diff --git a/.github/workflows/dependency-audit-reusable.yml b/.github/workflows/dependency-audit-reusable.yml
index 0e547b62a..df56b9248 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dependency-audit-reusable.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dependency-audit-reusable.yml
@@ -13,11 +13,16 @@
 # reusable's own commit and source it.
 #
 # Pinned tool versions (update deliberately):
-#   govulncheck v1.1.4 | cargo-audit 0.22.1 | pip-audit 2.9.0
+#   govulncheck v1.9.0 | cargo-audit 0.22.1 | pip-audit 2.9.0
 #   Python 3.13 for pip-audit (`python-version` input). Never a floating "3.x":
 #   a new Python release can break the hash-locked tooling for every caller at
 #   once (3.15 removed sre_constants, crashing pip-api 0.0.34's vendored
 #   pyparsing).
+#   Go `stable` for govulncheck, on purpose: setup-go sets GOTOOLCHAIN=local, so
+#   the toolchain must be at least every audited go.mod's `go` line, and a fixed
+#   pin would break the job the day a caller bumps it. The cost is that a new Go
+#   release can outrun an old govulncheck's x/tools parser (v1.1.4 panicked with
+#   `unexpected expr: *ast.KeyValueExpr` on Go 1.27), so keep govulncheck current.
 name: Dependency audit (Reusable)
 
 on:
@@ -149,7 +154,7 @@ jobs:
           go-version: "stable"
 
       - name: Install govulncheck
-        run: go install golang.org/x/vuln/cmd/govulncheck@v1.1.4  # NOSONAR(githubactions:S8545) pinned @vX.Y.Z is reproducible (verified via Go checksum DB); no --locked equivalent
+        run: go install golang.org/x/vuln/cmd/govulncheck@v1.9.0  # NOSONAR(githubactions:S8545) pinned @vX.Y.Z is reproducible (verified via Go checksum DB); no --locked equivalent
 
       - name: Audit Go dependencies
         run: |
diff --git a/test/workflows/dependency-audit/dependency-audit.bats b/test/workflows/dependency-audit/dependency-audit.bats
index 384603a30..73a0501f7 100644
--- a/test/workflows/dependency-audit/dependency-audit.bats
+++ b/test/workflows/dependency-audit/dependency-audit.bats
@@ -257,6 +257,22 @@ TOML
   [ "$(yq -r '.jobs.detect.name' "$DA_WORKFLOW")" = 'Detect ecosystems' ]
 }
 
+# govulncheck runs on Go `stable`; v1.1.4's x/tools parser panicked on Go 1.27
+# (`unexpected expr: *ast.KeyValueExpr`), failing every Go audit. The pin must
+# not fall back below v1.9.0 and must match the header's pinned-versions line.
+@test "workflow: govulncheck is pinned at v1.9.0 or later, matching the header" {
+  local install pin header
+  install="$(yq -r '.jobs["audit-go"].steps[] | select(.name == "Install govulncheck") | .run' "$DA_WORKFLOW")"
+  # The whole step, comment stripped, must be the one pinned install: a version
+  # in a trailing comment or a pre-release suffix must not satisfy the check.
+  pin="$(sed -E 's/[[:space:]]+#.*$//' <<<"$install" \
+    | sed -nE 's|^go install golang\.org/x/vuln/cmd/govulncheck@(v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+)$|\1|p')"
+  header="$(grep -oE '^#   govulncheck v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' "$DA_WORKFLOW" | awk '{print $3}')"
+  [ -n "$pin" ]
+  [ "$pin" = "$header" ]
+  [ "$(printf '%s\n' v1.9.0 "$pin" | sort -V | head -1)" = 'v1.9.0' ]
+}
+
 @test "workflow: tooling is checked out from the reusable's own commit, outside the scanned tree" {
   local job
   for job in audit-cargo audit-pip audit-gate; do