diff --git a/.github/actions/image-cve-gate/action.yml b/.github/actions/image-cve-gate/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4689ead27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/image-cve-gate/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+name: Image CVE gate
+description: >-
+  Scan the push-by-digest blobs of a freshly built image and fail on a fixable
+  critical. Runs before the merge job tags them, so a rejected build stays
+  unreferenced: no build tag, no :latest, no descriptor bump, no chart.
+
+inputs:
+  image:
+    description: Image repository without a tag, e.g. ghcr.io/constructorfabric/insight-toolbox.
+    required: true
+  registry-username:
+    description: Registry user for pulling the digests under scan.
+    required: true
+  registry-password:
+    description: Registry token for pulling the digests under scan.
+    required: true
+  digests-dir:
+    description: Directory holding one empty file per pushed digest, named by the digest.
+    default: /tmp/digests
+  severity:
+    description: Severities that fail the build.
+    default: CRITICAL
+  trivy-image:
+    description: Trivy image, pinned by digest.
+    default: aquasec/trivy:0.72.0@sha256:cffe3f5161a47a6823fbd23d985795b3ed72a4c806da4c4df16266c02accdd6f
+
+runs:
+  using: composite
+  steps:
+    - shell: bash
+      env:
+        IMAGE: ${{ inputs.image }}
+        DIGESTS_DIR: ${{ inputs.digests-dir }}
+        SEVERITY: ${{ inputs.severity }}
+        TRIVY_IMAGE: ${{ inputs.trivy-image }}
+        TRIVY_USERNAME: ${{ inputs.registry-username }}
+        TRIVY_PASSWORD: ${{ inputs.registry-password }}
+      run: |
+        set -euo pipefail
+        shopt -s nullglob
+        digests=("$DIGESTS_DIR"/*)
+        if [ ${#digests[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
+          echo "::error::no digests in $DIGESTS_DIR — nothing was scanned"
+          exit 1
+        fi
+        for f in "${digests[@]}"; do
+          ref="${IMAGE}@sha256:$(basename "$f")"
+          echo "::group::$ref"
+          docker run --rm \
+            -e TRIVY_USERNAME -e TRIVY_PASSWORD \
+            -v "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE:/work" -w /work \
+            -v /tmp/trivy-cache:/root/.cache \
+            "$TRIVY_IMAGE" image \
+              --scanners vuln \
+              --severity "$SEVERITY" \
+              --pkg-types os,library \
+              --ignore-unfixed \
+              --exit-code 1 \
+              --no-progress \
+              "$ref"
+          echo "::endgroup::"
+        done
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-images.yml b/.github/workflows/build-images.yml
index ed080549b..48dfabc8e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-images.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-images.yml
@@ -382,6 +382,15 @@ jobs:
           tags: |
             type=raw,value=${{ needs.changes.outputs.build_tag }}
             type=raw,value=latest,enable=${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
+      - uses: actions/checkout@93cb6efe18208431cddfb8368fd83d5badbf9bfd # v5.0.1
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - name: Fail on a fixable critical before any tag points here
+        uses: ./.github/actions/image-cve-gate
+        with:
+          image: ${{ env.IMAGE_PREFIX }}/insight-analytics
+          registry-username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          registry-password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       - name: Create multi-arch manifest and push
         working-directory: /tmp/digests
         run: |
@@ -487,6 +496,15 @@ jobs:
           tags: |
             type=raw,value=${{ needs.changes.outputs.build_tag }}
             type=raw,value=latest,enable=${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
+      - uses: actions/checkout@93cb6efe18208431cddfb8368fd83d5badbf9bfd # v5.0.1
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - name: Fail on a fixable critical before any tag points here
+        uses: ./.github/actions/image-cve-gate
+        with:
+          image: ${{ env.IMAGE_PREFIX }}/insight-authenticator
+          registry-username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          registry-password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       - name: Create multi-arch manifest and push
         working-directory: /tmp/digests
         run: |
@@ -592,6 +610,15 @@ jobs:
           tags: |
             type=raw,value=${{ needs.changes.outputs.build_tag }}
             type=raw,value=latest,enable=${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
+      - uses: actions/checkout@93cb6efe18208431cddfb8368fd83d5badbf9bfd # v5.0.1
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - name: Fail on a fixable critical before any tag points here
+        uses: ./.github/actions/image-cve-gate
+        with:
+          image: ${{ env.IMAGE_PREFIX }}/insight-gateway
+          registry-username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          registry-password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       - name: Create multi-arch manifest and push
         working-directory: /tmp/digests
         run: |
@@ -711,6 +738,15 @@ jobs:
           tags: |
             type=raw,value=${{ needs.changes.outputs.build_tag }}
             type=raw,value=latest,enable=${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
+      - uses: actions/checkout@93cb6efe18208431cddfb8368fd83d5badbf9bfd # v5.0.1
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - name: Fail on a fixable critical before any tag points here
+        uses: ./.github/actions/image-cve-gate
+        with:
+          image: ${{ env.IMAGE_PREFIX }}/insight-identity-resolution
+          registry-username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          registry-password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       - name: Create multi-arch manifest and push
         working-directory: /tmp/digests
         run: |
@@ -839,6 +875,15 @@ jobs:
           tags: |
             type=raw,value=${{ needs.changes.outputs.build_tag }}
             type=raw,value=latest,enable=${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
+      - uses: actions/checkout@93cb6efe18208431cddfb8368fd83d5badbf9bfd # v5.0.1
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - name: Fail on a fixable critical before any tag points here
+        uses: ./.github/actions/image-cve-gate
+        with:
+          image: ${{ env.IMAGE_PREFIX }}/insight-front
+          registry-username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          registry-password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       - name: Create multi-arch manifest and push
         working-directory: /tmp/digests
         run: |
@@ -1009,6 +1054,15 @@ jobs:
           tags: |
             type=raw,value=${{ needs.changes.outputs.build_tag }}
             type=raw,value=latest,enable=${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
+      - uses: actions/checkout@93cb6efe18208431cddfb8368fd83d5badbf9bfd # v5.0.1
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - name: Fail on a fixable critical before any tag points here
+        uses: ./.github/actions/image-cve-gate
+        with:
+          image: ${{ env.IMAGE_PREFIX }}/insight-toolbox
+          registry-username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          registry-password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       - name: Create multi-arch manifest and push
         working-directory: /tmp/digests
         run: |
@@ -1270,6 +1324,15 @@ jobs:
           tags: |
             type=raw,value=${{ needs.changes.outputs.build_tag }}
             type=raw,value=latest,enable=${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
+      - uses: actions/checkout@93cb6efe18208431cddfb8368fd83d5badbf9bfd # v5.0.1
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - name: Fail on a fixable critical before any tag points here
+        uses: ./.github/actions/image-cve-gate
+        with:
+          image: ${{ env.IMAGE_PREFIX }}/${{ matrix.entry.name }}
+          registry-username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          registry-password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       - name: Create multi-arch manifest and push
         working-directory: /tmp/digests
         run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/trivy-images.yml b/.github/workflows/trivy-images.yml
index 58e00b239..a860e19f1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/trivy-images.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/trivy-images.yml
@@ -142,3 +142,12 @@ jobs:
           sarif_file: trivy-image.sarif
           # Per-image category: one analysis per image, so alerts never overwrite each other.
           category: trivy-image:${{ matrix.image }}
+
+      - name: Fail on a fixable critical
+        # Last, and reusing the scan's JSON, so the summary and the SARIF upload still run.
+        env:
+          TRIVY_IMAGE: aquasec/trivy:0.72.0@sha256:cffe3f5161a47a6823fbd23d985795b3ed72a4c806da4c4df16266c02accdd6f
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          docker run --rm -v "${{ github.workspace }}:/work" "$TRIVY_IMAGE" convert \
+            --severity CRITICAL --exit-code 1 --format table /work/trivy-image.json