diff --git a/docs/CODE_SIGNING_POLICY.md b/docs/CODE_SIGNING_POLICY.md
index f3b416bed..c5619347a 100644
--- a/docs/CODE_SIGNING_POLICY.md
+++ b/docs/CODE_SIGNING_POLICY.md
@@ -79,8 +79,10 @@ Normal stable publication and stable dry runs select `signpath` directly.
   asset set from replacement.
 - Customer-facing image aliases, Helm indexes, paid-runtime pointers, and demo
   environments are not promoted until `gh release verify <tag> --repo
-  rcourtman/Pulse` validates GitHub's signed release attestation. Operators can
-  use the same command to verify the packet independently.
+  rcourtman/Pulse` validates GitHub's signed release attestation and `gh release
+  verify-asset <tag> <downloaded-asset> --repo rcourtman/Pulse` binds the
+  downloaded activation marker to that attestation. Operators can use the same
+  commands to verify the packet and any downloaded release asset independently.
 
 ## Project roles
 
diff --git a/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md
index 48123b40f..1557f3961 100644
--- a/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md
+++ b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md
@@ -4418,9 +4418,13 @@ fail and compensate the still-mutable publication back to a marker-free draft.
 `scripts/verify-github-release-integrity.sh` is the shared post-publication
 check. It binds the release database ID, tag, exact source SHA, immutable state,
 and single digest-bearing activation marker, then requires `gh release verify`
-to validate GitHub's signed release attestation. The source release verdict,
-activation-only recovery, and `release-convergence.yml` must all use that
-check. Convergence must not acquire the customer-promotion lease or mutate a
-floating image tag, Helm index, paid-runtime pointer, or live environment until
-the check passes. Repository release immutability must therefore be enabled
-before merging or running this activation path.
+to validate GitHub's signed release attestation. It must then download the
+activation marker from that release and require `gh release verify-asset` to
+bind the exact consumed bytes to the signed release attestation. Filename,
+stored digest presence, and marker JSON identity are not substitutes for this
+asset proof. The source release verdict, activation-only recovery, and
+`release-convergence.yml` must all use that check. Convergence must not acquire
+the customer-promotion lease or mutate a floating image tag, Helm index,
+paid-runtime pointer, or live environment until the check passes. Repository
+release immutability must therefore be enabled before merging or running this
+activation path.
diff --git a/frontend-modern/public/docs/CODE_SIGNING_POLICY.md b/frontend-modern/public/docs/CODE_SIGNING_POLICY.md
index f3b416bed..c5619347a 100644
--- a/frontend-modern/public/docs/CODE_SIGNING_POLICY.md
+++ b/frontend-modern/public/docs/CODE_SIGNING_POLICY.md
@@ -79,8 +79,10 @@ Normal stable publication and stable dry runs select `signpath` directly.
   asset set from replacement.
 - Customer-facing image aliases, Helm indexes, paid-runtime pointers, and demo
   environments are not promoted until `gh release verify <tag> --repo
-  rcourtman/Pulse` validates GitHub's signed release attestation. Operators can
-  use the same command to verify the packet independently.
+  rcourtman/Pulse` validates GitHub's signed release attestation and `gh release
+  verify-asset <tag> <downloaded-asset> --repo rcourtman/Pulse` binds the
+  downloaded activation marker to that attestation. Operators can use the same
+  commands to verify the packet and any downloaded release asset independently.
 
 ## Project roles
 
diff --git a/scripts/release_control/verify_github_release_integrity_test.py b/scripts/release_control/verify_github_release_integrity_test.py
index c597b54bb..f7544e1b6 100644
--- a/scripts/release_control/verify_github_release_integrity_test.py
+++ b/scripts/release_control/verify_github_release_integrity_test.py
@@ -17,7 +17,13 @@ SOURCE_SHA = "a" * 40
 
 
 class VerifyGitHubReleaseIntegrityTest(unittest.TestCase):
-    def run_verifier(self, release: dict, *, verification_succeeds: bool = True):
+    def run_verifier(
+        self,
+        release: dict,
+        *,
+        verification_succeeds: bool = True,
+        asset_verification_succeeds: bool = True,
+    ):
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as directory:
             root = Path(directory)
             calls = root / "calls"
@@ -38,6 +44,21 @@ class VerifyGitHubReleaseIntegrityTest(unittest.TestCase):
                       printf '%s\\n' '{{"verified": true}}'
                       exit {0 if verification_succeeds else 1}
                     fi
+                    if [ "$1 $2" = "release download" ]; then
+                      while [ "$#" -gt 0 ]; do
+                        if [ "$1" = --dir ]; then
+                          mkdir -p "$2"
+                          printf '%s\\n' '{{"schema_version": 1}}' > "$2/release-activation.json"
+                          exit 0
+                        fi
+                        shift
+                      done
+                      exit 65
+                    fi
+                    if [ "$1 $2" = "release verify-asset" ]; then
+                      printf '%s\\n' '{{"verified": true}}'
+                      exit {0 if asset_verification_succeeds else 1}
+                    fi
                     exit 64
                     """
                 ),
@@ -86,8 +107,9 @@ class VerifyGitHubReleaseIntegrityTest(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_accepts_immutable_release_with_verified_attestation(self) -> None:
         result, calls = self.run_verifier(self.release())
         self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
-        self.assertIn("is immutable and attested", result.stdout)
+        self.assertIn("is immutable, attested, and activation-asset-bound", result.stdout)
         self.assertIn("release verify v6.5.0 --repo rcourtman/Pulse --format json", calls)
+        self.assertIn("release verify-asset v6.5.0", calls)
 
     def test_rejects_mutable_release_before_attestation(self) -> None:
         result, calls = self.run_verifier(self.release(immutable=False))
@@ -109,6 +131,14 @@ class VerifyGitHubReleaseIntegrityTest(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertNotEqual(result.returncode, 0)
         self.assertIn("attestation verification failed", result.stderr)
 
+    def test_rejects_activation_asset_outside_release_attestation(self) -> None:
+        result, calls = self.run_verifier(
+            self.release(), asset_verification_succeeds=False
+        )
+        self.assertNotEqual(result.returncode, 0)
+        self.assertIn("activation asset verification failed", result.stderr)
+        self.assertIn("release verify-asset v6.5.0", calls)
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()
diff --git a/scripts/verify-github-release-integrity.sh b/scripts/verify-github-release-integrity.sh
index 5d20b5c66..a5b2df31a 100755
--- a/scripts/verify-github-release-integrity.sh
+++ b/scripts/verify-github-release-integrity.sh
@@ -53,7 +53,12 @@ done
 
 release_json="$(mktemp)"
 attestation_json="$(mktemp)"
-cleanup() { rm -f "$release_json" "$attestation_json"; }
+activation_dir="$(mktemp -d)"
+activation_asset="${activation_dir}/release-activation.json"
+cleanup() {
+    rm -f "$release_json" "$attestation_json"
+    rm -rf "$activation_dir"
+}
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
 gh api \
@@ -108,7 +113,42 @@ if ! jq -e 'type == "object" or type == "array"' "$attestation_json" >/dev/null;
     exit 1
 fi
 
+# Release verification proves that GitHub signed the immutable packet. Bind the
+# activation marker that convergence consumes to that packet as a separate
+# proof: verify-asset checks the downloaded bytes' digest against the signed
+# release attestation rather than trusting filename and JSON identity alone.
+downloaded=false
+for attempt in $(seq 1 "$ATTESTATION_ATTEMPTS"); do
+    rm -f "$activation_asset"
+    if gh release download "$TAG" \
+        --repo "$REPO" \
+        --pattern release-activation.json \
+        --dir "$activation_dir" && \
+       [ -s "$activation_asset" ]; then
+        downloaded=true
+        break
+    fi
+    if [ "$attempt" -lt "$ATTESTATION_ATTEMPTS" ]; then
+        echo "Activation asset for ${TAG} is not downloadable yet (${attempt}/${ATTESTATION_ATTEMPTS}); retrying." >&2
+        sleep "$ATTESTATION_RETRY_DELAY"
+    fi
+done
+if [ "$downloaded" != true ]; then
+    echo "GitHub release activation asset download failed for ${TAG}." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! gh release verify-asset "$TAG" "$activation_asset" \
+    --repo "$REPO" --format json > "$attestation_json"; then
+    echo "GitHub release activation asset verification failed for ${TAG}." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+if ! jq -e 'type == "object" or type == "array"' "$attestation_json" >/dev/null; then
+    echo "GitHub release activation asset verification returned malformed JSON for ${TAG}." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 release_id="$(jq -r '.id' "$release_json")"
 source_sha="$(jq -r '.target_commitish' "$release_json")"
 asset_count="$(jq -r '.assets | length' "$release_json")"
-echo "[OK] GitHub release ${TAG} is immutable and attested: release_id=${release_id} source_sha=${source_sha} assets=${asset_count}."
+echo "[OK] GitHub release ${TAG} is immutable, attested, and activation-asset-bound: release_id=${release_id} source_sha=${source_sha} assets=${asset_count}."