diff --git a/backend/src/__tests__/templates-deploy-rbac.test.ts b/backend/src/__tests__/templates-deploy-rbac.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4e7ae7ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/__tests__/templates-deploy-rbac.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+/**
+ * RBAC tests for POST /api/templates/deploy.
+ *
+ * The deploy gate must match the RBAC permission matrix in
+ * `backend/src/middleware/permissions.ts`: any role that holds
+ * `stack:create` (admin, node-admin) can deploy a template; viewer,
+ * deployer, and auditor cannot. This locks in the fix where the route
+ * previously gated on `requireAdmin` and silently rejected node-admins
+ * who could create stacks through every other path.
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll, vi } from 'vitest';
+import request from 'supertest';
+import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';
+import bcrypt from 'bcrypt';
+import { setupTestDb, cleanupTestDb, TEST_JWT_SECRET } from './helpers/setupTestDb';
+
+let tmpDir: string;
+let app: import('express').Express;
+let DatabaseService: typeof import('../services/DatabaseService').DatabaseService;
+
+type SeedRole = 'admin' | 'node-admin' | 'deployer' | 'viewer' | 'auditor';
+
+async function seedUser(username: string, role: SeedRole): Promise<string> {
+  const db = DatabaseService.getInstance();
+  const passwordHash = await bcrypt.hash('password123', 1);
+  const id = db.addUser({ username, password_hash: passwordHash, role });
+  const user = db.getUserById(id)!;
+  return jwt.sign({ username, role, tv: user.token_version }, TEST_JWT_SECRET, { expiresIn: '1m' });
+}
+
+const minimalTemplate = {
+  title: 'rbac-probe',
+  description: 'placeholder',
+  image: 'nginx:alpine',
+};
+
+beforeAll(async () => {
+  tmpDir = await setupTestDb();
+  ({ DatabaseService } = await import('../services/DatabaseService'));
+
+  const { LicenseService } = await import('../services/LicenseService');
+  vi.spyOn(LicenseService.getInstance(), 'getTier').mockReturnValue('paid');
+  vi.spyOn(LicenseService.getInstance(), 'getVariant').mockReturnValue('admiral');
+  vi.spyOn(LicenseService.getInstance(), 'getSeatLimits').mockReturnValue({ maxAdmins: null, maxViewers: null });
+
+  ({ app } = await import('../index'));
+});
+
+afterAll(() => {
+  vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  cleanupTestDb(tmpDir);
+});
+
+describe('POST /api/templates/deploy permission gate', () => {
+  it.each(['viewer', 'deployer', 'auditor'] as const)(
+    'rejects %s with 403 PERMISSION_DENIED',
+    async (role) => {
+      const token = await seedUser(`probe-${role}`, role);
+      const res = await request(app)
+        .post('/api/templates/deploy')
+        .set('Authorization', `Bearer ${token}`)
+        .send({ stackName: `probe-${role}-stack`, template: minimalTemplate });
+      expect(res.status).toBe(403);
+      expect(res.body.code).toBe('PERMISSION_DENIED');
+    },
+  );
+
+  it.each(['admin', 'node-admin'] as const)(
+    'lets %s pass the permission gate',
+    async (role) => {
+      const token = await seedUser(`probe-${role}`, role);
+      const res = await request(app)
+        .post('/api/templates/deploy')
+        .set('Authorization', `Bearer ${token}`)
+        .send({ stackName: `probe-${role}-stack`, template: minimalTemplate });
+      // The deploy itself may fail downstream (no Docker daemon in tests),
+      // but the request must clear the permission gate. PERMISSION_DENIED
+      // is the only code emitted by the gate, so its absence proves the
+      // request reached the deploy logic.
+      expect(res.body.code).not.toBe('PERMISSION_DENIED');
+      expect(res.status).not.toBe(403);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it('returns 401 without a token', async () => {
+    const res = await request(app)
+      .post('/api/templates/deploy')
+      .send({ stackName: 'no-auth', template: minimalTemplate });
+    expect(res.status).toBe(401);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/templates.ts b/backend/src/routes/templates.ts
index f9af25c9..f7891857 100644
--- a/backend/src/routes/templates.ts
+++ b/backend/src/routes/templates.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import path from 'path';
 import { promises as fsPromises } from 'fs';
 import { authMiddleware } from '../middleware/auth';
 import { requireAdmin } from '../middleware/tierGates';
+import { requirePermission } from '../middleware/permissions';
 import { templateService } from '../services/TemplateService';
 import { FileSystemService } from '../services/FileSystemService';
 import { ComposeService } from '../services/ComposeService';
@@ -65,7 +66,7 @@ templatesRouter.post('/refresh-cache', authMiddleware, (req: Request, res: Respo
 });
 
 templatesRouter.post('/deploy', authMiddleware, async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
-  if (!requireAdmin(req, res)) return;
+  if (!requirePermission(req, res, 'stack:create')) return;
   try {
     const { stackName, template, envVars, skip_scan } = req.body;