diff --git a/Docs/Tasks.md b/Docs/Tasks.md
index 94a770a..824fb35 100644
--- a/Docs/Tasks.md
+++ b/Docs/Tasks.md
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ Reference: `Docs/Refactoring.md` for full analysis of each issue.
    - Issue: Several routers still read or mutate `app.state` directly, including `setup.py` and `config.py`, which breaks the intended separation of concerns and makes handlers harder to test.
    - Propose: Refactor routers to consume explicit dependencies for required values and actions, and move all direct state mutations into services or dedicated state managers.
    - Test: Ensure all router handlers compile without requiring direct `app.state` access and existing endpoint tests still pass.
+   - Status: completed
 
 3. Replace process-local session cache with a pluggable abstraction
    - Goal: Make session validation consistent across multi-worker deployments by replacing the module-level in-memory cache with an injectable cache backend.
diff --git a/backend/app/routers/config.py b/backend/app/routers/config.py
index 2249280..21b475e 100644
--- a/backend/app/routers/config.py
+++ b/backend/app/routers/config.py
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ global settings, test regex patterns, add log paths, and preview log files.
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-import datetime
 from typing import Annotated
 
 import structlog
@@ -45,7 +44,6 @@ from fastapi import APIRouter, HTTPException, Path, Query, Request, status
 
 from app.dependencies import (
     AppDep,
-    AppStateDep,
     AuthDep,
     DbDep,
     Fail2BanConfigDirDep,
@@ -117,6 +115,12 @@ from app.services.jail_config_service import (
 )
 from app.tasks.health_check import _run_probe
 from app.utils.fail2ban_client import Fail2BanConnectionError
+from app.utils.runtime_state import (
+    clear_activation_record,
+    clear_pending_recovery,
+    create_pending_recovery,
+    record_activation,
+)
 
 log: structlog.stdlib.BoundLogger = structlog.get_logger()
 
@@ -678,7 +682,6 @@ async def update_map_color_thresholds(
     summary="Activate an inactive jail",
 )
 async def activate_jail(
-    app_state: AppStateDep,
     app: AppDep,
     _auth: AuthDep,
     config_dir: Fail2BanConfigDirDep,
@@ -693,7 +696,6 @@ async def activate_jail(
     the jail starts immediately.
 
     Args:
-        app_state: FastAPI application state.
         app: FastAPI application instance.
         _auth: Validated session.
         name: Name of the jail to activate.
@@ -732,18 +734,15 @@ async def activate_jail(
 
     # Record this activation so the health-check task can attribute a
     # subsequent fail2ban crash to it.
-    app_state.last_activation = {
-        "jail_name": name,
-        "at": datetime.datetime.now(tz=datetime.UTC),
-    }
+    activation_time = record_activation(app, name)
 
     # If fail2ban stopped responding after the reload, create a pending-recovery
     # record immediately (before the background health task notices).
     if not result.fail2ban_running:
-        app_state.pending_recovery = PendingRecovery(
+        create_pending_recovery(
+            app,
             jail_name=name,
-            activated_at=app_state.last_activation["at"],
-            detected_at=datetime.datetime.now(tz=datetime.UTC),
+            activated_at=activation_time,
         )
 
     # Force an immediate health probe so the cached status reflects the current
@@ -935,7 +934,7 @@ async def get_pending_recovery(
 )
 async def rollback_jail(
     _auth: AuthDep,
-    app_state: AppStateDep,
+    app: AppDep,
     config_dir: Fail2BanConfigDirDep,
     socket_path: Fail2BanSocketDep,
     start_cmd: Fail2BanStartCommandDep,
@@ -951,6 +950,7 @@ async def rollback_jail(
 
     Args:
         _auth: Validated session.
+        app: FastAPI application instance.
         name: Jail name to disable and roll back.
 
     Returns:
@@ -974,8 +974,8 @@ async def rollback_jail(
 
     # Clear pending recovery if fail2ban came back online.
     if result.fail2ban_running:
-        app_state.pending_recovery = None
-        app_state.last_activation = None
+        clear_pending_recovery(app)
+        clear_activation_record(app)
 
     return result
 
diff --git a/backend/app/routers/setup.py b/backend/app/routers/setup.py
index 5c02bd4..a7141e7 100644
--- a/backend/app/routers/setup.py
+++ b/backend/app/routers/setup.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ from fastapi import APIRouter, HTTPException, status
 from app.dependencies import AppDep, DbDep, SettingsDep
 from app.models.setup import SetupRequest, SetupResponse, SetupStatusResponse, SetupTimezoneResponse
 from app.services import setup_service
+from app.utils.runtime_state import update_app_settings
 from app.utils.setup_state import is_setup_complete_cached, set_setup_complete_cache
 
 log: structlog.stdlib.BoundLogger = structlog.get_logger()
@@ -75,13 +76,12 @@ async def post_setup(
         session_duration_minutes=body.session_duration_minutes,
     )
     set_setup_complete_cache(app, True)
-    app.state.settings = app.state.settings.model_copy(
-        update={
-            "database_path": body.database_path,
-            "fail2ban_socket": body.fail2ban_socket,
-            "timezone": body.timezone,
-            "session_duration_minutes": body.session_duration_minutes,
-        }
+    update_app_settings(
+        app,
+        database_path=body.database_path,
+        fail2ban_socket=body.fail2ban_socket,
+        timezone=body.timezone,
+        session_duration_minutes=body.session_duration_minutes,
     )
     return SetupResponse()
 
diff --git a/backend/app/utils/runtime_state.py b/backend/app/utils/runtime_state.py
index 25a61be..45b5acd 100644
--- a/backend/app/utils/runtime_state.py
+++ b/backend/app/utils/runtime_state.py
@@ -15,10 +15,11 @@ from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 
 from starlette.datastructures import State
 
+from app.models.config import PendingRecovery
 from app.models.server import ServerStatus
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:  # pragma: no cover
-    from app.models.config import PendingRecovery
+    from app.config import Settings
 
 ActivationRecord = dict[str, datetime.datetime]
 
@@ -83,3 +84,53 @@ def get_runtime_state(app: Any) -> RuntimeState:
     if state is None or not hasattr(state, "runtime_state"):
         raise AttributeError("Runtime state has not been initialised on the application.")
     return state.runtime_state
+
+
+def get_app_settings(app: Any) -> Settings:
+    """Return the current immutable settings from application state."""
+    settings = getattr(app.state, "settings", None)
+    if settings is None:
+        raise AttributeError("Application settings are not available on the app state.")
+    return settings
+
+
+def update_app_settings(app: Any, **overrides: Any) -> None:
+    """Update the current application settings immutably."""
+    settings = get_app_settings(app)
+    app.state.settings = settings.model_copy(update=overrides)
+
+
+def record_activation(app: Any, jail_name: str, at: datetime.datetime | None = None) -> datetime.datetime:
+    """Record a jail activation timestamp in runtime state."""
+    now = at if at is not None else datetime.datetime.now(tz=datetime.UTC)
+    runtime_state = get_runtime_state(app)
+    runtime_state.last_activation = {
+        "jail_name": jail_name,
+        "at": now,
+    }
+    return now
+
+
+def create_pending_recovery(
+    app: Any,
+    jail_name: str,
+    activated_at: datetime.datetime,
+    detected_at: datetime.datetime | None = None,
+) -> None:
+    """Create a pending recovery record in runtime state."""
+    runtime_state = get_runtime_state(app)
+    runtime_state.pending_recovery = PendingRecovery(
+        jail_name=jail_name,
+        activated_at=activated_at,
+        detected_at=detected_at if detected_at is not None else datetime.datetime.now(tz=datetime.UTC),
+    )
+
+
+def clear_pending_recovery(app: Any) -> None:
+    """Clear the current pending recovery record."""
+    get_runtime_state(app).pending_recovery = None
+
+
+def clear_activation_record(app: Any) -> None:
+    """Clear the current activation tracking record."""
+    get_runtime_state(app).last_activation = None