diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 96351dc..e26d20a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ on:
   schedule:
     - cron: '0 3 * * *'  # nightly 03:00 UTC for adversarial-extended
 
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
 jobs:
 
   import-smoke:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pre-commit.yml b/.github/workflows/pre-commit.yml
index 9cafcf2..aad43ac 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pre-commit.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pre-commit.yml
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ on:
   push:
     branches: [main, master]
 
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
 jobs:
   pre-commit:
     name: Run Pre-commit Hooks
diff --git a/.github/workflows/secret-scan.yml b/.github/workflows/secret-scan.yml
index d82bc9c..591c02c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/secret-scan.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/secret-scan.yml
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ on:
   push:
     branches: [main, master]
 
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
 jobs:
   secret-scan:
     name: Detect Secrets
diff --git a/tests/security/test_github_workflow_permissions.py b/tests/security/test_github_workflow_permissions.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cdd4069
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/security/test_github_workflow_permissions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+WORKFLOW_ROOT = REPO_ROOT / ".github" / "workflows"
+AFFECTED_WORKFLOWS = (
+    "ci.yml",
+    "pre-commit.yml",
+    "secret-scan.yml",
+)
+
+
+class TestGitHubWorkflowPermissions(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def test_affected_workflows_declare_top_level_permissions(self):
+        for workflow_name in AFFECTED_WORKFLOWS:
+            with self.subTest(workflow=workflow_name):
+                workflow_text = (WORKFLOW_ROOT / workflow_name).read_text(
+                    encoding="utf-8"
+                )
+                jobs_index = workflow_text.find("\njobs:")
+                self.assertGreater(
+                    jobs_index,
+                    0,
+                    f"{workflow_name} must contain a jobs section",
+                )
+
+                permissions_block = "permissions:\n  contents: read\n"
+                permissions_index = workflow_text.find(permissions_block)
+                self.assertGreaterEqual(
+                    permissions_index,
+                    0,
+                    f"{workflow_name} must declare explicit top-level permissions",
+                )
+                self.assertLess(
+                    permissions_index,
+                    jobs_index,
+                    f"{workflow_name} permissions block must stay top-level before jobs",
+                )
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()