diff --git a/cpp/CMakeLists.txt b/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
index 8225d93655..1946012ca4 100644
--- a/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -109,8 +109,12 @@ if(BUILD_MSAN)
   add_link_options(-fsanitize=memory)
 endif(BUILD_MSAN)
 
+# Note: -UNDEBUG is applied via CUOPT_CXX_FLAGS / CUOPT_CUDA_FLAGS (not add_definitions)
+# to avoid leaking into dependencies that are built in-tree.
 if(DEFINE_ASSERT)
   add_definitions(-DASSERT_MODE)
+  list(APPEND CUOPT_CXX_FLAGS -UNDEBUG)
+  list(APPEND CUOPT_CUDA_FLAGS -UNDEBUG)
 endif(DEFINE_ASSERT)
 
 if(DEFINE_BENCHMARK)
@@ -184,13 +188,6 @@ elseif(CMAKE_CUDA_LINEINFO)
   set(CMAKE_CUDA_FLAGS_RELEASE "${CMAKE_CUDA_FLAGS_RELEASE} -lineinfo")
 endif(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE MATCHES Debug)
 
-# Undefine NDEBUG if assert mode is on
-if(DEFINE_ASSERT)
-  message(STATUS "Undefining NDEBUG with assert mode enabled")
-  add_definitions(-UNDEBUG)
-endif()
-
-
 # ##################################################################################################
 # - find CPM based dependencies  ------------------------------------------------------------------
 rapids_cpm_init()
diff --git a/cpp/tests/linear_programming/c_api_tests/c_api_tests.cpp b/cpp/tests/linear_programming/c_api_tests/c_api_tests.cpp
index 995b2194c4..d39a970763 100644
--- a/cpp/tests/linear_programming/c_api_tests/c_api_tests.cpp
+++ b/cpp/tests/linear_programming/c_api_tests/c_api_tests.cpp
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ class CPUOnlyTestEnvironment {
 
 // TODO: Add numerical assertions once gRPC remote solver replaces the stub implementation.
 // Currently validates that the CPU-only C API path completes without errors.
-TEST(c_api_cpu_only, DISABLED_lp_solve)
+TEST(c_api_cpu_only, lp_solve)
 {
   CPUOnlyTestEnvironment env;
   const std::string& rapidsDatasetRootDir = cuopt::test::get_rapids_dataset_root_dir();
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ TEST(c_api_cpu_only, DISABLED_lp_solve)
 }
 
 // TODO: Add numerical assertions once gRPC remote solver replaces the stub implementation.
-TEST(c_api_cpu_only, DISABLED_mip_solve)
+TEST(c_api_cpu_only, mip_solve)
 {
   CPUOnlyTestEnvironment env;
   const std::string& rapidsDatasetRootDir = cuopt::test::get_rapids_dataset_root_dir();
diff --git a/python/cuopt/cuopt/tests/linear_programming/test_cpu_only_execution.py b/python/cuopt/cuopt/tests/linear_programming/test_cpu_only_execution.py
index e8dd179e05..792942aae9 100644
--- a/python/cuopt/cuopt/tests/linear_programming/test_cpu_only_execution.py
+++ b/python/cuopt/cuopt/tests/linear_programming/test_cpu_only_execution.py
@@ -168,8 +168,6 @@ def _impl_warmstart_cpu_only():
 class TestCPUOnlyExecution:
     """Tests that run with CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES='' to simulate CPU-only hosts."""
 
-    pytestmark = pytest.mark.skip(reason="CPU-only tests temporarily disabled")
-
     @pytest.fixture
     def env(self):
         return _cpu_only_env()
@@ -203,8 +201,6 @@ def test_warmstart_cpu_only(self, env):
 class TestCuoptCliCPUOnly:
     """Test that cuopt_cli runs without CUDA in remote-execution mode."""
 
-    pytestmark = pytest.mark.skip(reason="CPU-only tests temporarily disabled")
-
     @pytest.fixture
     def env(self):
         return _cpu_only_env()