diff --git a/netx_api/ne_cli_errors.py b/netx_api/ne_cli_errors.py
index 076767f..7158925 100644
--- a/netx_api/ne_cli_errors.py
+++ b/netx_api/ne_cli_errors.py
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import re
 from typing import Any
 
 # Prefer specific auth signals over generic Netmiko prompt timeouts.
+# Note: do NOT match bare ``authentication failure`` — ZTE/Huawei success banners
+# say ``0 authentication failure occurred`` (stats, not a reject), often line-wrapped.
 _AUTH_PATTERNS: tuple[re.Pattern[str], ...] = tuple(
     re.compile(p, re.I)
     for p in (
@@ -13,8 +15,7 @@ _AUTH_PATTERNS: tuple[re.Pattern[str], ...] = tuple(
         r"permission denied\s*\([^)]*publickey[^)]*\)",
         r"permission denied",
         r"authentication failed",
-        r"authentication failure",
-        r"auth(?:entication)?\s*fail",
+        r"auth(?:entication)?\s*fail(?!ures?\s+occurred)",
         r"login\s*(?:invalid|failed|incorrect|rejected)",
         r"access denied",
         r"bad (?:secret|password|secrets)",
@@ -26,16 +27,20 @@ _AUTH_PATTERNS: tuple[re.Pattern[str], ...] = tuple(
     )
 )
 
-# Huawei / ZTE post-login security banner (success path via SSH or bastion hop).
+# Huawei / ZTE post-login security banner (success path via SSH or CLI hop).
 # Example: "Afterwards, 0 authentication failure occurred."
+# ZTE may wrap mid-word: "... SSH. After" + "wards, 0 authentication failure occurred."
+# or worse: "...Afterwa" + "rds, 0 ..." leaving "rwards, 0 authentication failure occurred."
 _LOGIN_SUCCESS_NOTICE = re.compile(
-    r"^.*(?:"
-    r"last\s+successful\s+login\s+was\s+performed"
-    r"|afterwards,\s*\d+\s+authentication\s+failures?\s+occurred"
-    r"|上次成功登录"
-    r"|之后发生了?\s*\d+\s*次认证失败"
-    r").*$",
-    re.I | re.M,
+    r"(?is)(?:"
+    r"last\s+successful\s+login\s+was\s+performed[^\n]*"
+    r"|login\s+at\s+[^\n]*through\s+ssh[^\n]*"
+    r"|(?:after)?wards,\s*\d+\s+authentication\s+failures?\s+occurred[^\n]*"
+    r"|afterwards,\s*\d+\s+authentication\s+failures?\s+occurred[^\n]*"
+    r"|\d+\s+authentication\s+failures?\s+occurred[^\n]*"
+    r"|上次成功登录[^\n]*"
+    r"|之后发生了?\s*\d+\s*次认证失败[^\n]*"
+    r")"
 )
 
 _PROMPT_TIMEOUT = re.compile(r"pattern not detected|readtimeout|read timeout", re.I)
@@ -62,6 +67,11 @@ def find_auth_failure_snippet(text: str, *, max_len: int = 220) -> str | None:
     return None
 
 
+def saw_zte_login_banner(text: str) -> bool:
+    """True when ZTE post-login MOTD is present (nested ssh hop success path)."""
+    return bool(_LOGIN_SUCCESS_NOTICE.search(str(text or "")))
+
+
 def format_cli_failure(exc: BaseException | str, transcript: str = "", *, limit: int = 1020) -> str:
     """Human/ops-facing failure message; promote auth rejects above Pattern/ReadTimeout."""
     if isinstance(exc, BaseException):
diff --git a/netx_api/ne_session_connect.py b/netx_api/ne_session_connect.py
index 932d164..3813473 100644
--- a/netx_api/ne_session_connect.py
+++ b/netx_api/ne_session_connect.py
@@ -669,6 +669,20 @@ def _looks_like_target_cli_prompt(text: str) -> bool:
     return bool(re.search(r"(?:[>#\]])\s*$", tail)) or bool(re.search(r"^<[^>\r\n]+>\s*$", tail))
 
 
+def _target_auth_failure_snippet(text: str, *, sent_pass: bool) -> str | None:
+    """Return auth-reject snippet unless we already reached target CLI prompt.
+
+    Prompt-at-tail is the ground truth for hop login success; banner/stat lines
+    (e.g. ZTE ``0 authentication failure occurred``) must not override it.
+    """
+    from .ne_cli_errors import find_auth_failure_snippet
+
+    acc = str(text or "")
+    if sent_pass and _looks_like_target_cli_prompt(acc):
+        return None
+    return find_auth_failure_snippet(acc)
+
+
 def _looks_like_password_change_prompt(text: str) -> bool:
     """Huawei/VRP ``Change now? [Y/N]:`` after successful password (not host-key)."""
     tail = _auth_prompt_tail(text, lines=2)
@@ -691,6 +705,12 @@ def _saw_huawei_last_login(text: str) -> bool:
     )
 
 
+def _saw_zte_login_banner(text: str) -> bool:
+    from .ne_cli_errors import saw_zte_login_banner
+
+    return saw_zte_login_banner(text)
+
+
 def _interactive_target_auth(
     conn: ConnectHandler,
     username: str,
@@ -704,8 +724,6 @@ def _interactive_target_auth(
     When ``emit_raw`` is False, device bytes are assumed to already reach the UI via
     ``session_log`` ProgressBytesIO — only emit ``[netx]`` markers (avoids doubled echo).
     """
-    from .ne_cli_errors import find_auth_failure_snippet
-
     # Hop stelnet can show Trying/Connected + two [Y/N] before password; keep budget generous.
     deadline = time.time() + max(60, int(settings.ne_connect_timeout_sec or 30) + 30)
     sent_user = False
@@ -721,7 +739,9 @@ def _interactive_target_auth(
             acc += buf
             if emit_raw:
                 _emit_progress(progress_cb, buf)
-            denied = find_auth_failure_snippet(acc)
+            if sent_pass and _looks_like_target_cli_prompt(acc):
+                return
+            denied = _target_auth_failure_snippet(acc, sent_pass=sent_pass)
             if denied:
                 raise paramiko.AuthenticationException(f"target_auth_rejected: {denied}")
 
@@ -761,21 +781,23 @@ def _interactive_target_auth(
             continue
 
         if sent_pass and not need_user and not need_pass and not continue_access and not save_key:
-            denied = find_auth_failure_snippet(acc)
-            if denied:
-                raise paramiko.AuthenticationException(f"target_auth_rejected: {denied}")
             if _looks_like_target_cli_prompt(acc):
                 return
+            denied = _target_auth_failure_snippet(acc, sent_pass=True)
+            if denied:
+                raise paramiko.AuthenticationException(f"target_auth_rejected: {denied}")
             # Last-login banner already printed — hand off quickly even if prompt parse lags.
-            if _saw_huawei_last_login(acc) and empty_after_pass >= 1:
+            if (_saw_huawei_last_login(acc) or _saw_zte_login_banner(acc)) and empty_after_pass >= 1:
                 return
             # Do not treat a single empty read right after password as success —
-            # Huawei still prints last-login banner / prompt.
+            # Huawei/ZTE still prints last-login banner / prompt.
             if not buf.strip():
                 empty_after_pass += 1
                 # Faster handoff: live echo already shows login; WS cannot accept stdin
                 # until open_netmiko_connection returns.
-                if empty_after_pass >= (2 if _saw_huawei_last_login(acc) else 3):
+                if empty_after_pass >= (
+                    2 if (_saw_huawei_last_login(acc) or _saw_zte_login_banner(acc)) else 3
+                ):
                     return
             else:
                 empty_after_pass = 0
@@ -788,7 +810,7 @@ def _interactive_target_auth(
         # Huawei stelnet often reprints the hop ``[sysname]`` after host-key trust and
         # *before* ``Enter password:``. Do not treat that as target login success.
         if sent_pass and _looks_like_target_cli_prompt(buf):
-            denied = find_auth_failure_snippet(acc)
+            denied = _target_auth_failure_snippet(acc, sent_pass=True)
             if denied:
                 raise paramiko.AuthenticationException(f"target_auth_rejected: {denied}")
             return
@@ -800,12 +822,12 @@ def _interactive_target_auth(
             and _looks_like_target_cli_prompt(buf)
         ):
             # Passwordless target after username only (no stelnet host-key dance).
-            denied = find_auth_failure_snippet(acc)
+            denied = _target_auth_failure_snippet(acc, sent_pass=False)
             if denied:
                 raise paramiko.AuthenticationException(f"target_auth_rejected: {denied}")
             return
         time.sleep(0.15)
-    denied = find_auth_failure_snippet(acc)
+    denied = _target_auth_failure_snippet(acc, sent_pass=sent_pass)
     if denied:
         raise paramiko.AuthenticationException(f"target_auth_rejected: {denied}")
     if not sent_pass:
diff --git a/tests/test_cli_hop_target_auth.py b/tests/test_cli_hop_target_auth.py
index ecf8008..d4eafc2 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli_hop_target_auth.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli_hop_target_auth.py
@@ -156,5 +156,34 @@ class HuaweiStelnetAuthTests(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertTrue(any("password-change" in p for p in seen))
 
 
+class ZteHopAuthTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    @patch("netx_api.ne_session_connect._read_channel")
+    @patch("netx_api.ne_session_connect._send_line")
+    def test_zte_banner_with_prompt_not_auth_failure(
+        self,
+        mock_send: MagicMock,
+        mock_read: MagicMock,
+    ) -> None:
+        """ZTE login stats contain 'authentication failure' — prompt is ground truth."""
+        mock_read.side_effect = [
+            "Username:",
+            "Password:",
+            (
+                "Welcome to ZXR10 ZXCTN 6120H\n"
+                "Login at 09:43:53 08-31-2026 from 10.229.147.122 through SSH.\n"
+                "The last successful login was performed at 09:43:44 08-31-2026 "
+                "from 10.229.147.122 through SSH. Afterwa\n"
+                "rwards, 0 authentication failure occurred.\n"
+                "AL5458-ACC-6120HS#"
+            ),
+        ]
+        conn = MagicMock()
+        _interactive_target_auth(conn, "ipran", "secret")
+        self.assertEqual(
+            [c.args[1] for c in mock_send.call_args_list],
+            ["ipran", "secret"],
+        )
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()
diff --git a/tests/test_ne_cli_errors.py b/tests/test_ne_cli_errors.py
index 9243032..19c974a 100644
--- a/tests/test_ne_cli_errors.py
+++ b/tests/test_ne_cli_errors.py
@@ -67,6 +67,37 @@ class CliAuthClassifyTests(unittest.TestCase):
         )
         self.assertIn("Username or password is wrong", find_auth_failure_snippet(text) or "")
 
+    def test_zte_post_login_banner_not_auth_failure(self):
+        """ZTE nested ssh hop: '0 authentication failure occurred' is login stats."""
+        text = (
+            "Welcome to ZXR10 ZXCTN 6120H Carrier-Class Router of ZTE Corporation\n"
+            "Login at 09:43:53 08-31-2026 from 10.229.147.122 through SSH.\n"
+            "The last successful login was performed at 09:43:44 08-31-2026 "
+            "from 10.229.147.122 through SSH. Afterwards, 0 authentication "
+            "failure occurred.\n"
+            "AL5458-ACC-6120HS#"
+        )
+        self.assertIsNone(find_auth_failure_snippet(text))
+
+    def test_zte_wrapped_afterwards_banner_not_auth_failure(self):
+        """Narrow PTY wraps 'Afterwards' — must not classify as auth reject."""
+        text = (
+            "The last successful login was performed at 09:43:44 08-31-2026 "
+            "from 10.229.147.122 through SSH. After\n"
+            "wards, 0 authentication failure occurred.\n"
+            "AL5458-ACC-6120HS#"
+        )
+        self.assertIsNone(find_auth_failure_snippet(text))
+
+    def test_zte_severely_wrapped_afterwards_banner_not_auth_failure(self):
+        """Production saw 'rwards' after mid-word wrap — still login stats, not reject."""
+        text = (
+            "from 10.229.147.122 through SSH. Afterwa\n"
+            "rwards, 0 authentication failure occurred.\n"
+            "AL5458-ACC-6120HS#"
+        )
+        self.assertIsNone(find_auth_failure_snippet(text))
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()