diff --git a/.github/workflows/android.yml b/.github/workflows/android.yml
index b5913f2..c3c34c1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/android.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/android.yml
@@ -65,7 +65,15 @@ jobs:
       - name: ndk-build
         working-directory: app/src/main    # contains jni/ — ndk-build auto-discovers Android.mk + Application.mk
         run: ${{ steps.ndk.outputs.ndk-path }}/ndk-build APP_ABI="${ABIS}" APP_PLATFORM=android-24 -j"$(nproc)"
+      # The test runs here, not beside the other tool tests, because only this job
+      # and assemble are required checks, and it guards the gate below it.
+      - run: tools/ci/check-branch-protection-test.sh
+      - name: Check arm64 branch protection
+        env:
+          ANDROID_NDK_ROOT: ${{ steps.ndk.outputs.ndk-path }}
+        run: tools/ci/check-branch-protection.sh app/src/main/libs
       - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+        if: always()                     # a failed check is when the libraries are worth reading
         with:
           name: native-libs
           path: app/src/main/libs/**/*.so
diff --git a/tools/ci/check-branch-protection-test.sh b/tools/ci/check-branch-protection-test.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..9cf9b69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/ci/check-branch-protection-test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# Exercise check-branch-protection.sh against stub tools, so the failure cases run
+# without a toolchain. A real build only ever produces the passing case.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+HERE="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+SUT="$HERE/check-branch-protection.sh"
+tmp="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$tmp"' EXIT
+
+# Both stubs read the fixture's name. Suffixes: "unsigned" emits no paciasp,
+# "retaa" and "retab" add that instruction, "symref" names a symbol paciasp
+# without signing anything, "nonote", "paconly", "btionly" and "twonotes" set
+# the feature note, "objfail" makes the disassembler exit non-zero. A name
+# matching none of them is the clean baseline. Both stubs copy the real tools'
+# layout, down to the path header and the lowercase "aarch64 feature", because
+# a stub that prints what the script expects cannot catch the script expecting
+# the wrong thing.
+mkdir -p "$tmp/bin"
+cat >"$tmp/bin/llvm-objdump" <<'STUB'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+so="${!#}"
+case "$(basename "$so")" in
+*objfail*) echo "llvm-objdump: error: unknown format" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+esac
+printf '\n%s:\tfile format elf64-littleaarch64\n\nDisassembly of section .text:\n\n' "$so"
+echo "0000000000001000 <leaf>:"
+case "$(basename "$so")" in
+*unsigned* | *symref*) ;;
+*) echo "    1000: d503233f    	paciasp" ;;
+esac
+case "$(basename "$so")" in
+*retaa*) echo "    1004: d65f0bff    	retaa" ;;
+*retab*) echo "    1004: d65f0fff    	retab" ;;
+*) echo "    1004: d65f03c0    	ret" ;;
+esac
+# A call to a symbol named paciasp, which an unanchored match would count.
+case "$(basename "$so")" in
+*symref*) echo "    1008: 97fffffe    	bl	0x0 <paciasp>" ;;
+esac
+STUB
+cat >"$tmp/bin/llvm-readelf" <<'STUB'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+echo "Displaying notes found in: .note.gnu.property"
+echo "  Owner                Data size 	Description"
+echo "  GNU                  0x00000010	NT_GNU_PROPERTY_TYPE_0 (property note)"
+case "$(basename "${!#}")" in
+*-nonote.so) ;;
+*-paconly.so) echo "    Properties:    aarch64 feature: PAC" ;;
+*-btionly.so) echo "    Properties:    aarch64 feature: BTI" ;;
+*-twonotes.so)
+    echo "    Properties:    aarch64 feature: BTI, PAC"
+    echo "    Properties:    aarch64 feature: PAC"
+    ;;
+*) echo "    Properties:    aarch64 feature: BTI, PAC" ;;
+esac
+STUB
+chmod +x "$tmp/bin/llvm-objdump" "$tmp/bin/llvm-readelf"
+export PATH="$tmp/bin:$PATH"
+
+fail=0
+run() { # run <want-rc> <case-name> <so-name...>
+    local want="$1" name="$2" out rc=0
+    shift 2
+    rm -rf "$tmp/libs"
+    mkdir -p "$tmp/libs/arm64-v8a"
+    for so in "$@"; do : >"$tmp/libs/arm64-v8a/$so"; done
+    out="$(bash "$SUT" "$tmp/libs" 2>&1)" || rc=$?
+    if [ "$rc" -ne "$want" ]; then
+        echo "FAIL $name: want rc=$want got rc=$rc"
+        echo "$out"
+        fail=1
+    fi
+}
+
+run 0 "marked, no retaa" good-ok.so other-ok.so
+run 1 "retaa faults on ARMv8.0" good-ok.so bad-retaa-ok.so
+run 1 "retab faults too" bad-retab-ok.so
+run 1 "no feature note" good-ok.so bad-nonote.so
+run 1 "note without BTI" bad-paconly.so
+run 1 "note without PAC" bad-btionly.so
+run 1 "marked but nothing signed" bad-unsigned.so
+# objdump prints the path and every branch target, so an unanchored match would
+# count a symbol named paciasp as a signed function.
+run 1 "paciasp only as a symbol name" bad-symref.so
+# One good note must not cover for a bad one.
+run 1 "two feature notes" bad-twonotes.so
+# A tool that fails must stop the run for that reason, not slide into the
+# paciasp check and fail there by accident.
+run 1 "disassembler fails" bad-objfail.so
+rm -rf "$tmp/libs"
+mkdir -p "$tmp/libs/arm64-v8a"
+: >"$tmp/libs/arm64-v8a/bad-objfail.so"
+case "$(bash "$SUT" "$tmp/libs" 2>&1)" in
+*"cannot disassemble"*) ;;
+*)
+    echo "FAIL disassembler message: want the run to stop on the tool"
+    fail=1
+    ;;
+esac
+
+# The pass line says how many libraries were checked, so a silently shrinking
+# walk cannot read as a clean run.
+rm -rf "$tmp/libs"
+mkdir -p "$tmp/libs/arm64-v8a"
+: >"$tmp/libs/arm64-v8a/a-ok.so"
+: >"$tmp/libs/arm64-v8a/b-ok.so"
+case "$(bash "$SUT" "$tmp/libs" 2>&1)" in
+*"2 arm64-v8a .so"*) ;;
+*)
+    echo "FAIL pass line: want the count of libraries checked"
+    fail=1
+    ;;
+esac
+
+# An empty or absent directory must fail, or the check reports success on a build
+# that produced no libraries at all.
+rm -rf "$tmp/libs"
+mkdir -p "$tmp/libs/arm64-v8a"
+bash "$SUT" "$tmp/libs" >/dev/null 2>&1 && {
+    echo "FAIL empty dir: want failure"
+    fail=1
+}
+rm -rf "$tmp/libs"
+mkdir -p "$tmp/libs"
+bash "$SUT" "$tmp/libs" >/dev/null 2>&1 && {
+    echo "FAIL absent abi dir: want failure"
+    fail=1
+}
+
+# A missing tool must stop the run rather than skip the library.
+rm -rf "$tmp/libs"
+mkdir -p "$tmp/libs/arm64-v8a"
+: >"$tmp/libs/arm64-v8a/a-ok.so"
+PATH="/nonexistent" ANDROID_NDK_ROOT=/nonexistent bash "$SUT" "$tmp/libs" >/dev/null 2>&1 && {
+    echo "FAIL missing tools: want failure"
+    fail=1
+}
+
+[ "$fail" -eq 0 ] && echo "check-branch-protection-test: all cases pass"
+exit "$fail"
diff --git a/tools/ci/check-branch-protection.sh b/tools/ci/check-branch-protection.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..21f5c61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/ci/check-branch-protection.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# Fail if an arm64 .so lost its branch protection, or gained an instruction that
+# faults on ARMv8.0. Both regressions are silent: the build stays green and the
+# libraries still load.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+LIBS="${1:?usage: $0 <libs-dir>}"
+ABI=arm64-v8a
+
+# The toolchain image carries the NDK but no binutils, so fall back to its llvm tools.
+find_tool() {
+    local name="$1" found
+    found="$(command -v "$name" || true)"
+    if [ -z "$found" ]; then
+        for cand in "${ANDROID_NDK_ROOT:-${ANDROID_NDK_HOME:-/nonexistent}}"/toolchains/llvm/prebuilt/*/bin/"$name"; do
+            [ -x "$cand" ] && found="$cand" && break
+        done
+    fi
+    [ -n "$found" ] || {
+        echo "check-branch-protection: no $name found" >&2
+        exit 1
+    }
+    echo "$found"
+}
+READELF="$(find_tool llvm-readelf)"
+OBJDUMP="$(find_tool llvm-objdump)"
+
+[ -d "$LIBS/$ABI" ] || {
+    echo "check-branch-protection: no $LIBS/$ABI directory" >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+# find's status is lost through a process substitution, so a directory it could
+# not read would silently shrink the walk to the ones it could.
+listing="$(mktemp)"
+trap 'rm -f "$listing"' EXIT
+find "$LIBS/$ABI" -type f -name '*.so' >"$listing" || {
+    echo "check-branch-protection: cannot walk $LIBS/$ABI" >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+mapfile -t sos <"$listing"
+# An empty walk would pass every check below, so name that case rather than report success.
+[ "${#sos[@]}" -gt 0 ] || {
+    echo "check-branch-protection: no .so under $LIBS/$ABI" >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# Count a mnemonic in the instruction column only. objdump prints the file path
+# and every branch target, so an unanchored match counts a directory name or a
+# symbol called paciasp as if it were a signed function.
+count_insn() {
+    printf '%s\n' "$2" | grep -cE "^[[:space:]]*[0-9a-f]+:.*[[:space:]]$1([[:space:]]|$)" || true
+}
+
+rc=0
+for so in "${sos[@]}"; do
+    name="$(basename "$so")"
+
+    # Capture once so a failed objdump does not read as a zero-match pass.
+    dis="$("$OBJDUMP" -d "$so")" || {
+        echo "check-branch-protection: cannot disassemble $name" >&2
+        exit 1
+    }
+
+    # paciasp and bti are hints, so an ARMv8.0 core runs them as a NOP. retaa and
+    # retab are not, and fault there. Clang emits them once -march reaches armv8.3-a.
+    bad=$(($(count_insn retaa "$dis") + $(count_insn retab "$dis")))
+    if [ "$bad" -ne 0 ]; then
+        echo "FAIL $name: $bad retaa/retab, which fault on an ARMv8.0 core"
+        rc=1
+    fi
+
+    # Without this the note check passes a library that carries the note and signs
+    # nothing, which is the regression it exists to catch.
+    if [ "$(count_insn paciasp "$dis")" -eq 0 ]; then
+        echo "FAIL $name: no paciasp, so no return address is signed"
+        rc=1
+    fi
+
+    # The linker ANDs this note over every input, so its absence means some input
+    # skipped the flag.
+    mapfile -t feat < <("$READELF" -n "$so" | grep -i 'aarch64 feature' || true)
+    if [ "${#feat[@]}" -eq 0 ]; then
+        echo "FAIL $name: no AArch64 feature note, so BTI is not enforced"
+        rc=1
+    elif [ "${#feat[@]}" -ne 1 ]; then
+        # Two notes would let a good line cover for a bad one under one match.
+        echo "FAIL $name: ${#feat[@]} AArch64 feature notes, want exactly one"
+        rc=1
+    else
+        case "${feat[0]}" in
+        *BTI*PAC* | *PAC*BTI*) ;;
+        *)
+            echo "FAIL $name: feature note lacks BTI or PAC (${feat[0]})"
+            rc=1
+            ;;
+        esac
+    fi
+done
+
+[ "$rc" -eq 0 ] && echo "branch protection: ${#sos[@]} $ABI .so carry BTI and PAC, none use retaa"
+exit "$rc"