Session opens in Auto Mode despite permissions.defaultMode: "default" set globally in ~/.claude/settings.json

Description:
~/.claude/settings.json has permissions.defaultMode set to "default" globally (all projects/categories), set specifically to disable the auto-mode classifier after it repeatedly blocked approved actions with no way to grant permission conversationally (writing to a .env file, systemctl restart, git push, etc.).

Despite this, new sessions have opened in Auto Mode on multiple occasions (most recently 2026-09-07). Re-confirming/re-switching the setting from within an already-running session does not change that session's mode — it appears the mode is fixed at session start and the settings.json value isn't re-read afterward, but I have no way to confirm the exact mechanism.

Expected: Sessions should consistently start in default mode per the global setting, with no unexplained reversion to Auto Mode.

Actual: Auto Mode has activated on sessions after the global override was set, and there's no in-session action available to correct it once a session has already started that way.