diff --git a/src/Application/Release/Port/ReleaseFinalizationRepository.php b/src/Application/Release/Port/ReleaseFinalizationRepository.php
index 2e9a09a..89fd794 100644
--- a/src/Application/Release/Port/ReleaseFinalizationRepository.php
+++ b/src/Application/Release/Port/ReleaseFinalizationRepository.php
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ public function pullRequest(string $repository, int $number): FinalizedPullReque
 
     public function branchHead(string $repository, string $branch): string;
 
+    public function isAncestor(string $repository, string $ancestorSha, string $descendantSha): bool;
+
     /** @return list<string> */
     public function branches(string $repository): array;
 
diff --git a/src/Application/Release/ReleaseFinalizer.php b/src/Application/Release/ReleaseFinalizer.php
index 1375ef7..8b3a045 100644
--- a/src/Application/Release/ReleaseFinalizer.php
+++ b/src/Application/Release/ReleaseFinalizer.php
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ public function finalize(
 
         $finalSha = $pullRequest->mergeCommitSha;
         $branchHead = $this->github->branchHead($preparation->repository, $preparation->targetBranch);
-        if ($branchHead !== $finalSha && !$this->git->isAncestor($finalSha, $branchHead)) {
+        if ($branchHead !== $finalSha && !$this->github->isAncestor($preparation->repository, $finalSha, $branchHead)) {
             throw new DomainException(sprintf(
                 'Release branch no longer contains merged release %s; current head is %s.',
                 $finalSha,
diff --git a/src/Infrastructure/GitHub/GitHubReleaseFinalizationRepository.php b/src/Infrastructure/GitHub/GitHubReleaseFinalizationRepository.php
index 00d3c18..9a2d5e0 100644
--- a/src/Infrastructure/GitHub/GitHubReleaseFinalizationRepository.php
+++ b/src/Infrastructure/GitHub/GitHubReleaseFinalizationRepository.php
@@ -101,6 +101,26 @@ public function branchHead(string $repository, string $branch): string
         return $sha;
     }
 
+    public function isAncestor(string $repository, string $ancestorSha, string $descendantSha): bool
+    {
+        if ($ancestorSha === $descendantSha) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        $data = $this->request(
+            'GET',
+            sprintf(
+                '/repos/%s/compare/%s...%s',
+                $repository,
+                rawurlencode($ancestorSha),
+                rawurlencode($descendantSha),
+            ),
+        );
+        $status = $data['status'] ?? null;
+
+        return $status === 'ahead' || $status === 'identical';
+    }
+
     /** @return list<string> */
     public function branches(string $repository): array
     {
diff --git a/tests/Fixtures/Release/InMemoryReleaseFinalizationRepository.php b/tests/Fixtures/Release/InMemoryReleaseFinalizationRepository.php
index ce3a81c..7c84e27 100644
--- a/tests/Fixtures/Release/InMemoryReleaseFinalizationRepository.php
+++ b/tests/Fixtures/Release/InMemoryReleaseFinalizationRepository.php
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ public function __construct(
         private readonly ?HistorySynchronization $publishedHistory = null,
         /** @var array<string, string> */
         private readonly array $files = [],
+        /** @var array<string, list<string>> */
+        private readonly array $ancestors = [],
     ) {
     }
 
@@ -36,6 +38,12 @@ public function branchHead(string $repository, string $branch): string
         return $this->branchHeads[$branch];
     }
 
+    public function isAncestor(string $repository, string $ancestorSha, string $descendantSha): bool
+    {
+        return $ancestorSha === $descendantSha
+            || in_array($ancestorSha, $this->ancestors[$descendantSha] ?? [], true);
+    }
+
     /** @return list<string> */
     public function branches(string $repository): array
     {
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Application/Release/ReleaseFinalizerTest.php b/tests/Unit/Application/Release/ReleaseFinalizerTest.php
index 686f806..191193f 100644
--- a/tests/Unit/Application/Release/ReleaseFinalizerTest.php
+++ b/tests/Unit/Application/Release/ReleaseFinalizerTest.php
@@ -173,6 +173,7 @@ public function testAllowsDelayedFinalizationWhenMergedReleaseRemainsAncestor():
                 array_map(static fn (FileChange $change): string => $change->path, $this->preparation()->fileChanges),
             ),
             ['stable35' => $advanced, 'main' => self::MAIN],
+            ancestors: [$advanced => [self::FINAL]],
         );
 
         $prepared = (new ReleaseFinalizer(
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Infrastructure/GitHub/GitHubReleaseFinalizationRepositoryTest.php b/tests/Unit/Infrastructure/GitHub/GitHubReleaseFinalizationRepositoryTest.php
index 78fdf67..0dcc741 100644
--- a/tests/Unit/Infrastructure/GitHub/GitHubReleaseFinalizationRepositoryTest.php
+++ b/tests/Unit/Infrastructure/GitHub/GitHubReleaseFinalizationRepositoryTest.php
@@ -38,6 +38,32 @@ public function testReadsMergedPullRequestAndChangedFiles(): void
         self::assertSame(['appinfo/info.xml', 'package.json'], $result->changedFiles);
     }
 
+    public function testChecksAncestryThroughGitHubCompareApi(): void
+    {
+        $descendant = 'bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb';
+        $client = new MockHttpClient([
+            $this->json(['status' => 'ahead']),
+        ], 'https://api.github.test');
+
+        $result = (new GitHubReleaseFinalizationRepository('token', $client, 'https://api.github.test'))
+            ->isAncestor('LibreSign/libresign', self::SHA, $descendant);
+
+        self::assertTrue($result);
+    }
+
+    public function testRejectsDivergedHistoryThroughGitHubCompareApi(): void
+    {
+        $descendant = 'bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb';
+        $client = new MockHttpClient([
+            $this->json(['status' => 'diverged']),
+        ], 'https://api.github.test');
+
+        $result = (new GitHubReleaseFinalizationRepository('token', $client, 'https://api.github.test'))
+            ->isAncestor('LibreSign/libresign', self::SHA, $descendant);
+
+        self::assertFalse($result);
+    }
+
     public function testReadsFileAtExactCommitThroughGitHubContentsApi(): void
     {
         $content = "# Changelog\n\n## 13.4.2 - 2026-09-21\n";