diff --git a/src/Auth/IAuthorizationResolver.cs b/src/Auth/IAuthorizationResolver.cs
index c990611f9a..6499eb0632 100644
--- a/src/Auth/IAuthorizationResolver.cs
+++ b/src/Auth/IAuthorizationResolver.cs
@@ -82,6 +82,9 @@ public interface IAuthorizationResolver
     /// <returns>The policy text and typed claim values to bind to it.</returns>
     public ResolvedDatabasePolicy ResolveDBPolicy(string entityName, string roleName, EntityActionOperation operation, HttpContext httpContext);
 
+    /// <summary>Audits a configured policy that produced no predicate and rejects the request outside development mode.</summary>
+    public void AuditDatabasePolicyFailOpen(string entityName, string roleName, EntityActionOperation operation, string configuredPolicy);
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Get list of roles defined for entity within runtime configuration.. This is applicable for GraphQL when creating authorization
     /// directive on Object type.
diff --git a/src/Core/Authorization/AuthorizationResolver.cs b/src/Core/Authorization/AuthorizationResolver.cs
index 1b76401a0e..4c9fa1d3c6 100644
--- a/src/Core/Authorization/AuthorizationResolver.cs
+++ b/src/Core/Authorization/AuthorizationResolver.cs
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 using System.Globalization;
 using System.Net;
 using System.Security.Claims;
+using System.Security.Cryptography;
+using System.Text;
 using System.Text.Json;
 using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Auth;
@@ -16,6 +18,7 @@
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Service.Exceptions;
 using HotChocolate.Resolvers;
 using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Primitives;
 using Microsoft.IdentityModel.JsonWebTokens;
 
@@ -29,6 +32,7 @@ public class AuthorizationResolver : IAuthorizationResolver
 {
     private readonly RuntimeConfigProvider _runtimeConfigProvider;
     private readonly IMetadataProviderFactory _metadataProviderFactory;
+    private readonly ILogger<IAuthorizationResolver>? _logger;
     public const string WILDCARD = "*";
     public const string CLAIM_PREFIX = "@claims.";
     public const string FIELD_PREFIX = "@item.";
@@ -49,10 +53,12 @@ public class AuthorizationResolver : IAuthorizationResolver
     public AuthorizationResolver(
         RuntimeConfigProvider runtimeConfigProvider,
         IMetadataProviderFactory metadataProviderFactory,
-        HotReloadEventHandler<HotReloadEventArgs>? handler = null)
+        HotReloadEventHandler<HotReloadEventArgs>? handler = null,
+        ILogger<IAuthorizationResolver>? logger = null)
     {
         _metadataProviderFactory = metadataProviderFactory;
         _runtimeConfigProvider = runtimeConfigProvider;
+        _logger = logger;
         handler?.Subscribe(DabConfigEvents.AUTHZ_RESOLVER_ON_CONFIG_CHANGED, OnConfigChanged);
 
         if (runtimeConfigProvider.TryGetConfig(out RuntimeConfig? runtimeConfig))
@@ -216,7 +222,17 @@ public ResolvedDatabasePolicy ResolveDBPolicy(string entityName, string roleName
             return ResolvedDatabasePolicy.Empty;
         }
 
-        return GetPolicyWithClaimValues(dBpolicyWithClaimTypes, GetAllAuthenticatedUserClaims(httpContext));
+        ResolvedDatabasePolicy resolvedPolicy = GetPolicyWithClaimValues(dBpolicyWithClaimTypes, GetAllAuthenticatedUserClaims(httpContext));
+
+        // A configured (non-empty) database policy that compiles to an empty predicate is a
+        // silent fail-open of row/column level authorization: the query would run unfiltered.
+        // Emit an audit signal and, outside development mode, fail the request.
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(resolvedPolicy.Policy))
+        {
+            AuditDatabasePolicyFailOpen(entityName, roleName, operation, dBpolicyWithClaimTypes);
+        }
+
+        return resolvedPolicy;
     }
 
     /// <inheritdoc />
@@ -794,6 +810,77 @@ private static ResolvedDatabasePolicy GetPolicyWithClaimValues(string policy, Di
         return new ResolvedDatabasePolicy(processedPolicy, claimValues);
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Emits a structured audit signal when a configured (non-empty) database authorization
+    /// policy resolves to an empty predicate, which silently removes the intended row/column
+    /// level filter (fail-open). In development mode this is logged as a warning so the request
+    /// can proceed for debugging; in all other host modes it is logged as an error and the
+    /// request is failed to prevent returning unfiltered data.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="entityName">Entity targeted by the request.</param>
+    /// <param name="roleName">Role resolved from the client role header.</param>
+    /// <param name="operation">Operation the policy applies to.</param>
+    /// <param name="configuredPolicy">The non-empty policy text configured in runtime config.</param>
+    /// <exception cref="DataApiBuilderException">Thrown outside development mode to fail the request.</exception>
+    public void AuditDatabasePolicyFailOpen(
+        string entityName,
+        string roleName,
+        EntityActionOperation operation,
+        string configuredPolicy)
+    {
+        const string reason = "Configured database authorization policy compiled to an empty predicate; " +
+            "the request would run without the intended row/column level filter (fail-open).";
+        string predicateHash = ComputePredicateHash(configuredPolicy);
+        bool isDevelopmentMode = _runtimeConfigProvider.TryGetConfig(out RuntimeConfig? runtimeConfig)
+            && runtimeConfig.IsDevelopmentMode();
+
+        // Structured audit event: entity, role, operation, policy text, reason, predicateHash, dbPolicyApplied.
+        const string auditMessageTemplate = "Database authorization policy fail-open detected. " +
+            "Entity: {Entity}, Role: {Role}, Operation: {Operation}, PolicyText: {PolicyText}, " +
+            "Reason: {Reason}, PredicateHash: {PredicateHash}, DbPolicyApplied: {DbPolicyApplied}";
+
+        if (isDevelopmentMode)
+        {
+            _logger?.LogWarning(
+                auditMessageTemplate,
+                entityName,
+                roleName,
+                operation,
+                configuredPolicy,
+                reason,
+                predicateHash,
+                false);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        _logger?.LogError(
+            auditMessageTemplate,
+            entityName,
+            roleName,
+            operation,
+            configuredPolicy,
+            reason,
+            predicateHash,
+            false);
+
+        throw new DataApiBuilderException(
+            message: DataApiBuilderException.AUTHORIZATION_FAILURE,
+            statusCode: HttpStatusCode.Forbidden,
+            subStatusCode: DataApiBuilderException.SubStatusCodes.DatabasePolicyFailure);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Produces a stable, non-reversible fingerprint of a policy's text so audit signals can be
+    /// correlated across requests without logging claim values or other sensitive data.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="policyText">Configured policy text to hash.</param>
+    /// <returns>Uppercase hexadecimal SHA-256 hash of the policy text.</returns>
+    private static string ComputePredicateHash(string policyText)
+    {
+        byte[] hash = SHA256.HashData(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(policyText));
+        return Convert.ToHexString(hash);
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Helper function used to retrieve the claim value for the given claim type from the user's claims.
     /// </summary>
diff --git a/src/Core/Resolvers/AuthorizationPolicyHelpers.cs b/src/Core/Resolvers/AuthorizationPolicyHelpers.cs
index 408b0f30d4..4428beb381 100644
--- a/src/Core/Resolvers/AuthorizationPolicyHelpers.cs
+++ b/src/Core/Resolvers/AuthorizationPolicyHelpers.cs
@@ -189,6 +189,15 @@ private static List<FilterClause> ProcessFilter(
                     resourcePath: (entityDBObject is not null) ? $"{entityName}.{entityDBObject.FullName}" : entityName,
                     sqlMetadataProvider);
 
+                if (filterClause is null && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(dbQueryPolicy.Policy))
+                {
+                    string configuredPolicy = authorizationResolver.GetDBPolicyForRequest(entityName, clientRoleHeader, elementalOperation);
+                    if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(configuredPolicy))
+                    {
+                        authorizationResolver.AuditDatabasePolicyFailOpen(entityName, clientRoleHeader, elementalOperation, configuredPolicy);
+                    }
+                }
+
                 postProcessCallback(filterClause, elementalOperation);
             }
 
diff --git a/src/Service.Tests/Authorization/AuthorizationHelpers.cs b/src/Service.Tests/Authorization/AuthorizationHelpers.cs
index bdd5630a50..8170c068bb 100644
--- a/src/Service.Tests/Authorization/AuthorizationHelpers.cs
+++ b/src/Service.Tests/Authorization/AuthorizationHelpers.cs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.IO.Abstractions.TestingHelpers;
+using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Auth;
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Config;
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Config.DatabasePrimitives;
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Config.ObjectModel;
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ public static class AuthorizationHelpers
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="runtimeConfig">Configuration with Authorization metadata</param>
         /// <returns>AuthorizationResolver object</returns>
-        public static AuthorizationResolver InitAuthorizationResolver(RuntimeConfig runtimeConfig)
+        public static AuthorizationResolver InitAuthorizationResolver(RuntimeConfig runtimeConfig, ILogger<IAuthorizationResolver>? logger = null)
         {
             MockFileSystem fileSystem = new();
             fileSystem.AddFile(FileSystemRuntimeConfigLoader.DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE_NAME, new(runtimeConfig.ToJson()));
@@ -41,7 +42,6 @@ public static AuthorizationResolver InitAuthorizationResolver(RuntimeConfig runt
 
             RuntimeConfigProvider runtimeConfigProvider = TestHelper.GetRuntimeConfigProvider(loader);
             Mock<ISqlMetadataProvider> metadataProvider = new();
-            Mock<ILogger<AuthorizationResolver>> logger = new();
             SourceDefinition sampleTable = CreateSampleTable();
             metadataProvider.Setup(x => x.GetSourceDefinition(TEST_ENTITY)).Returns(sampleTable);
             metadataProvider.Setup(x => x.GetDatabaseType()).Returns(DatabaseType.MSSQL);
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ public static AuthorizationResolver InitAuthorizationResolver(RuntimeConfig runt
             string dataSourceName = runtimeConfigProvider.GetConfig().DefaultDataSourceName;
             metadataProviderFactory.Setup(x => x.GetMetadataProvider(dataSourceName)).Returns(metadataProvider.Object);
 
-            return new AuthorizationResolver(runtimeConfigProvider, metadataProviderFactory.Object);
+            return new AuthorizationResolver(runtimeConfigProvider, metadataProviderFactory.Object, logger: logger);
         }
 
         /// <summary>
diff --git a/src/Service.Tests/Authorization/AuthorizationResolverUnitTests.cs b/src/Service.Tests/Authorization/AuthorizationResolverUnitTests.cs
index 81be4e2441..b01d095fa1 100644
--- a/src/Service.Tests/Authorization/AuthorizationResolverUnitTests.cs
+++ b/src/Service.Tests/Authorization/AuthorizationResolverUnitTests.cs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 using System.Net;
 using System.Security.Claims;
 using System.Security.Cryptography;
+using System.Text;
 using System.Text.Json;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Auth;
@@ -17,6 +18,7 @@
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Service.Exceptions;
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Service.Tests.Authentication.Helpers;
 using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Primitives;
 using Microsoft.IdentityModel.JsonWebTokens;
 using Microsoft.IdentityModel.Tokens;
@@ -34,6 +36,91 @@ public class AuthorizationResolverUnitTests
         private const string TEST_AUTHENTICATION_TYPE = "TestAuth";
         private const string TEST_CLAIMTYPE_NAME = "TestName";
 
+        /// <summary>Verifies empty resolved policies emit an audit log and fail closed only in production.</summary>
+        [DataTestMethod]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, EntityActionOperation.Read, "@item.", DisplayName = "Empty Predicate in Development read logs a warning")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, EntityActionOperation.Update, "@item.", DisplayName = "Empty Predicate in Development update logs a warning")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, EntityActionOperation.Delete, "@item.", DisplayName = "Empty Predicate in Development delete logs a warning")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, EntityActionOperation.Read, "@item.", DisplayName = "Empty Predicate in Production read logs an error and fails")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, EntityActionOperation.Update, "@item.", DisplayName = "Empty Predicate in Production update logs an error and fails")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, EntityActionOperation.Delete, "@item.", DisplayName = "Empty Predicate in Production delete logs an error and fails")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, EntityActionOperation.Read, "@item. @item.", DisplayName = "Empty Predicate in Development whitespace predicate logs a warning")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, EntityActionOperation.Read, "@item. @item.", DisplayName = "Empty Predicate in Production whitespace predicate logs an error and fails")]
+        public void ResolveDBPolicy_EmptyPredicate_AuditsAccordingToHostMode(
+            HostMode hostMode, EntityActionOperation operation, string configuredPolicy)
+        {
+            RuntimeConfig config = AuthorizationHelpers.InitRuntimeConfig(
+                roleName: TEST_ROLE, operation: operation, databasePolicy: configuredPolicy);
+            config = config with
+            {
+                Runtime = config.Runtime! with { Host = config.Runtime.Host! with { Mode = hostMode } }
+            };
+            Mock<ILogger<IAuthorizationResolver>> logger = new();
+            AuthorizationResolver resolver = AuthorizationHelpers.InitAuthorizationResolver(config, logger.Object);
+            DefaultHttpContext context = new();
+            context.Request.Headers[AuthorizationResolver.CLIENT_ROLE_HEADER] = TEST_ROLE;
+
+            if (hostMode == HostMode.Development)
+            {
+                ResolvedDatabasePolicy resolved = resolver.ResolveDBPolicy(TEST_ENTITY, TEST_ROLE, operation, context);
+                Assert.IsTrue(string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(resolved.Policy));
+                Assert.AreEqual(0, resolved.ClaimValues.Count);
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                DataApiBuilderException exception = Assert.ThrowsException<DataApiBuilderException>(() =>
+                    resolver.ResolveDBPolicy(TEST_ENTITY, TEST_ROLE, operation, context));
+                Assert.AreEqual(HttpStatusCode.Forbidden, exception.StatusCode);
+                Assert.AreEqual(DataApiBuilderException.SubStatusCodes.DatabasePolicyFailure, exception.SubStatusCode);
+                Assert.AreEqual(DataApiBuilderException.AUTHORIZATION_FAILURE, exception.Message);
+            }
+
+            var log = logger.Invocations.Single(invocation => invocation.Method.Name == nameof(ILogger.Log));
+            Assert.AreEqual(hostMode == HostMode.Development ? LogLevel.Warning : LogLevel.Error, log.Arguments[0]);
+            Dictionary<string, object?> audit = ((IEnumerable<KeyValuePair<string, object?>>)log.Arguments[2])
+                .ToDictionary(property => property.Key, property => property.Value);
+            Assert.AreEqual(TEST_ENTITY, audit["Entity"]);
+            Assert.AreEqual(TEST_ROLE, audit["Role"]);
+            Assert.AreEqual(operation, audit["Operation"]);
+            Assert.AreEqual(configuredPolicy, audit["PolicyText"]);
+            Assert.AreEqual(false, audit["DbPolicyApplied"]);
+            Assert.AreEqual(
+                Convert.ToHexString(SHA256.HashData(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(configuredPolicy))),
+                audit["PredicateHash"]);
+            StringAssert.Contains((string)audit["Reason"]!, "compiled to an empty predicate");
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>Verifies valid or unconfigured policies do not produce false fail-open audit logs.</summary>
+        [DataTestMethod]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, null, "", DisplayName = "ResolveDBPolicy Development missing policy does not log")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, null, "", DisplayName = "ResolveDBPolicy Production missing policy does not log")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, "", "", DisplayName = "ResolveDBPolicy Development empty policy does not log")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, "", "", DisplayName = "ResolveDBPolicy Production empty policy does not log")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, "   ", "", DisplayName = "ResolveDBPolicy Development whitespace configuration does not log")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, "   ", "", DisplayName = "ResolveDBPolicy Production whitespace configuration does not log")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, "@item.col1 eq 1", "col1 eq 1", DisplayName = "ResolveDBPolicy Development valid policy does not log")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, "@item.col1 eq 1", "col1 eq 1", DisplayName = "ResolveDBPolicy Production valid policy does not log")]
+        public void ResolveDBPolicy_ValidOrUnconfiguredPolicy_DoesNotAudit(
+            HostMode hostMode, string? configuredPolicy, string expectedPolicy)
+        {
+            RuntimeConfig config = AuthorizationHelpers.InitRuntimeConfig(
+                roleName: TEST_ROLE, operation: EntityActionOperation.Read, databasePolicy: configuredPolicy);
+            config = config with
+            {
+                Runtime = config.Runtime! with { Host = config.Runtime.Host! with { Mode = hostMode } }
+            };
+            Mock<ILogger<IAuthorizationResolver>> logger = new();
+            AuthorizationResolver resolver = AuthorizationHelpers.InitAuthorizationResolver(config, logger.Object);
+            DefaultHttpContext context = new();
+            context.Request.Headers[AuthorizationResolver.CLIENT_ROLE_HEADER] = TEST_ROLE;
+
+            ResolvedDatabasePolicy resolved = resolver.ResolveDBPolicy(TEST_ENTITY, TEST_ROLE, EntityActionOperation.Read, context);
+
+            Assert.AreEqual(expectedPolicy, resolved.Policy);
+            Assert.AreEqual(0, resolved.ClaimValues.Count);
+            logger.VerifyNoOtherCalls();
+        }
+
         [TestMethod]
         public void GetRolesForOperation_NullEntityNameThrows()
         {
diff --git a/src/Service.Tests/UnitTests/DatabasePolicyClaimBindingUnitTests.cs b/src/Service.Tests/UnitTests/DatabasePolicyClaimBindingUnitTests.cs
index fb423de2c7..a6374df986 100644
--- a/src/Service.Tests/UnitTests/DatabasePolicyClaimBindingUnitTests.cs
+++ b/src/Service.Tests/UnitTests/DatabasePolicyClaimBindingUnitTests.cs
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Data;
 using System.Linq;
+using System.Net;
 using System.Security.Claims;
+using System.Security.Cryptography;
+using System.Text;
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Auth;
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Config.DatabasePrimitives;
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Config.ObjectModel;
@@ -16,6 +19,7 @@
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Service.Exceptions;
 using Azure.DataApiBuilder.Service.Tests.Authorization;
 using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using Microsoft.IdentityModel.JsonWebTokens;
 using Microsoft.OData.UriParser;
 using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
@@ -34,6 +38,105 @@ public class DatabasePolicyClaimBindingUnitTests
         private const string ROLE_NAME = AuthorizationHelpers.TEST_ROLE;
         private const EntityActionOperation OPERATION = EntityActionOperation.Read;
 
+        /// <summary>Verifies a configured policy with no parsed filter is audited and rejected in production.</summary>
+        [DataTestMethod]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, "@item.&$top=1", DisplayName = "Development empty filter with top logs a warning")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, "@item.&$top=1", DisplayName = "Production empty filter with top logs an error and fails")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, "@item.&$skip=1", DisplayName = "Development empty filter with skip logs a warning")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, "@item.&$skip=1", DisplayName = "Production empty filter with skip logs an error and fails")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, "@item.&$orderby=id", DisplayName = "Development empty filter with orderby logs a warning")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, "@item.&$orderby=id", DisplayName = "Production empty filter with orderby logs an error and fails")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, "@item.&$select=id", DisplayName = "Development empty filter with select logs a warning")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, "@item.&$select=id", DisplayName = "Production empty filter with select logs an error and fails")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, "@item.&$top=1&$skip=1", DisplayName = "Development empty filter with multiple options logs a warning")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, "@item.&$top=1&$skip=1", DisplayName = "Production empty filter with multiple options logs an error and fails")]
+        public void ProcessAuthorizationPolicies_NullParsedPolicy_AuditsAccordingToHostMode(HostMode hostMode, string policy)
+        {
+            RuntimeConfig config = AuthorizationHelpers.InitRuntimeConfig(
+                entityName: ENTITY_NAME, roleName: ROLE_NAME, operation: OPERATION, databasePolicy: policy);
+            config = config with
+            {
+                Runtime = config.Runtime! with { Host = config.Runtime.Host! with { Mode = hostMode } }
+            };
+            Mock<ILogger<IAuthorizationResolver>> logger = new();
+            AuthorizationResolver resolver = AuthorizationHelpers.InitAuthorizationResolver(config, logger.Object);
+            DefaultHttpContext context = new();
+            context.Request.Headers[AuthorizationResolver.CLIENT_ROLE_HEADER] = ROLE_NAME;
+            Mock<ISqlMetadataProvider> metadataProvider = CreateMetadataProvider();
+            TestSqlQueryStructure structure = new(metadataProvider.Object, resolver);
+
+            ResolvedDatabasePolicy resolvedPolicy = resolver.ResolveDBPolicy(ENTITY_NAME, ROLE_NAME, OPERATION, context);
+            Assert.IsFalse(string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(resolvedPolicy.Policy));
+            Assert.IsNull(AuthorizationPolicyHelpers.GetDBPolicyClauseForQueryStructure(
+                resolvedPolicy,
+                ENTITY_NAME,
+                $"{ENTITY_NAME}.{metadataProvider.Object.EntityToDatabaseObject[ENTITY_NAME].FullName}",
+                metadataProvider.Object));
+
+            if (hostMode == HostMode.Production)
+            {
+                DataApiBuilderException exception = Assert.ThrowsException<DataApiBuilderException>(() =>
+                    AuthorizationPolicyHelpers.ProcessAuthorizationPolicies(OPERATION, structure, context, resolver, metadataProvider.Object));
+                Assert.AreEqual(HttpStatusCode.Forbidden, exception.StatusCode);
+                Assert.AreEqual(DataApiBuilderException.SubStatusCodes.DatabasePolicyFailure, exception.SubStatusCode);
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                AuthorizationPolicyHelpers.ProcessAuthorizationPolicies(OPERATION, structure, context, resolver, metadataProvider.Object);
+            }
+
+            var log = logger.Invocations.Single(invocation => invocation.Method.Name == nameof(ILogger.Log));
+            Assert.AreEqual(hostMode == HostMode.Development ? LogLevel.Warning : LogLevel.Error, log.Arguments[0]);
+            Dictionary<string, object?> audit = ((IEnumerable<KeyValuePair<string, object?>>)log.Arguments[2])
+                .ToDictionary(property => property.Key, property => property.Value);
+            Assert.AreEqual(ENTITY_NAME, audit["Entity"]);
+            Assert.AreEqual(ROLE_NAME, audit["Role"]);
+            Assert.AreEqual(OPERATION, audit["Operation"]);
+            Assert.AreEqual(policy, audit["PolicyText"]);
+            Assert.AreEqual(false, audit["DbPolicyApplied"]);
+            Assert.AreEqual(Convert.ToHexString(SHA256.HashData(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(policy))), audit["PredicateHash"]);
+            Assert.IsFalse(string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace((string)audit["Reason"]!));
+            AssertParameterValues(structure);
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>Verifies unconfigured and valid policies remain unaffected by the parsed-filter guard.</summary>
+        [DataTestMethod]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, null, DisplayName = "Development missing policy is allowed")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, null, DisplayName = "Production missing policy is allowed")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, "", DisplayName = "Development empty policy is allowed")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, "", DisplayName = "Production empty policy is allowed")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Development, "@item.intCol eq 1", DisplayName = "Development valid policy is applied")]
+        [DataRow(HostMode.Production, "@item.intCol eq 1", DisplayName = "Production valid policy is applied")]
+        public void ProcessAuthorizationPolicies_UnconfiguredOrValidPolicy_DoesNotAudit(HostMode hostMode, string policy)
+        {
+            RuntimeConfig config = AuthorizationHelpers.InitRuntimeConfig(
+                entityName: ENTITY_NAME, roleName: ROLE_NAME, operation: OPERATION, databasePolicy: policy);
+            config = config with
+            {
+                Runtime = config.Runtime! with { Host = config.Runtime.Host! with { Mode = hostMode } }
+            };
+            Mock<ILogger<IAuthorizationResolver>> logger = new();
+            AuthorizationResolver resolver = AuthorizationHelpers.InitAuthorizationResolver(config, logger.Object);
+            DefaultHttpContext context = new();
+            context.Request.Headers[AuthorizationResolver.CLIENT_ROLE_HEADER] = ROLE_NAME;
+            Mock<ISqlMetadataProvider> metadataProvider = CreateMetadataProvider();
+            TestSqlQueryStructure structure = new(metadataProvider.Object, resolver);
+
+            AuthorizationPolicyHelpers.ProcessAuthorizationPolicies(OPERATION, structure, context, resolver, metadataProvider.Object);
+
+            logger.VerifyNoOtherCalls();
+            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(policy))
+            {
+                Assert.AreEqual("([intCol] = @param0)", structure.GetDbPolicyForOperation(OPERATION));
+                AssertParameterValues(structure, 1);
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                Assert.IsTrue(string.IsNullOrEmpty(structure.GetDbPolicyForOperation(OPERATION)));
+                AssertParameterValues(structure);
+            }
+        }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Verifies that encoded and literal syntax remains claim data throughout the complete
         /// SQL and Cosmos policy pipelines.