diff --git a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller-openjdk/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/openjdk/OpenJdkController.java b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller-openjdk/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/openjdk/OpenJdkController.java
index b8e775d4fb1..e5a625db7a7 100644
--- a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller-openjdk/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/openjdk/OpenJdkController.java
+++ b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller-openjdk/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/openjdk/OpenJdkController.java
@@ -192,10 +192,36 @@ public OpenJdkController(final ConfigProvider configProvider)
 
     // Toggle settings from config
 
-    if (configProvider.getBoolean(
-        ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED_DEFAULT)) {
-      log.debug("Enabling OldObjectSample JFR event with the config.");
-      recordingSettings.put("jdk.OldObjectSample#enabled", "true");
+    // Unified live heap (profiling.heap.enabled): when explicitly disabled, turn off
+    // OldObjectSample. When enabled (or default), if ddprof is likely handling live heap,
+    // proactively disable OldObjectSample to avoid double collection.
+    // disableOverriddenEvents() at recording start is the definitive safety net,
+    // but we disable here too so the settings map is consistent from the start.
+    if (!configProvider.getBoolean(
+        ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, isLiveHeapProfilingSafe())) {
+      disableEvent(recordingSettings, "jdk.OldObjectSample", "live heap profiling is disabled");
+    } else {
+      // ddprof live heap requires Java 11+ (JVMTI Allocation Sampler)
+      // isJmethodIDSafe() matches ddprof's own default for liveheap: it only enables
+      // MEMLEAK mode by default on versions where jmethodID is safe.
+      boolean ddprofLikelyActive =
+          isJavaVersionAtLeast(11)
+              && configProvider.getBoolean(
+                  ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_ENABLED, isJmethodIDSafe())
+              && configProvider.getBoolean(
+                  ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_ENABLED, true);
+      if (ddprofLikelyActive) {
+        disableEvent(
+            recordingSettings,
+            "jdk.OldObjectSample",
+            "ddprof live heap profiling is expected to handle live heap data");
+      } else if (isOldObjectSampleAvailable()) {
+        enableEvent(recordingSettings, "jdk.OldObjectSample", "heap profiling is enabled");
+      } else if (configProvider.getBoolean(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, false)) {
+        log.warn(
+            "Live heap profiling was explicitly requested but is not supported on this JVM version;"
+                + " no heap profiling data will be collected.");
+      }
     }
 
     if (configProvider.getBoolean(
@@ -240,9 +266,8 @@ ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_ALLOCATION_ENABLED, isObjectAllocationSampleAvailable(
 
     // Warn users for expensive events
 
-    if (!isOldObjectSampleAvailable()
-        && isEventEnabled(recordingSettings, "jdk.OldObjectSample#enabled")) {
-      log.warn("Inexpensive heap profiling is not supported for this JDK but is enabled.");
+    if (!isOldObjectSampleAvailable() && isEventEnabled(recordingSettings, "jdk.OldObjectSample")) {
+      log.warn("JFR based live heap profiling is not supported for this JDK but is enabled.");
     }
 
     if (isEventEnabled(recordingSettings, "jdk.ObjectAllocationInNewTLAB")
diff --git a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller-openjdk/src/test/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/openjdk/OpenJdkControllerTest.java b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller-openjdk/src/test/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/openjdk/OpenJdkControllerTest.java
index 3d90c346417..ef853d07b9a 100644
--- a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller-openjdk/src/test/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/openjdk/OpenJdkControllerTest.java
+++ b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller-openjdk/src/test/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/openjdk/OpenJdkControllerTest.java
@@ -16,9 +16,11 @@
 
 import com.datadog.profiling.controller.ControllerContext;
 import com.datadog.profiling.controller.jfr.JfpUtilsTest;
+import com.datadog.profiling.utils.ProfilingMode;
 import datadog.environment.JavaVirtualMachine;
 import datadog.trace.api.profiling.RecordingData;
 import datadog.trace.bootstrap.config.provider.ConfigProvider;
+import java.util.EnumSet;
 import java.util.Properties;
 import jdk.jfr.Recording;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeAll;
@@ -94,6 +96,8 @@ public void testHeapProfilerIsStillOverriddenOnUnsupportedVersion() throws Excep
   public void testHeapProfilerIsStillOverriddenThroughConfig() throws Exception {
     Properties props = getConfigProperties();
     props.put(PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, "true");
+    // Disable ddprof so OldObjectSample is not proactively disabled
+    props.put(PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_ENABLED, "false");
 
     ConfigProvider configProvider = ConfigProvider.withPropertiesOverride(props);
 
@@ -102,10 +106,11 @@ public void testHeapProfilerIsStillOverriddenThroughConfig() throws Exception {
         ((OpenJdkRecordingData)
                 controller.createRecording(TEST_NAME, new ControllerContext().snapshot()).stop())
             .getRecording()) {
-      if (!isOldObjectSampleAvailable()) {
-        assertEquals(
-            true, Boolean.parseBoolean(recording.getSettings().get("jdk.OldObjectSample#enabled")));
-      }
+      // On JVMs where OldObjectSample is not available (e.g. Java 8), explicitly enabling heap
+      // profiling has no effect — the event cannot be safely enabled.
+      assertEquals(
+          isOldObjectSampleAvailable(),
+          Boolean.parseBoolean(recording.getSettings().get("jdk.OldObjectSample#enabled")));
     }
   }
 
@@ -234,6 +239,43 @@ public void testNativeProfilerIsStillOverriddenOnUnsupportedVersion() throws Exc
     }
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testOldObjectSampleDisabledWhenDdprofMemleakActive() throws Exception {
+    Properties props = getConfigProperties();
+    props.put(PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_ENABLED, "true");
+
+    ConfigProvider configProvider = ConfigProvider.withPropertiesOverride(props);
+
+    ControllerContext context = new ControllerContext();
+    context.setDatadogProfilerEnabled(true);
+    context.setDatadogProfilingModes(EnumSet.of(ProfilingMode.MEMLEAK));
+
+    OpenJdkController controller = new OpenJdkController(configProvider);
+    try (final Recording recording =
+        ((OpenJdkRecordingData) controller.createRecording(TEST_NAME, context.snapshot()).stop())
+            .getRecording()) {
+      assertFalse(Boolean.parseBoolean(recording.getSettings().get("jdk.OldObjectSample#enabled")));
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testUnifiedFlagDisabledTurnsOffOldObjectSample() throws Exception {
+    Properties props = getConfigProperties();
+    props.put(PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, "false");
+
+    ConfigProvider configProvider = ConfigProvider.withPropertiesOverride(props);
+
+    OpenJdkController controller = new OpenJdkController(configProvider);
+    RecordingData data =
+        controller.createRecording(TEST_NAME, new ControllerContext().snapshot()).stop();
+    assertTrue(data instanceof OpenJdkRecordingData);
+    try (final Recording recording = ((OpenJdkRecordingData) data).getRecording()) {
+      assertFalse(
+          Boolean.parseBoolean(recording.getSettings().get("jdk.OldObjectSample#enabled")),
+          "OldObjectSample should be disabled when unified live heap flag is false");
+    }
+  }
+
   private static Properties getConfigProperties() {
     Properties props = new Properties();
     // make sure the async profiler is not force-enabled
diff --git a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilerFlareReporter.java b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilerFlareReporter.java
index 6488af7f6e2..95f538a715c 100644
--- a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilerFlareReporter.java
+++ b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilerFlareReporter.java
@@ -157,12 +157,19 @@ private String getProfilerConfig() {
         ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DIRECT_ALLOCATION_SAMPLE_LIMIT_DEFAULT);
 
     sb.append("\n=== Heap Profiling ===\n");
+    boolean heapDefault = ProfilingSupport.isLiveHeapProfilingSafe();
     appendConfig(
         sb,
         "Heap Profiling Enabled",
-        configProvider.getBoolean(
-            ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED_DEFAULT),
-        ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED_DEFAULT);
+        configProvider.getBoolean(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, heapDefault),
+        heapDefault);
+    appendConfig(
+        sb,
+        "DDProf Live Heap Enabled",
+        configProvider.getString(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_ENABLED),
+        null);
+    appendConfig(
+        sb, "JFR OldObjectSample Available", ProfilingSupport.isOldObjectSampleAvailable(), false);
     appendConfig(
         sb,
         "Heap Histogram Enabled",
diff --git a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilerSettingsSupport.java b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilerSettingsSupport.java
index d2a1d1e81e7..a60e6b8f1dc 100644
--- a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilerSettingsSupport.java
+++ b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilerSettingsSupport.java
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ protected ProfilerSettingsSupport(
             ProfilingSupport.isObjectAllocationSampleAvailable());
     heapProfilingEnabled =
         configProvider.getBoolean(
-            ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED_DEFAULT);
+            ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, ProfilingSupport.isLiveHeapProfilingSafe());
     startForceFirst =
         configProvider.getBoolean(
             ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_START_FORCE_FIRST,
diff --git a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilingSupport.java b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilingSupport.java
index cac2a4c506f..fc1a480795f 100644
--- a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilingSupport.java
+++ b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-controller/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/controller/ProfilingSupport.java
@@ -4,8 +4,41 @@
 import static datadog.environment.JavaVirtualMachine.isJavaVersionAtLeast;
 import static datadog.environment.JavaVirtualMachine.isOracleJDK8;
 
+import datadog.environment.JavaVirtualMachine;
+
 public class ProfilingSupport {
 
+  /**
+   * Checks whether jmethodID handling is safe on the current JVM version. Unsafe versions can cause
+   * crashes due to <a href="https://bugs.openjdk.org/browse/JDK-8313816">JDK-8313816</a>.
+   */
+  public static boolean isJmethodIDSafe() {
+    if (isJavaVersionAtLeast(22)) {
+      return true;
+    }
+    switch (JavaVirtualMachine.getLangVersion()) {
+      case "8":
+        return true;
+      case "11":
+        return isJavaVersionAtLeast(11, 0, 23);
+      case "17":
+        return isJavaVersionAtLeast(17, 0, 11);
+      case "21":
+        return isJavaVersionAtLeast(21, 0, 3);
+      default:
+        return false;
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Checks whether any live heap profiling mechanism is safe to enable on the current platform.
+   * Returns true if at least one of ddprof native (jmethodID safe) or JFR OldObjectSample is
+   * available.
+   */
+  public static boolean isLiveHeapProfilingSafe() {
+    return isJmethodIDSafe() || isOldObjectSampleAvailable();
+  }
+
   public static boolean isOldObjectSampleAvailable() {
     if (isOracleJDK8()) {
       return false;
diff --git a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-ddprof/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/ddprof/DatadogProfilerConfig.java b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-ddprof/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/ddprof/DatadogProfilerConfig.java
index 4abbe9520c7..60c0d5c2e60 100644
--- a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-ddprof/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/ddprof/DatadogProfilerConfig.java
+++ b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-ddprof/src/main/java/com/datadog/profiling/ddprof/DatadogProfilerConfig.java
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package com.datadog.profiling.ddprof;
 
+import static com.datadog.profiling.controller.ProfilingSupport.isOldObjectSampleAvailable;
 import static datadog.environment.JavaVirtualMachine.isJ9;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_ALLOCATION_ENABLED;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_CONTEXT_ATTRIBUTES;
@@ -20,7 +21,6 @@
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_CAPACITY;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_CAPACITY_DEFAULT;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_ENABLED;
-import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_ENABLED_DEFAULT;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_INTERVAL;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_SAMPLE_PERCENT;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_SAMPLE_PERCENT_DEFAULT;
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_WALL_ENABLED;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_WALL_INTERVAL;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_WALL_INTERVAL_DEFAULT;
+import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_TRACK_GENERATIONS;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_TRACK_GENERATIONS_DEFAULT;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_QUEUEING_TIME_ENABLED;
@@ -52,6 +53,7 @@
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_ULTRA_MINIMAL;
 import static datadog.trace.api.config.TraceInstrumentationConfig.TRACE_ENABLED;
 
+import com.datadog.profiling.controller.ProfilingSupport;
 import datadog.environment.JavaVirtualMachine;
 import datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig;
 import datadog.trace.bootstrap.config.provider.ConfigProvider;
@@ -165,26 +167,12 @@ public static boolean getWallContextFilter(ConfigProvider configProvider) {
         PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_WALL_CONTEXT_FILTER_DEFAULT);
   }
 
-  private static boolean isJmethodIDSafe() {
-    // see https://bugs.openjdk.org/browse/JDK-8313816
-    if (JavaVirtualMachine.isJavaVersionAtLeast(22)) {
-      // any version after 22 should be safe
-      return true;
-    }
-    switch (JavaVirtualMachine.getLangVersion()) {
-      case "8":
-        // Java 8 is not affected by the jmethodID issue
-        return true;
-      case "11":
-        return JavaVirtualMachine.isJavaVersionAtLeast(11, 0, 23);
-      case "17":
-        return JavaVirtualMachine.isJavaVersionAtLeast(17, 0, 11);
-      case "21":
-        return JavaVirtualMachine.isJavaVersionAtLeast(21, 0, 3);
-      default:
-        // any other non-LTS version should be considered unsafe
-        return false;
-    }
+  static boolean isJmethodIDSafe() {
+    return ProfilingSupport.isJmethodIDSafe();
+  }
+
+  static boolean isMemoryLeakProfilingSafe() {
+    return ProfilingSupport.isLiveHeapProfilingSafe();
   }
 
   public static boolean isAllocationProfilingEnabled(ConfigProvider configProvider) {
@@ -223,16 +211,29 @@ public static int getAllocationInterval() {
   }
 
   public static boolean isMemoryLeakProfilingEnabled(ConfigProvider configProvider) {
-    boolean isSafe = isJmethodIDSafe();
+    boolean unifiedEnabled =
+        configProvider.getBoolean(PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, isMemoryLeakProfilingSafe());
+    if (!unifiedEnabled) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    // JVMTI Allocation Sampler is required for ddprof live heap and is available since Java 11.
+    // isJmethodIDSafe() alone is not sufficient — Java 8 is jmethodID-safe but lacks the sampler.
+    boolean isSafe = JavaVirtualMachine.isJavaVersionAtLeast(11) && isJmethodIDSafe();
     boolean enableDdprofMemleak =
         getBoolean(
             configProvider,
             PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_ENABLED,
-            PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_ENABLED_DEFAULT,
+            isSafe,
             PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_MEMLEAK_ENABLED);
     if (!isSafe && enableDdprofMemleak) {
       log.warn(
-          "Memory leak profiling was enabled although it is not considered stable on this JVM version.");
+          "Live heap profiling (ddprof) was enabled although it is not considered stable"
+              + " on this JVM version.");
+    }
+    if (!enableDdprofMemleak && !isOldObjectSampleAvailable()) {
+      log.warn(
+          "ddprof live heap profiling is disabled and JFR OldObjectSample is not available"
+              + " on this JVM. Live heap profiling will be inactive.");
     }
     return enableDdprofMemleak;
   }
diff --git a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-ddprof/src/test/java/com/datadog/profiling/ddprof/DatadogProfilerConfigTest.java b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-ddprof/src/test/java/com/datadog/profiling/ddprof/DatadogProfilerConfigTest.java
index b7a07fbb5a2..ed4b4476606 100644
--- a/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-ddprof/src/test/java/com/datadog/profiling/ddprof/DatadogProfilerConfigTest.java
+++ b/dd-java-agent/agent-profiling/profiling-ddprof/src/test/java/com/datadog/profiling/ddprof/DatadogProfilerConfigTest.java
@@ -1,13 +1,18 @@
 package com.datadog.profiling.ddprof;
 
+import static com.datadog.profiling.controller.ProfilingSupport.isOldObjectSampleAvailable;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
 
+import datadog.environment.JavaVirtualMachine;
 import datadog.trace.api.config.ProfilingConfig;
 import datadog.trace.bootstrap.config.provider.ConfigProvider;
 import java.util.Properties;
 import java.util.stream.Stream;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import org.junit.jupiter.params.ParameterizedTest;
 import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.Arguments;
 import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.MethodSource;
@@ -126,4 +131,70 @@ private static Stream<Arguments> hotspotStackwalkerTestCases() {
         Arguments.of("lbr", "lbr"),
         Arguments.of("no", "no"));
   }
+
+  @Test
+  void isMemoryLeakProfilingSafeConsistentWithComponentChecks() {
+    boolean expected = DatadogProfilerConfig.isJmethodIDSafe() || isOldObjectSampleAvailable();
+    assertEquals(expected, DatadogProfilerConfig.isMemoryLeakProfilingSafe());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void unifiedFlagEnabledDdprofKeyDefaultReflectsSafety() {
+    Properties props = new Properties();
+    props.put(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, "true");
+    ConfigProvider config = ConfigProvider.withPropertiesOverride(props);
+    // ddprof live heap requires Java 11+ (JVMTI Allocation Sampler) AND jmethodID safety
+    boolean expectedDefault =
+        JavaVirtualMachine.isJavaVersionAtLeast(11) && DatadogProfilerConfig.isJmethodIDSafe();
+    assertEquals(expectedDefault, DatadogProfilerConfig.isMemoryLeakProfilingEnabled(config));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void unifiedFlagDisabledOverridesDdprof() {
+    Properties props = new Properties();
+    props.put(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, "false");
+    props.put(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_ENABLED, "true");
+    ConfigProvider config = ConfigProvider.withPropertiesOverride(props);
+    assertFalse(DatadogProfilerConfig.isMemoryLeakProfilingEnabled(config));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void unifiedFlagEnabledDdprofKeyDisabledReturnsFalse() {
+    Properties props = new Properties();
+    props.put(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, "true");
+    props.put(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_ENABLED, "false");
+    ConfigProvider config = ConfigProvider.withPropertiesOverride(props);
+    assertFalse(DatadogProfilerConfig.isMemoryLeakProfilingEnabled(config));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void unifiedFlagEnabledDdprofKeyEnabledReturnsTrue() {
+    Properties props = new Properties();
+    props.put(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, "true");
+    props.put(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_LIVEHEAP_ENABLED, "true");
+    ConfigProvider config = ConfigProvider.withPropertiesOverride(props);
+    assertTrue(DatadogProfilerConfig.isMemoryLeakProfilingEnabled(config));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void oldMemleakAliasStillWorks() {
+    Properties props = new Properties();
+    props.put(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_HEAP_ENABLED, "true");
+    props.put(ProfilingConfig.PROFILING_DATADOG_PROFILER_MEMLEAK_ENABLED, "true");
+    ConfigProvider config = ConfigProvider.withPropertiesOverride(props);
+    assertTrue(DatadogProfilerConfig.isMemoryLeakProfilingEnabled(config));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void defaultBehaviorNoFlagsSetUsesAutoDetection() {
+    Properties props = new Properties();
+    ConfigProvider config = ConfigProvider.withPropertiesOverride(props);
+    // With no flags set:
+    // unified default = isMemoryLeakProfilingSafe()
+    // ddprof default = Java 11+ && isJmethodIDSafe()
+    // result = isMemoryLeakProfilingSafe() && (Java 11+ && isJmethodIDSafe())
+    boolean expectedDefault =
+        JavaVirtualMachine.isJavaVersionAtLeast(11) && DatadogProfilerConfig.isJmethodIDSafe();
+    assertEquals(expectedDefault, DatadogProfilerConfig.isMemoryLeakProfilingEnabled(config));
+  }
 }
diff --git a/dd-smoke-tests/profiling-integration-tests/build.gradle b/dd-smoke-tests/profiling-integration-tests/build.gradle
index cdab8646de2..74fe60e6b82 100644
--- a/dd-smoke-tests/profiling-integration-tests/build.gradle
+++ b/dd-smoke-tests/profiling-integration-tests/build.gradle
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ dependencies {
   implementation 'org.xerial.snappy:snappy-java:1.1.8.4'
 
   testImplementation project(':dd-smoke-tests')
+  testImplementation project(':dd-java-agent:agent-profiling:profiling-controller')
   testImplementation project(':dd-java-agent:agent-profiling:profiling-testing')
   testImplementation libs.bundles.junit5
   testImplementation libs.bundles.mockito
diff --git a/dd-smoke-tests/profiling-integration-tests/src/test/java/datadog/smoketest/JFRBasedProfilingIntegrationTest.java b/dd-smoke-tests/profiling-integration-tests/src/test/java/datadog/smoketest/JFRBasedProfilingIntegrationTest.java
index 25f8e1454c1..452cea370d8 100644
--- a/dd-smoke-tests/profiling-integration-tests/src/test/java/datadog/smoketest/JFRBasedProfilingIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/dd-smoke-tests/profiling-integration-tests/src/test/java/datadog/smoketest/JFRBasedProfilingIntegrationTest.java
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package datadog.smoketest;
 
+import static com.datadog.profiling.controller.ProfilingSupport.isOldObjectSampleAvailable;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
@@ -700,6 +701,8 @@ private void assertRecordingEvents(
       assertEquals(
           JavaVirtualMachine.isJavaVersionAtLeast(11),
           events.apply(ItemFilters.type("datadog.ObjectSample")).hasItems());
+      // Check live heap events
+      // ddprof is active — jdk.OldObjectSample should NOT be present since ddprof takes over
       // TODO ddprof (async) profiler seems to be having some issues with stack depth limit and
       // native frames
     } else {
@@ -714,6 +717,12 @@ private void assertRecordingEvents(
           assertTrue(stackTrace.getFrames().size() <= STACK_DEPTH_LIMIT);
         }
       }
+      // Check JFR live heap events
+      if (isOldObjectSampleAvailable()) {
+        assertTrue(
+            events.apply(ItemFilters.type("jdk.OldObjectSample")).hasItems(),
+            "Expected jdk.OldObjectSample events on JFR-only mode with supported JVM");
+      }
     }
 
     // check exception events