[BUG] dontAsk mode activates unexpectedly without user action

Description

The dontAsk permission mode is activating unexpectedly during normal Claude Code usage, without any user action to enable it.

Evidence

• User sees "don't ask on (shift+tab to cycle)" displayed in the Claude Code UI
• However, when cycling through modes with shift+tab, dontAsk is NOT one of the available options (only default, plan, acceptEdits appear)
• User has NOT set "defaultMode": "dontAsk" in any settings file (verified by checking .claude/settings.json, .claude/settings.local.json, and ~/.claude/settings.json)
• User did NOT launch Claude Code with --permission-mode=dontAsk flag
• The mode has activated multiple times during a single session

Expected Behavior

dontAsk mode should only activate when:

1. Explicitly set in settings.json via "defaultMode": "dontAsk"
2. Passed as a command line flag --permission-mode=dontAsk

Actual Behavior

dontAsk mode activates on its own during normal usage, causing tools to be auto-denied with the error:

Permission to use [tool] has been auto-denied in dontAsk mode.

Environment

• Platform: Linux (WSL2)
• Claude Code launched from terminal

Possibly Related Issues

• #11881 - Plan mode was automatically enabling dontAsk mode (marked as fixed)
• #11934 - Sub-agents auto-denied in dontAsk mode

This may be a regression or a different manifestation of the same underlying issue.