diff --git a/.github/workflows/create_staging_branch.yaml b/.github/workflows/create_staging_branch.yaml
index 5be79da03e85..24ccd31aa2dc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/create_staging_branch.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/create_staging_branch.yaml
@@ -1,30 +1,29 @@
 name: Create PR staging branch
 
 on:
-  pull_request_target:
+  pull_request:
     branches: [main]
     types: [opened, synchronize, reopened, edited]
     paths:
       - "advisories/**"
-  workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:
-  contents: write        # Required to create and push branches
-  pull-requests: write   # Required to edit PR base branch
+  contents: read
 
 jobs:
-  ensure-base-is-staging:
+  signal:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-     - uses: actions/checkout@v6
-     - name: ensure base is staging
-       env:
-         PR_AUTHOR: ${{ github.event.pull_request.user.login }}
-         PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
-         GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-       run: |
-         set -xeo pipefail
-         BRANCH_NAME="$PR_AUTHOR"/advisory-improvement-"$PR_NUMBER"
-         git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME"
-         git push origin "$BRANCH_NAME"
-         gh pr edit --repo ${{ github.repository }} $PR_NUMBER --base "$BRANCH_NAME"
+      - name: Record pull request signal
+        env:
+          PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p workflow-signal
+          printf '%s\n' "${PR_NUMBER}" > workflow-signal/pr_number.txt
+      - name: Upload pull request signal
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: create-staging-pr-number
+          path: workflow-signal/pr_number.txt
+          retention-days: 1
+          if-no-files-found: error
diff --git a/.github/workflows/create_staging_branch_writer.yaml b/.github/workflows/create_staging_branch_writer.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d6dcb5b4f49c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/create_staging_branch_writer.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,228 @@
+name: Create PR staging branch writer
+
+on:
+  workflow_run:
+    workflows: ["Create PR staging branch"]
+    types: [completed]
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "*/10 * * * *"
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      pr_number:
+        description: Pull request number to process
+        required: true
+        type: number
+
+permissions:
+  actions: read
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
+
+jobs:
+  ensure-base-is-staging:
+    if: ${{ github.event_name == 'schedule' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' || (github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' && github.event.workflow_run.event == 'pull_request') }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Ensure base is staging
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}
+          WORKFLOW_RUN_ID: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.id }}
+          WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_BRANCH: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_branch }}
+          WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_SHA: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_sha }}
+          WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_REPOSITORY: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_repository.full_name }}
+          WORKFLOW_RUN_PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.pull_requests[0].number }}
+          DISPATCH_PR_NUMBER: ${{ inputs.pr_number }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          is_pr_number() {
+            [[ "$1" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]
+          }
+
+          recover_pr_number_from_artifact() {
+            local run_id="$1"
+            local artifact_count artifact_dir artifact_id artifact_json artifact_size entries pr_number
+
+            is_pr_number "${run_id}" || return 1
+
+            if ! artifact_json="$(gh api "repos/${REPOSITORY}/actions/runs/${run_id}/artifacts" \
+              --jq '[.artifacts[] | select(.name == "create-staging-pr-number" and .expired == false)]')"; then
+              return 1
+            fi
+            artifact_count="$(jq -r 'length' <<<"${artifact_json}")"
+            [[ "${artifact_count}" == "1" ]] || return 1
+
+            artifact_id="$(jq -r '.[0].id' <<<"${artifact_json}")"
+            artifact_size="$(jq -r '.[0].size_in_bytes' <<<"${artifact_json}")"
+            is_pr_number "${artifact_id}" || return 1
+            is_pr_number "${artifact_size}" || return 1
+            (( artifact_size <= 4096 )) || return 1
+
+            artifact_dir="workflow-run-artifacts/create-staging-${run_id}"
+            rm -rf "${artifact_dir}"
+            mkdir -p "${artifact_dir}"
+            if ! gh api "repos/${REPOSITORY}/actions/artifacts/${artifact_id}/zip" > "${artifact_dir}/artifact.zip"; then
+              rm -rf "${artifact_dir}"
+              return 1
+            fi
+            if ! entries="$(unzip -Z1 "${artifact_dir}/artifact.zip" 2>/dev/null)"; then
+              rm -rf "${artifact_dir}"
+              return 1
+            fi
+            if [[ "${entries}" != "pr_number.txt" ]]; then
+              rm -rf "${artifact_dir}"
+              return 1
+            fi
+            if ! pr_number="$(unzip -p "${artifact_dir}/artifact.zip" pr_number.txt 2>/dev/null | head -c 32)"; then
+              rm -rf "${artifact_dir}"
+              return 1
+            fi
+            rm -rf "${artifact_dir}"
+
+            is_pr_number "${pr_number}" || return 1
+            printf '%s\n' "${pr_number}"
+          }
+
+          recover_pr_number_from_head_sha() {
+            local head_sha="$1"
+            local head_repository="$2"
+            local matches pulls_json
+
+            [[ "${head_sha}" =~ ^[0-9a-fA-F]{40}$ ]] || return 1
+            [[ -n "${head_repository}" && "${head_repository}" != "null" ]] || return 1
+
+            if ! pulls_json="$(gh api -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" "repos/${REPOSITORY}/commits/${head_sha}/pulls")"; then
+              return 1
+            fi
+            matches="$(jq -r --arg head_sha "${head_sha}" --arg head_repository "${head_repository}" '
+              [
+                .[]
+                | select(.state == "open")
+                | select(.base.ref == "main")
+                | select(.head.sha == $head_sha)
+                | select(.head.repo.full_name == $head_repository)
+                | .number
+              ]
+            ' <<<"${pulls_json}")"
+
+            [[ "$(jq -r 'length' <<<"${matches}")" == "1" ]] || return 1
+            jq -r '.[0]' <<<"${matches}"
+          }
+
+          encode_ref() {
+            jq -rn --arg value "$1" '$value | @uri'
+          }
+
+          process_pr() {
+            local advisory_file_pages base_ref base_repo branch_name encoded_branch head_ref head_repo head_sha
+            local main_sha pr_author pr_json pr_number="$1" state
+
+            if ! is_pr_number "${pr_number}"; then
+              echo "::error::Unexpected pull request number: ${pr_number}"
+              return 1
+            fi
+
+            pr_json="$(gh api "repos/${REPOSITORY}/pulls/${pr_number}")"
+            state="$(jq -r '.state' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+            base_ref="$(jq -r '.base.ref' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+            base_repo="$(jq -r '.base.repo.full_name' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+            pr_author="$(jq -r '.user.login' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+            head_sha="$(jq -r '.head.sha // empty' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+            head_repo="$(jq -r '.head.repo.full_name // empty' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+            head_ref="$(jq -r '.head.ref // empty' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+
+            if [[ "${GITHUB_EVENT_NAME}" == "workflow_run" ]]; then
+              if [[ ! "${WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_SHA:-}" =~ ^[0-9a-fA-F]{40}$ ||
+                    -z "${WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_REPOSITORY:-}" ||
+                    "${WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_REPOSITORY}" == "null" ||
+                    -z "${WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_BRANCH:-}" ||
+                    "${WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_BRANCH}" == "null" ]]; then
+                echo "::error::The workflow run is missing trusted head identity metadata."
+                return 1
+              fi
+              if [[ "${head_sha}" != "${WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_SHA}" ||
+                    "${head_repo}" != "${WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_REPOSITORY}" ||
+                    "${head_ref}" != "${WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_BRANCH}" ]]; then
+                echo "::error::Pull request ${pr_number} does not match the triggering workflow run."
+                return 1
+              fi
+            fi
+
+            if [[ "${state}" != "open" ]]; then
+              echo "Pull request ${pr_number} is ${state}; skipping."
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            if [[ "${base_ref}" != "main" ]]; then
+              echo "Pull request ${pr_number} base is ${base_ref}, not main; skipping."
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            if [[ "${base_repo}" != "${REPOSITORY}" ]]; then
+              echo "Pull request ${pr_number} targets ${base_repo}, not ${REPOSITORY}; skipping."
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            advisory_file_pages="$(gh api --paginate "repos/${REPOSITORY}/pulls/${pr_number}/files?per_page=100" \
+              --jq 'any(.[]; .filename | startswith("advisories/"))')"
+            if ! grep -qx 'true' <<<"${advisory_file_pages}"; then
+              echo "Pull request ${pr_number} does not modify advisories/; skipping."
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            branch_name="${pr_author}/advisory-improvement-${pr_number}"
+            if ! git check-ref-format "refs/heads/${branch_name}" >/dev/null; then
+              echo "::error::Unexpected staging branch name: ${branch_name}"
+              return 1
+            fi
+            encoded_branch="$(encode_ref "${branch_name}")"
+
+            if gh api "repos/${REPOSITORY}/git/ref/heads/${encoded_branch}" --silent >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+              echo "Staging branch ${branch_name} already exists."
+            else
+              main_sha="$(gh api "repos/${REPOSITORY}/git/ref/heads/main" --jq '.object.sha')"
+              if gh api -X POST "repos/${REPOSITORY}/git/refs" \
+                -f ref="refs/heads/${branch_name}" \
+                -f sha="${main_sha}" \
+                --silent; then
+                echo "Created staging branch ${branch_name} from main."
+              elif gh api "repos/${REPOSITORY}/git/ref/heads/${encoded_branch}" --silent >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+                echo "Staging branch ${branch_name} was created by another run."
+              else
+                echo "::error::Failed to create staging branch ${branch_name}."
+                return 1
+              fi
+            fi
+
+            gh api -X PATCH "repos/${REPOSITORY}/pulls/${pr_number}" \
+              -f base="${branch_name}" \
+              --silent
+            echo "Retargeted pull request ${pr_number} to ${branch_name}."
+          }
+
+          if [[ "${GITHUB_EVENT_NAME}" == "workflow_run" ]]; then
+            if is_pr_number "${WORKFLOW_RUN_PR_NUMBER:-}"; then
+              PR_NUMBERS="${WORKFLOW_RUN_PR_NUMBER}"
+            elif PR_NUMBERS="$(recover_pr_number_from_artifact "${WORKFLOW_RUN_ID:-}")"; then
+              echo "Recovered pull request number ${PR_NUMBERS} from signal artifact."
+            elif PR_NUMBERS="$(recover_pr_number_from_head_sha "${WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_SHA:-}" "${WORKFLOW_RUN_HEAD_REPOSITORY:-}")"; then
+              echo "Recovered pull request number ${PR_NUMBERS} from workflow_run head SHA."
+            else
+              echo "No pull request number could be recovered; skipping."
+              exit 0
+            fi
+          elif [[ "${GITHUB_EVENT_NAME}" == "workflow_dispatch" ]]; then
+            PR_NUMBERS="${DISPATCH_PR_NUMBER}"
+          else
+            PR_NUMBERS="$(gh api --paginate "repos/${REPOSITORY}/pulls?state=open&base=main&per_page=100" --jq '.[].number')"
+            if [[ -z "${PR_NUMBERS}" ]]; then
+              echo "No open pull requests targeting main need reconciliation."
+              exit 0
+            fi
+          fi
+
+          while IFS= read -r PR_NUMBER; do
+            [[ -n "${PR_NUMBER}" ]] || continue
+            process_pr "${PR_NUMBER}"
+          done <<<"${PR_NUMBERS}"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/delete_staging_and_head_branches.yaml b/.github/workflows/delete_staging_and_head_branches.yaml
index 83ae08f812d6..4d952893313b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/delete_staging_and_head_branches.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/delete_staging_and_head_branches.yaml
@@ -1,28 +1,18 @@
 name: Delete PR staging and head branches
 
 on:
-  pull_request_target:
+  pull_request:
     branches: ["*/advisory-improvement-*"]
     types: [closed]
     paths:
       - "advisories/**"
-  workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:
-  contents: write   # Required to delete branches
+  contents: read
 
 jobs:
-  delete-staging-and-head-branches:
-    if: ${{ !github.event.pull_request.head.repo.fork }}
+  signal:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-     - uses: actions/checkout@v6
-     - name: Delete staging and head branches
-       env:
-         STAGING_BRANCH: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }}
-         HEAD_BRANCH: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}
-         GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-       run: |
-         set -xeo pipefail
-         git push origin --delete --force $STAGING_BRANCH
-         git push origin --delete --force $HEAD_BRANCH
+      - name: Record pull request signal
+        run: echo "Delete staging and head branches signal received."
diff --git a/.github/workflows/delete_staging_and_head_branches_writer.yaml b/.github/workflows/delete_staging_and_head_branches_writer.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..18e4bba7af5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/delete_staging_and_head_branches_writer.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+name: Delete PR staging and head branches writer
+
+on:
+  workflow_run:
+    workflows: ["Delete PR staging and head branches"]
+    types: [completed]
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "5-55/10 * * * *"
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      pr_number:
+        description: Pull request number to process
+        required: true
+        type: number
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: read
+
+jobs:
+  delete-staging-and-head-branches:
+    if: ${{ github.event_name == 'schedule' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' || (github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' && github.event.workflow_run.event == 'pull_request') }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Delete staging and head branches
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}
+          WORKFLOW_RUN_PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.pull_requests[0].number }}
+          DISPATCH_PR_NUMBER: ${{ inputs.pr_number }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          is_pr_number() {
+            [[ "$1" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]
+          }
+
+          is_staging_branch_for_pr() {
+            local branch="$1"
+            local pr_number="$2"
+            local prefix suffix
+
+            is_pr_number "${pr_number}" || return 1
+            git check-ref-format "refs/heads/${branch}" >/dev/null || return 1
+
+            suffix="/advisory-improvement-${pr_number}"
+            [[ "${branch}" == *"${suffix}" ]] || return 1
+            prefix="${branch%"${suffix}"}"
+            [[ -n "${prefix}" && "${prefix}" != */* ]]
+          }
+
+          is_deletable_branch() {
+            local branch="$1"
+            [[ -n "${branch}" && "${branch}" != "main" ]] || return 1
+            git check-ref-format "refs/heads/${branch}" >/dev/null
+          }
+
+          encode_ref() {
+            jq -rn --arg value "$1" '$value | @uri'
+          }
+
+          delete_branch() {
+            local branch="$1"
+            local encoded_branch
+
+            encoded_branch="$(encode_ref "${branch}")"
+            if gh api -X DELETE "repos/${REPOSITORY}/git/refs/heads/${encoded_branch}" --silent; then
+              echo "Deleted branch ${branch}."
+            elif gh api "repos/${REPOSITORY}/git/ref/heads/${encoded_branch}" --silent >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+              echo "::error::Failed to delete existing branch ${branch}."
+              return 1
+            else
+              echo "Branch ${branch} is already absent."
+            fi
+          }
+
+          process_pr() {
+            local advisory_file_pages base_ref base_repo expected_staging_branch head_ref head_repo
+            local pr_json pr_number="$1" state
+            expected_staging_branch="${2:-}"
+
+            if ! is_pr_number "${pr_number}"; then
+              echo "::error::Unexpected pull request number: ${pr_number}"
+              return 1
+            fi
+
+            pr_json="$(gh api "repos/${REPOSITORY}/pulls/${pr_number}")"
+            state="$(jq -r '.state' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+            base_ref="$(jq -r '.base.ref' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+            base_repo="$(jq -r '.base.repo.full_name' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+            head_ref="$(jq -r '.head.ref // empty' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+            head_repo="$(jq -r '.head.repo.full_name // empty' <<<"${pr_json}")"
+
+            if [[ "${state}" != "closed" ]]; then
+              echo "Pull request ${pr_number} is ${state}, not closed; skipping."
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            if [[ "${base_repo}" != "${REPOSITORY}" ]]; then
+              echo "Pull request ${pr_number} targets ${base_repo}, not ${REPOSITORY}; skipping."
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            if [[ -n "${expected_staging_branch}" && "${base_ref}" != "${expected_staging_branch}" ]]; then
+              echo "Pull request ${pr_number} no longer targets ${expected_staging_branch}; skipping."
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            if ! is_staging_branch_for_pr "${base_ref}" "${pr_number}"; then
+              echo "Pull request ${pr_number} base branch ${base_ref} is not its advisory improvement branch; skipping."
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            if [[ "${head_repo}" != "${REPOSITORY}" ]]; then
+              echo "Pull request ${pr_number} head repo is ${head_repo}, not ${REPOSITORY}; skipping."
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            advisory_file_pages="$(gh api --paginate "repos/${REPOSITORY}/pulls/${pr_number}/files?per_page=100" \
+              --jq 'any(.[]; .filename | startswith("advisories/"))')"
+            if ! grep -qx 'true' <<<"${advisory_file_pages}"; then
+              echo "Pull request ${pr_number} does not modify advisories/; skipping."
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            delete_branch "${base_ref}"
+            if [[ "${head_ref}" == "${base_ref}" ]]; then
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            if ! is_deletable_branch "${head_ref}"; then
+              echo "Head branch ${head_ref} is not a valid deletable Git branch; leaving it in place."
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            delete_branch "${head_ref}"
+          }
+
+          collect_reconciliation_targets() {
+            local branch branches
+
+            branches="$(gh api --paginate "repos/${REPOSITORY}/branches?per_page=100" --jq '.[].name')"
+            while IFS= read -r branch; do
+              if [[ "${branch}" =~ ^[^/]+/advisory-improvement-([0-9]+)$ ]] &&
+                 git check-ref-format "refs/heads/${branch}" >/dev/null; then
+                printf '%s\t%s\n' "${BASH_REMATCH[1]}" "${branch}"
+              fi
+            done <<<"${branches}"
+          }
+
+          if [[ "${GITHUB_EVENT_NAME}" == "workflow_run" ]]; then
+            PR_NUMBER="${WORKFLOW_RUN_PR_NUMBER}"
+            if ! is_pr_number "${PR_NUMBER:-}"; then
+              echo "No pull request number was provided; skipping."
+              exit 0
+            fi
+            process_pr "${PR_NUMBER}"
+          elif [[ "${GITHUB_EVENT_NAME}" == "workflow_dispatch" ]]; then
+            process_pr "${DISPATCH_PR_NUMBER}"
+          else
+            TARGETS="$(collect_reconciliation_targets)"
+            if [[ -z "${TARGETS}" ]]; then
+              echo "No staging branches need reconciliation."
+              exit 0
+            fi
+            while IFS=$'\t' read -r PR_NUMBER STAGING_BRANCH; do
+              process_pr "${PR_NUMBER}" "${STAGING_BRANCH}"
+            done <<<"${TARGETS}"
+          fi