diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk-testing/cli-integ/lib/npm.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk-testing/cli-integ/lib/npm.ts
index 857240a0e..ea5d11a90 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk-testing/cli-integ/lib/npm.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk-testing/cli-integ/lib/npm.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 // eslint-disable-next-line no-restricted-imports -- cli-integ is a test harness that spawns processes to exercise the CLI as a user would; it is test infrastructure, not shipped runtime.
 import { spawnSync } from 'child_process';
+import * as path from 'path';
 import * as semver from 'semver';
 import { shell } from './shell';
 
@@ -26,6 +27,41 @@ export async function npmMostRecentMatching(packageName: string, range: string)
   return output[output.length - 1];
 }
 
+/**
+ * Verify that the CLI binary installed under `installRoot` is actually runnable.
+ *
+ * `npm install` recording a version (see `npmQueryInstalledVersion`) does not
+ * guarantee the package's `bin` landed in `node_modules/.bin` or that it runs.
+ * During an npm registry degradation an install can be incomplete: the version
+ * is recorded but the `cdk` binary is missing, which only surfaces much later
+ * as `cdk: not found` (exit 127) from inside a test's `cdk synth` — pointing
+ * investigators at CDK/synth instead of at the install.
+ *
+ * Invoking `<bin> --version` through the same install root the tests will use
+ * turns that downstream failure into a clear, install-time diagnosis.
+ *
+ * @param binName - the executable to run (e.g. `cdk`)
+ * @param installRoot - the directory that contains `node_modules/.bin`
+ * @param installSpec - the `<pkg>@<range>` that was installed, for the error message
+ */
+export async function verifyCliRunnable(binName: string, installRoot: string, installSpec: string) {
+  const binPath = path.join(installRoot, 'node_modules', '.bin', binName);
+  try {
+    await shell([binPath, '--version'], {
+      cwd: installRoot,
+      show: 'error',
+      captureStderr: true,
+      outputs: [process.stderr],
+    });
+  } catch (e) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `CLI install verification failed: '${binName} --version' did not run after installing ${installSpec}. ` +
+      'This usually indicates an incomplete or degraded npm install rather than a CDK defect. ' +
+      `(underlying error: ${e})`,
+    );
+  }
+}
+
 export async function npmQueryInstalledVersion(packageName: string, dir: string) {
   const reportStr = await shell(['node', require.resolve('npm'), 'list', '--json', '--depth', '0', packageName], {
     cwd: dir,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk-testing/cli-integ/lib/package-sources/cli-npm-source.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk-testing/cli-integ/lib/package-sources/cli-npm-source.ts
index 8c548b9a8..cb8da3c37 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk-testing/cli-integ/lib/package-sources/cli-npm-source.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk-testing/cli-integ/lib/package-sources/cli-npm-source.ts
@@ -2,9 +2,24 @@ import * as os from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import * as fs from 'fs-extra';
 import type { IRunnerSource, ITestCliSource, IPreparedRunnerSource } from './source';
-import { npmQueryInstalledVersion } from '../npm';
+import { npmQueryInstalledVersion, verifyCliRunnable } from '../npm';
 import { addToShellPath, rimraf, shell } from '../shell';
 
+/**
+ * The executable that a given CLI package installs into `node_modules/.bin`.
+ *
+ * npm names the bin after the `bin` key in the package's `package.json`, which
+ * does not always equal the package name (e.g. `aws-cdk` installs `cdk`).
+ */
+const CLI_BIN_NAMES: Record<string, string> = {
+  'aws-cdk': 'cdk',
+  'cdk-assets': 'cdk-assets',
+};
+
+function cliBinName(packageName: string): string {
+  return CLI_BIN_NAMES[packageName] ?? packageName;
+}
+
 export class RunnerCliNpmSource implements IRunnerSource<ITestCliSource> {
   public readonly sourceDescription: string;
 
@@ -16,13 +31,22 @@ export class RunnerCliNpmSource implements IRunnerSource<ITestCliSource> {
     const tempDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'tmpcdk'));
     fs.mkdirSync(tempDir, { recursive: true });
 
-    await shell(['node', require.resolve('npm'), 'install', `${this.packageName}@${this.range}`], {
+    const installSpec = `${this.packageName}@${this.range}`;
+
+    await shell(['node', require.resolve('npm'), 'install', installSpec], {
       cwd: tempDir,
       show: 'error',
       outputs: [process.stderr],
     });
+
     const installedVersion = await npmQueryInstalledVersion(this.packageName, tempDir);
 
+    // Fail fast, with an npm-attributable message, if the bin didn't land or
+    // isn't runnable. Recording a version does not prove the CLI is usable;
+    // an incomplete install otherwise surfaces much later as `cdk: not found`
+    // (exit 127) from inside a test's `cdk synth`, blaming the wrong component.
+    await verifyCliRunnable(cliBinName(this.packageName), tempDir, installSpec);
+
     return {
       version: installedVersion,
       async dispose() {