo, &mut enc);
             if r != pw::pyrowave_result_PYROWAVE_SUCCESS {
                 tracing::error!(result = ?r, "pyrowave: encoder rebuild failed");
+                // `pw_enc` stays null — `Drop` and `encode_frame` both guard on it. The queued
+                // AUs are forfeit either way (the caller turns a false reset into a session
+                // error), so drop them rather than shipping output from a dead encoder.
+                self.pending.clear();
                 return false;
             }
             self.pw_enc = enc;
@@ -1254,7 +1271,11 @@ impl Drop for PyroWaveEncoder {
         // before the VkDevice they borrow (encoder before device, per pyrowave.h).
         unsafe {
             self.device.device_wait_idle().ok();
-            pw::pyrowave_encoder_destroy(self.pw_enc);
+            // Null when a failed `reset()` already destroyed it — `pyrowave_encoder_destroy`
+            // is not null-safe.
+            if !self.pw_enc.is_null() {
+                pw::pyrowave_encoder_destroy(self.pw_enc);
+            }
             pw::pyrowave_device_destroy(self.pw_dev);
             for (_, _, i, m, v) in self.import_cache.drain(..) {
                 self.device.destroy_image_view(v, None);
diff --git a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/pyrowave.rs b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/pyrowave.rs
index 82b3defc..a68fd3d9 100644
--- a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/pyrowave.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/pyrowave.rs
@@ -417,6 +417,12 @@ impl PyroWaveEncoder {
     /// # Safety
     /// Runs on the single encode thread; all pyrowave calls take handles this struct owns.
     unsafe fn encode_frame(&mut self, frame: &CapturedFrame) -> Result<()> {
+        // A failed `reset()` leaves the encoder destroyed and null — fail cleanly rather than
+        // handing null to pyrowave (see the Linux twin).
+        anyhow::ensure!(
+            !self.pw_enc.is_null(),
+            "pyrowave: encode after a failed reset (encoder was destroyed and not rebuilt)"
+        );
         let FramePayload::D3d11(d3d) = &frame.payload else {
             bail!("pyrowave (Windows) needs a D3D11 frame (the capturer must be in pyrowave mode)")
         };
@@ -639,6 +645,10 @@ impl Encoder for PyroWaveEncoder {
         // SAFETY: encode is synchronous (no work in flight); the device outlives the swapped encoder.
         unsafe {
             pw::pyrowave_encoder_destroy(self.pw_enc);
+            // Publish the null IMMEDIATELY — see the Linux twin. The create below is fallible and
+            // `pyrowave_encoder_destroy` is a plain `delete` with no null check, so leaving the
+            // freed pointer in the field makes `Drop` a double free.
+            self.pw_enc = std::ptr::null_mut();
             let einfo = pw::pyrowave_encoder_create_info {
                 device: self.pw_dev,
                 width: self.width as i32,
@@ -655,6 +665,8 @@ impl Encoder for PyroWaveEncoder {
             let r = pw::pyrowave_encoder_create(&einfo, &mut enc);
             if r != pw::pyrowave_result_PYROWAVE_SUCCESS {
                 tracing::error!(result = ?r, "pyrowave: encoder rebuild failed");
+                // `pw_enc` stays null — `Drop` and `encode_frame` both guard on it.
+                self.pending.clear();
                 return false;
             }
             self.pw_enc = enc;
@@ -698,7 +710,11 @@ impl Drop for PyroWaveEncoder {
         // SAFETY: owned handles, destroyed exactly once; pyrowave objects (encoder, images, sync) go
         // before the device they borrow (per pyrowave.h).
         unsafe {
-            pw::pyrowave_encoder_destroy(self.pw_enc);
+            // Null when a failed `reset()` already destroyed it — `pyrowave_encoder_destroy`
+            // is not null-safe (same guard `sync` below has had all along).
+            if !self.pw_enc.is_null() {
+                pw::pyrowave_encoder_destroy(self.pw_enc);
+            }
             for (_, img) in self.y_images.drain(..).chain(self.cbcr_images.drain(..)) {
                 pw::pyrowave_image_destroy(img);
             }
diff --git a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/qsv.rs b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/qsv.rs
index e0f72f8a..af52f1f2 100644
--- a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/qsv.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/qsv.rs
@@ -1418,15 +1418,21 @@ impl Encoder for QsvEncoder {
             let inner = self.inner.as_mut().expect("checked above");
             // Best-effort settle of in-flight operations (Close aborts them anyway).
             while sync_one(inner, 5).ok().flatten().is_some() {}
-            inner.pending.clear();
-            inner.ready.clear();
-            inner.frames_submitted = 0;
-            inner.first_au_logged = false;
+            // Close BEFORE dropping `pending`. Each `Pending` owns the `Box<BsBuf>` the runtime
+            // is writing into asynchronously (and a `Box<FrameCtrl>` it reads), so clearing first
+            // frees that heap while the operation is still live — a use-after-free by the VPL
+            // runtime. The drain above is best-effort and bails on the first `Err`, which is
+            // exactly the wedged-encoder case that triggers this reset, so it cannot be relied on
+            // to have retired everything. Close aborts the operations; only then is the drop safe.
             // SAFETY: the session is live on this thread; Close on a wedged encoder is legal
             // (result deliberately ignored) and re-Init happens through `init_encode`.
             unsafe {
                 let _ = vpl::MFXVideoENCODE_Close(inner.session.0);
             }
+            inner.pending.clear();
+            inner.ready.clear();
+            inner.frames_submitted = 0;
+            inner.first_au_logged = false;
             inner.session.0
         };
         match self.init_encode(rebuilt) {