diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index b9c5e64..89bbedd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -79,6 +79,13 @@ jobs:
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
 
+      - name: Build Bash 4.2 release-artifact fixture
+        run: |
+          scripts/release-artifact build \
+            --version 2.0.0 \
+            --commit "$(git rev-parse --verify 'HEAD^{commit}')" \
+            --output "$RUNNER_TEMP/base-bash-42-release-artifact"
+
       - name: Run Bash 4.2 compatibility smokes
         run: |
           docker run --rm \
@@ -92,7 +99,9 @@ jobs:
             --tmpfs /tmp:rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,size=16m,mode=1777 \
             --env HOME=/tmp \
             --env TMPDIR=/tmp \
+            --env BASE_BASH_RELEASE_ARTIFACT_FIXTURE=/release-artifact \
             --mount "type=bind,src=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE,dst=/workspace,readonly" \
+            --mount "type=bind,src=$RUNNER_TEMP/base-bash-42-release-artifact,dst=/release-artifact,readonly" \
             --workdir /workspace \
             docker.io/library/bash@sha256:0931edd3941d0603cb3d5da1cb298cf3eb6a579e09e094c3e34e2d5e9df8cddc \
             bash -c '
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 149713b..255557b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,12 @@ and versions are tracked in the repo-root `VERSION` file.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Security
+
+- Bound offline release verification to one complete asset set by requiring
+  strict checksum coverage and consistent archive, provenance, SBOM, version,
+  and source-commit identity.
+
 ### Fixed
 
 - Eliminated an intermittent macOS Bash process-group race in supervised
diff --git a/docs/release-process.md b/docs/release-process.md
index e7d352b..f6b4031 100644
--- a/docs/release-process.md
+++ b/docs/release-process.md
@@ -32,7 +32,13 @@ delegating safe operations to Base's generic release machinery.
    embeds `lib/bash/base-bash-libs.release` with the exact release version,
    tag commit, `dirty_state=clean`, and `provenance=release-artifact`; this
    metadata is generated in the artifact rather than committed with a
-   self-referential commit hash.
+   self-referential commit hash. Offline verification requires exactly one
+   same-version archive, SBOM, provenance statement, and checksum manifest.
+   The checksum manifest must cover every mandatory asset exactly once, while
+   the provenance subject, SBOM namespace/package, and embedded metadata must
+   agree on the archive digest, version, and full source commit. Treat any
+   missing, duplicate, traversal-bearing, or inconsistent record as a failed
+   release gate; do not choose one asset from an ambiguous directory.
 5. Run the full library validation and inspect the diff:
 
    ```bash
diff --git a/scripts/release-artifact b/scripts/release-artifact
index aee8a35..2c23a56 100755
--- a/scripts/release-artifact
+++ b/scripts/release-artifact
@@ -52,6 +52,20 @@ commit_is_full_sha() {
     [[ "${1-}" =~ ^[[:xdigit:]]{40}$ ]]
 }
 
+file_contains_once() {
+    local path="$1" value="$2" count
+    count="$(LC_ALL=C grep -oF -- "$value" "$path" | wc -l | tr -d '[:space:]')"
+    [[ "$count" == 1 ]]
+}
+
+metadata_value() {
+    local path="$1" key="$2"
+    local -a values=()
+    mapfile -t values < <(sed -n "s/^${key}=//p" "$path")
+    ((${#values[@]} == 1)) || return 1
+    printf '%s' "${values[0]}"
+}
+
 repo_is_clean() {
     local status
     status="$(git -C "$repo_root" status --porcelain 2> /dev/null)" || return 1
@@ -286,21 +300,75 @@ build_artifact() {
 }
 
 verify_artifact() {
-    local output="${1-}" archive sums sbom provenance expected path actual temp root_name
+    local output="${1-}" archive sums sbom provenance version
+    local archive_name sums_name sbom_name provenance_name selected
+    local expected path actual line checksum_pattern line_number=0 temp root_name entry
+    local provenance_subject provenance_parameters provenance_dependency provenance_reproducible
+    local sbom_name_record sbom_namespace sbom_package
+    local embedded_version bundle_version bundle_commit release_version release_commit archive_sha
+    local -a archives=() sums_files=() sboms=() provenances=() required_paths=()
+    local -A checksum_seen=()
     [[ -d "$output" ]] || {
         error "Artifact directory does not exist: $output"
         return 2
     }
-    archive="$(find "$output" -type f -name 'base-bash-libs-v*.tar.gz' -print | sed -n '1p')"
-    sbom="$(find "$output" -type f -name 'base-bash-libs-v*.spdx.json' -print | sed -n '1p')"
-    provenance="$(find "$output" -type f -name 'base-bash-libs-v*.provenance.json' -print | sed -n '1p')"
-    sums="$(find "$output" -type f -name 'base-bash-libs-v*.SHA256SUMS' -print | sed -n '1p')"
-    [[ -f "$archive" && -f "$sbom" && -f "$provenance" && -f "$sums" ]] || {
-        error 'Artifact directory must contain archive, SBOM, provenance, and checksum assets.'
+    output="$(cd -- "$output" && pwd -P)" || return 2
+    mapfile -t archives < <(find "$output" -name 'base-bash-libs-v*.tar.gz' -print)
+    mapfile -t sboms < <(find "$output" -name 'base-bash-libs-v*.spdx.json' -print)
+    mapfile -t provenances < <(find "$output" -name 'base-bash-libs-v*.provenance.json' -print)
+    mapfile -t sums_files < <(find "$output" -name 'base-bash-libs-v*.SHA256SUMS' -print)
+    if ((${#archives[@]} != 1 || ${#sboms[@]} != 1 || ${#provenances[@]} != 1 || ${#sums_files[@]} != 1)); then
+        error 'Artifact directory must contain exactly one archive, SBOM, provenance, and checksum asset.'
+        return 1
+    fi
+    archive="${archives[0]}"
+    sbom="${sboms[0]}"
+    provenance="${provenances[0]}"
+    sums="${sums_files[0]}"
+    for selected in "$archive" "$sbom" "$provenance" "$sums"; do
+        [[ "${selected%/*}" == "$output" && ! -L "$selected" ]] || {
+            error 'Canonical release assets must be regular files in the artifact directory root.'
+            return 1
+        }
+    done
+
+    archive_name="${archive##*/}"
+    version="${archive_name#base-bash-libs-v}"
+    version="${version%.tar.gz}"
+    version_is_supported "$version" || {
+        error "Archive version is not supported: $version"
+        return 1
+    }
+    sbom_name="base-bash-libs-v$version.spdx.json"
+    provenance_name="base-bash-libs-v$version.provenance.json"
+    sums_name="base-bash-libs-v$version.SHA256SUMS"
+    [[ "${sbom##*/}" == "$sbom_name" && "${provenance##*/}" == "$provenance_name" && "${sums##*/}" == "$sums_name" ]] || {
+        error 'Archive, SBOM, provenance, and checksum filenames do not identify the same version.'
         return 1
     }
-    while read -r expected path; do
-        [[ -n "$expected" && -n "$path" ]] || continue
+
+    required_paths=("$archive_name" "$sbom_name" "$provenance_name")
+    checksum_pattern='^([0-9a-f]{64})  ([^[:space:]/]+)$'
+    while IFS= read -r line || [[ -n "$line" ]]; do
+        line_number=$((line_number + 1))
+        [[ "$line" =~ $checksum_pattern ]] || {
+            error "Malformed checksum entry at line $line_number."
+            return 1
+        }
+        expected="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+        path="${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"
+        case "$path" in
+        "$archive_name" | "$sbom_name" | "$provenance_name") ;;
+        *)
+            error "Unexpected or unsafe checksum entry: $path"
+            return 1
+            ;;
+        esac
+        [[ -z "${checksum_seen[$path]+present}" ]] || {
+            error "Duplicate checksum entry: $path"
+            return 1
+        }
+        checksum_seen[$path]=1
         [[ -f "$output/$path" ]] || {
             error "Checksum entry is missing: $path"
             return 1
@@ -311,12 +379,50 @@ verify_artifact() {
             return 1
         }
     done < "$sums"
-    grep -F '"reproducible": true' "$provenance" > /dev/null || {
-        error 'Provenance does not declare a reproducible build.'
+    for path in "${required_paths[@]}"; do
+        [[ -n "${checksum_seen[$path]+present}" ]] || {
+            error "Checksum manifest does not cover mandatory asset: $path"
+            return 1
+        }
+    done
+    ((${#checksum_seen[@]} == ${#required_paths[@]})) || {
+        error 'Checksum manifest does not describe exactly the mandatory release assets.'
+        return 1
+    }
+
+    archive_sha="$(hash_file "$archive")" || return 1
+    provenance_subject="  \"subject\": [{\"name\": \"$archive_name\", \"digest\": {\"sha256\": \"$archive_sha\"}}],"
+    provenance_parameters="      \"externalParameters\": {\"version\": \"$version\", \"sourceCommit\": \""
+    provenance_dependency='      "resolvedDependencies": [{"uri": "git+https://github.com/basefoundry/base-bash-libs.git", "digest": {"sha1": "'
+    provenance_reproducible='    "runDetails": {"builder": {"id": "base-bash-libs/release-artifact"}, "metadata": {"reproducible": true}}'
+    file_contains_once "$provenance" "$provenance_subject" || {
+        error 'Provenance subject does not bind to the selected archive and digest.'
         return 1
     }
-    grep -F '"spdxVersion": "SPDX-2.3"' "$sbom" > /dev/null || {
-        error 'SBOM is not SPDX 2.3.'
+    file_contains_once "$provenance" "$provenance_parameters" || {
+        error 'Provenance does not identify the selected release version exactly once.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    file_contains_once "$provenance" '"sourceCommit":' || {
+        error 'Provenance source commit is missing or ambiguous.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    file_contains_once "$provenance" "$provenance_dependency" || {
+        error 'Provenance source dependency is missing or ambiguous.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    file_contains_once "$provenance" "$provenance_reproducible" || {
+        error 'Provenance does not declare one canonical reproducible build.'
+        return 1
+    }
+
+    sbom_name_record="  \"name\": \"base-bash-libs-v$version-sbom\","
+    file_contains_once "$sbom" '"spdxVersion": "SPDX-2.3"' || {
+        error 'SBOM does not identify one SPDX 2.3 document.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    file_contains_once "$sbom" "$sbom_name_record" || {
+        error 'SBOM name does not identify the selected release version.'
         return 1
     }
     temp="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/base-bash-release-verify.XXXXXX")" || return 1
@@ -325,26 +431,117 @@ verify_artifact() {
         error 'Unable to list release archive.'
         return 1
     fi
-    if grep -E '(^/|(^|/)\.\.?/)' "$temp/list" > /dev/null; then
+    if ! tar -tvzf "$archive" > "$temp/verbose-list" || grep -Ev '^-' "$temp/verbose-list" > /dev/null; then
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Release archive must contain only regular files.'
+        return 1
+    fi
+    if grep -E '(^/|(^|/)\.\.?(/|$))' "$temp/list" > /dev/null; then
         rm -rf -- "$temp"
         error 'Release archive contains an unsafe path.'
         return 1
     fi
     root_name="$(sed -n '1s#/.*##p' "$temp/list")"
-    [[ -n "$root_name" ]] || {
+    [[ "$root_name" == "base-bash-libs-v$version" ]] || {
         rm -rf -- "$temp"
-        error 'Release archive has no root directory.'
+        error 'Release archive root does not identify the selected version.'
         return 1
     }
+    while IFS= read -r entry || [[ -n "$entry" ]]; do
+        [[ "$entry" == "$root_name/"* ]] || {
+            rm -rf -- "$temp"
+            error 'Release archive contains more than one root or an unsafe member.'
+            return 1
+        }
+    done < "$temp/list"
+    if [[ -n "$(LC_ALL=C sort "$temp/list" | uniq -d | sed -n '1p')" ]]; then
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Release archive contains a duplicate member.'
+        return 1
+    fi
     tar -xzf "$archive" -C "$temp" || {
         rm -rf -- "$temp"
         return 1
     }
+    [[ -d "$temp/$root_name" && ! -L "$temp/$root_name" ]] || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Release archive root is not a regular directory.'
+        return 1
+    }
     "$repo_root/scripts/library-bundle" verify "$temp/$root_name" > /dev/null || {
         rm -rf -- "$temp"
         error 'Embedded bundle verification failed.'
         return 1
     }
+    [[ -f "$temp/$root_name/VERSION" ]] || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Embedded release version metadata is missing.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    embedded_version="$(< "$temp/$root_name/VERSION")"
+    bundle_version="$(metadata_value "$temp/$root_name/BUNDLE.release" source_version)" || bundle_version=''
+    bundle_commit="$(metadata_value "$temp/$root_name/BUNDLE.release" source_commit)" || bundle_commit=''
+    release_version="$(metadata_value "$temp/$root_name/lib/bash/base-bash-libs.release" version)" || release_version=''
+    release_commit="$(metadata_value "$temp/$root_name/lib/bash/base-bash-libs.release" commit)" || release_commit=''
+    [[ "$embedded_version" == "$version" && "$bundle_version" == "$version" && "$release_version" == "$version" ]] || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Version identity disagrees across filenames and embedded release metadata.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    [[ -n "$bundle_commit" && "$bundle_commit" == "$release_commit" ]] || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Source commit identity disagrees across embedded release metadata.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    commit_is_full_sha "$bundle_commit" || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Embedded source commit is not a full SHA.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    provenance_parameters="${provenance_parameters}${bundle_commit}\", \"dirtyState\": \"clean\"},"
+    provenance_dependency="${provenance_dependency}${bundle_commit}\"}}]"
+    file_contains_once "$provenance" "$provenance_parameters" || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Provenance version and source commit disagree with embedded release metadata.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    file_contains_once "$provenance" "$provenance_dependency" || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Provenance dependency digest disagrees with embedded release metadata.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    sbom_namespace="  \"documentNamespace\": \"https://github.com/basefoundry/base-bash-libs/releases/v$version/$bundle_commit\","
+    sbom_package="  \"packages\": [{\"SPDXID\": \"SPDXRef-Package\", \"name\": \"base-bash-libs\", \"versionInfo\": \"$version\", \"downloadLocation\": \"https://github.com/basefoundry/base-bash-libs/releases/tag/v$version\", \"licenseConcluded\": \"Apache-2.0\", \"licenseDeclared\": \"Apache-2.0\"}],"
+    file_contains_once "$sbom" "$sbom_namespace" || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'SBOM namespace disagrees with the release version or source commit.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    file_contains_once "$sbom" "$sbom_package" || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'SBOM package identity disagrees with the selected release version.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    write_provenance "$temp/expected.provenance.json" "$version" "$bundle_commit" "$archive_name" "$archive_sha" || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Unable to reconstruct canonical release provenance.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    cmp -s -- "$provenance" "$temp/expected.provenance.json" || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Provenance statement is not the canonical record for the selected artifact.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    write_sbom "$temp/expected.spdx.json" "$version" "$bundle_commit" "$temp/$root_name" || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'Unable to reconstruct the canonical release SBOM.'
+        return 1
+    }
+    cmp -s -- "$sbom" "$temp/expected.spdx.json" || {
+        rm -rf -- "$temp"
+        error 'SBOM is not the canonical record for the selected artifact.'
+        return 1
+    }
     rm -rf -- "$temp"
     printf 'Canonical release artifact set verified: %s\n' "$output"
 }
diff --git a/tests/bash-42-release-smoke.sh b/tests/bash-42-release-smoke.sh
index a0c2e33..8433eac 100755
--- a/tests/bash-42-release-smoke.sh
+++ b/tests/bash-42-release-smoke.sh
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ git() {
 
 main() {
     local expected_major="${1-}" expected_minor="${2-}" expected_patch="${3-}"
-    local script_dir repo_root release_script release_driver capture_path output_path
+    local script_dir repo_root release_script release_driver release_artifact
+    local capture_path output_path artifact_output source_commit artifact_fixture
 
     if (($# != 0 && $# != 3)); then
         release_smoke_fail "usage: $0 [expected-major expected-minor expected-patch]"
@@ -94,8 +95,7 @@ main() {
         "$release_script" check --version 1.5.0 || return 1
 
     rm -f -- "$capture_path"
-    "$release_script" publish --version 2.0.0 --yes > "$output_path" 2>&1
-    if (($? != 0)); then
+    if ! "$release_script" publish --version 2.0.0 --yes > "$output_path" 2>&1; then
         release_smoke_fail "GA release command was not delegated."
         return 1
     fi
@@ -106,7 +106,33 @@ main() {
     release_smoke_expect_blocked "$capture_path" "$output_path" \
         "$release_script" publish --version 2.0.0 --manifest --dry-run --yes || return 1
 
-    printf 'Bash release-guard smoke passed on Bash %s.\n' "$BASH_VERSION"
+    # The release-artifact verifier is part of the minimum-Bash trust boundary,
+    # not only a modern-host validation path. CI mounts a fixture built by the
+    # host because the pinned, networkless Bash 4.2 image intentionally has no
+    # Git. Developer hosts may build the same fixture directly.
+    unset -f git
+    release_artifact="$repo_root/scripts/release-artifact"
+    artifact_fixture="${BASE_BASH_RELEASE_ARTIFACT_FIXTURE-}"
+    if [[ -n "$artifact_fixture" ]]; then
+        artifact_output="$artifact_fixture"
+    else
+        artifact_output="$release_smoke_dir/artifact"
+        source_commit="$(command git -C "$repo_root" rev-parse --verify 'HEAD^{commit}' 2> /dev/null)" || {
+            release_smoke_fail "unable to resolve the source commit for artifact verification."
+            return 1
+        }
+        if ! "$release_artifact" build --version 2.0.0 --commit "$source_commit" \
+            --output "$artifact_output" > "$output_path" 2>&1; then
+            release_smoke_fail "canonical artifact build failed on Bash $BASH_VERSION."
+            return 1
+        fi
+    fi
+    if ! "$release_artifact" verify "$artifact_output" > "$output_path" 2>&1; then
+        release_smoke_fail "canonical artifact verification failed on Bash $BASH_VERSION."
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    printf 'Bash release and artifact smoke passed on Bash %s.\n' "$BASH_VERSION"
     return 0
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/release-artifact.bats b/tests/release-artifact.bats
index deb616c..6026256 100644
--- a/tests/release-artifact.bats
+++ b/tests/release-artifact.bats
@@ -8,6 +8,30 @@ setup() {
     RELEASE_COMMIT="$(git -C "$BASE_REPO_ROOT" rev-parse HEAD)"
 }
 
+release_test_hash_file() {
+    if command -v sha256sum > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+        sha256sum -- "$1" | awk '{print $1}'
+    else
+        shasum -a 256 -- "$1" | awk '{print $1}'
+    fi
+}
+
+release_test_refresh_checksum() {
+    local asset="$1" sums="$2" name hash temporary
+    name="${asset##*/}"
+    hash="$(release_test_hash_file "$asset")"
+    temporary="$TEST_TMPDIR/checksums.tmp"
+    awk -v name="$name" -v hash="$hash" '
+        $2 == name { $1 = hash }
+        { printf "%s  %s\n", $1, $2 }
+    ' "$sums" > "$temporary"
+    mv -- "$temporary" "$sums"
+}
+
+release_test_build() {
+    "$RELEASE_ARTIFACT" build --version 2.0.0-rc.1 --commit "$RELEASE_COMMIT" --output "$1" > /dev/null
+}
+
 @test "release artifact build creates a deterministic verified asset set" {
     local first="$TEST_TMPDIR/first" second="$TEST_TMPDIR/second"
 
@@ -33,3 +57,103 @@ setup() {
     [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
     [[ "$output" == *"Checksum mismatch"* ]]
 }
+
+@test "release artifact verification requires checksum coverage for every mandatory asset" {
+    local artifact="$TEST_TMPDIR/artifact" sums provenance temporary
+
+    release_test_build "$artifact"
+    sums="$artifact/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.SHA256SUMS"
+    provenance="base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.provenance.json"
+    temporary="$TEST_TMPDIR/checksums.tmp"
+    awk -v name="$provenance" '$2 != name { printf "%s  %s\n", $1, $2 }' "$sums" > "$temporary"
+    mv -- "$temporary" "$sums"
+
+    bats_run "$RELEASE_ARTIFACT" verify "$artifact"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"does not cover mandatory asset"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "release artifact verification rejects duplicate and unsafe checksum records" {
+    local artifact="$TEST_TMPDIR/artifact" sums first_line temporary
+
+    release_test_build "$artifact"
+    sums="$artifact/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.SHA256SUMS"
+    first_line="$(sed -n '1p' "$sums")"
+    printf '%s\n' "$first_line" >> "$sums"
+    bats_run "$RELEASE_ARTIFACT" verify "$artifact"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"Duplicate checksum entry"* ]]
+
+    release_test_build "$TEST_TMPDIR/unsafe"
+    sums="$TEST_TMPDIR/unsafe/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.SHA256SUMS"
+    temporary="$TEST_TMPDIR/checksums.tmp"
+    awk 'NR == 1 { $2 = "../" $2 } { printf "%s  %s\n", $1, $2 }' "$sums" > "$temporary"
+    mv -- "$temporary" "$sums"
+    bats_run "$RELEASE_ARTIFACT" verify "$TEST_TMPDIR/unsafe"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"Malformed checksum entry"* || "$output" == *"unsafe checksum entry"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "release artifact verification binds provenance to the archive and embedded commit" {
+    local artifact="$TEST_TMPDIR/artifact" provenance sums temporary
+
+    release_test_build "$artifact"
+    provenance="$artifact/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.provenance.json"
+    sums="$artifact/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.SHA256SUMS"
+    temporary="$TEST_TMPDIR/provenance.tmp"
+    sed 's/"sourceCommit": "[[:xdigit:]]\{40\}"/"sourceCommit": "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000"/' \
+        "$provenance" > "$temporary"
+    mv -- "$temporary" "$provenance"
+    release_test_refresh_checksum "$provenance" "$sums"
+
+    bats_run "$RELEASE_ARTIFACT" verify "$artifact"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"Provenance version and source commit disagree"* ]]
+
+    release_test_build "$TEST_TMPDIR/subject"
+    provenance="$TEST_TMPDIR/subject/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.provenance.json"
+    sums="$TEST_TMPDIR/subject/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.SHA256SUMS"
+    temporary="$TEST_TMPDIR/provenance.tmp"
+    sed 's/"sha256": "[[:xdigit:]]\{64\}"/"sha256": "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000"/' \
+        "$provenance" > "$temporary"
+    mv -- "$temporary" "$provenance"
+    release_test_refresh_checksum "$provenance" "$sums"
+    bats_run "$RELEASE_ARTIFACT" verify "$TEST_TMPDIR/subject"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"subject does not bind"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "release artifact verification binds the SBOM to version and commit identity" {
+    local artifact="$TEST_TMPDIR/artifact" sbom sums temporary
+
+    release_test_build "$artifact"
+    sbom="$artifact/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.spdx.json"
+    sums="$artifact/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.SHA256SUMS"
+    temporary="$TEST_TMPDIR/sbom.tmp"
+    sed 's#/releases/v2.0.0-rc.1/[[:xdigit:]]\{40\}"#/releases/v2.0.0-rc.1/0000000000000000000000000000000000000000"#' \
+        "$sbom" > "$temporary"
+    mv -- "$temporary" "$sbom"
+    release_test_refresh_checksum "$sbom" "$sums"
+
+    bats_run "$RELEASE_ARTIFACT" verify "$artifact"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"SBOM namespace disagrees"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "release artifact verification rejects mismatched versions and ambiguous assets" {
+    local artifact="$TEST_TMPDIR/artifact"
+
+    release_test_build "$artifact"
+    mv -- "$artifact/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.spdx.json" \
+        "$artifact/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0.spdx.json"
+    bats_run "$RELEASE_ARTIFACT" verify "$artifact"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"filenames do not identify the same version"* ]]
+
+    release_test_build "$TEST_TMPDIR/ambiguous"
+    cp -- "$TEST_TMPDIR/ambiguous/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0-rc.1.tar.gz" \
+        "$TEST_TMPDIR/ambiguous/base-bash-libs-v2.0.0.tar.gz"
+    bats_run "$RELEASE_ARTIFACT" verify "$TEST_TMPDIR/ambiguous"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"exactly one archive"* ]]
+}