diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index d0c629c3..8dec9252 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -107,17 +107,20 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: read
-      security-events: write
     steps:
       - name: Checkout (full history)
-        uses: actions/checkout@df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10 # v6.0.3
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
-      - name: Run gitleaks
-        uses: gitleaks/gitleaks-action@e0c47f4f8be36e29cdc102c57e68cb5cbf0e8d1e # v3.0.0
+      - name: Install gitleaks
         env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          GITLEAKS_LICENSE: ${{ secrets.GITLEAKS_LICENSE }}
-          GITLEAKS_CONFIG: .gitleaks.toml
-          GITLEAKS_ARGS: detect --source . --redact --verbose --exit-code 1
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          gh release download v8.30.1 --repo gitleaks/gitleaks --pattern 'gitleaks_8.30.1_linux_x64.tar.gz' --output /tmp/gitleaks.tar.gz
+          echo "551f6fc83ea457d62a0d98237cbad105af8d557003051f41f3e7ca7b3f2470eb  /tmp/gitleaks.tar.gz" | sha256sum -c
+          tar -xzf /tmp/gitleaks.tar.gz -C /tmp gitleaks
+          sudo mv /tmp/gitleaks /usr/local/bin/gitleaks
+
+      - name: Run gitleaks
+        run: gitleaks detect --source . --redact --verbose --exit-code 1
diff --git a/scripts/compliance-audit.sh b/scripts/compliance-audit.sh
index 73f11abd..9412dd29 100755
--- a/scripts/compliance-audit.sh
+++ b/scripts/compliance-audit.sh
@@ -229,11 +229,10 @@ check_action_pinning() {
     # Find uses: directives that are NOT SHA-pinned
     # SHA-pinned: uses: owner/action@<40+ hex chars>
     # Exclude docker:// and ./ references
-    # Exclude internal reusable workflow calls to petry-projects/.github and
-    # petry-projects/.github-private — per ci-standards.md#action-pinning-policy,
-    # these use deliberate tag refs (@v1, @v2, @main) and are explicitly exempt.
+    # Exclude $ORG/.github reusable workflow refs — these use tag refs
+    # (@v1, @v2, @main) by design per ci-standards.md#action-pinning-policy
     local unpinned
-    unpinned=$(echo "$decoded" | grep -E '^[[:space:]]*-?[[:space:]]*uses:[[:space:]]+[^#]*@' | grep -vE '@[0-9a-f]{40}' | grep -vE '(docker://|\.\/)' | grep -vE 'uses:[[:space:]]+petry-projects/(\.github|\.github-private)/' || true)
+    unpinned=$(echo "$decoded" | grep -E '^[[:space:]]*-?[[:space:]]*uses:[[:space:]]+[^#]*@' | grep -vE '@[0-9a-f]{40}' | grep -vE '(docker://|\.\/)' | grep -vE "uses:[[:space:]]+$ORG/\\.github(-private)?/\\.github/workflows/" || true)
 
     if [ -n "$unpinned" ]; then
       local count
diff --git a/scripts/lib/push-protection.sh b/scripts/lib/push-protection.sh
index a5ec639a..df3ed364 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/push-protection.sh
+++ b/scripts/lib/push-protection.sh
@@ -230,8 +230,10 @@ pp_check_secret_scan_ci_job() {
     return
   fi
 
-  # Match actual action references, not bare mentions in comments or docs.
-  if ! echo "$ci_content" | grep -qE 'uses:[[:space:]]*(gitleaks/gitleaks-action|zricethezav/gitleaks-action)@'; then
+  # Accept either the gitleaks action or the gitleaks CLI (inline or block run:).
+  # The action requires a paid org license (gitleaks.io); the CLI installed via
+  # binary download is a license-free alternative.
+  if ! echo "$ci_content" | grep -qE '(^[[:space:]]*-?[[:space:]]*uses:[[:space:]]*(gitleaks/gitleaks-action|zricethezav/gitleaks-action)@|gitleaks[[:space:]]+detect([[:space:]]|$))'; then
     add_finding "$repo" "push-protection" "secret_scan_ci_job_present" "error" \
       "\`ci.yml\` does not contain a job using \`gitleaks\` — add the secret-scan job from the standard" \
       "$PP_STANDARD_REF#required-ci-job"
diff --git a/standards/push-protection.md b/standards/push-protection.md
index 85aa4f3e..401637a4 100644
--- a/standards/push-protection.md
+++ b/standards/push-protection.md
@@ -216,7 +216,6 @@ secret-scan:
   runs-on: ubuntu-latest
   permissions:
     contents: read
-    security-events: write
   steps:
     - name: Checkout (full history)
       # Pin to SHA per Action Pinning Policy (ci-standards.md#action-pinning-policy).
@@ -225,17 +224,29 @@ secret-scan:
       with:
         fetch-depth: 0
 
-    - name: Run gitleaks
-      # Pinned to SHA per Action Pinning Policy (ci-standards.md#action-pinning-policy).
-      # Refresh with: gh api repos/gitleaks/gitleaks-action/git/refs/tags/v2 --jq '.object.sha'
-      # then dereference if it points at an annotated tag.
-      uses: gitleaks/gitleaks-action@ff98106e4c7b2bc287b24eaf42907196329070c7 # v2.3.9
-      with:
-        args: detect --source . --redact --verbose --exit-code 1
+    - name: Install gitleaks
+      # Download the pre-built binary and verify its SHA256 checksum.
+      # To upgrade: download the new checksums.txt from the gitleaks release page,
+      # update the version tag and the sha256 hash below.
       env:
-        GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      run: |
+        gh release download v8.30.1 --repo gitleaks/gitleaks --pattern 'gitleaks_8.30.1_linux_x64.tar.gz' --output /tmp/gitleaks.tar.gz
+        echo "551f6fc83ea457d62a0d98237cbad105af8d557003051f41f3e7ca7b3f2470eb  /tmp/gitleaks.tar.gz" | sha256sum -c
+        tar -xzf /tmp/gitleaks.tar.gz -C /tmp gitleaks
+        sudo mv /tmp/gitleaks /usr/local/bin/gitleaks
+
+    - name: Run gitleaks
+      run: gitleaks detect --source . --redact --verbose --exit-code 1
 ```
 
+> **Why CLI instead of `gitleaks/gitleaks-action`?** The action's v2 release
+> requires a paid license for GitHub organization repos. The CLI (installed via
+> a direct binary download with SHA256 verification) is free, fully pinned, and
+> runs the same scan. If you have a license, you can use the action instead —
+> add `GITLEAKS_LICENSE: ${{ secrets.GITLEAKS_LICENSE }}` to the `env:` block
+> alongside `GITHUB_TOKEN`.
+
 The job MUST:
 
 - Use `fetch-depth: 0` so the full git history is scanned, not just the