diff --git a/notes/pdftract-5l9m.md b/notes/pdftract-5l9m.md
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+# pdftract-5l9m: Hardening - secrecy::SecretString wrapper
+
+## Summary
+
+This bead introduces the `secrecy` crate for type-safe secret handling, preventing accidental leakage via Debug printing and serialization.
+
+## Work Completed
+
+### 1. Workspace Dependency (Already Done)
+- ✅ `secrecy = "0.8"` already added to `[workspace.dependencies]` in Cargo.toml
+
+### 2. pdftract-core ExtractionOptions (Already Done)
+- ✅ `ExtractionOptions.password` is `Option<SecretString>` (not `Option<String>`)
+- ✅ Manual `Debug` impl prints `<REDACTED>` for password field
+- ✅ Custom `Serialize` impl redacts password value
+- ✅ Custom `Deserialize` impl wraps incoming password in `SecretString`
+- ✅ Doctest verifies Debug output never leaks password (passes)
+
+### 3. SecretFingerprint Helper (Already Done)
+- ✅ `SecretFingerprint` type exists in `crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/secrets.rs`
+- ✅ Provides SHA-256-based fingerprint for audit logs
+- ✅ Tests verify consistency and non-reversibility
+
+### 4. CI Validation Check (Added)
+- ✅ Created `scripts/ci/validate_expose_secret.sh` script
+- ✅ Validates all `expose_secret()` call sites against authorized list
+- ✅ Authorized locations:
+  - `crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/secrets.rs:37` - SecretFingerprint::from_secret()
+  - `crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/stream.rs:2161` - test deserialization
+
+### 5. Other Crates (Not Applicable)
+The following crates mentioned in the bead description do not exist yet:
+- `pdftract-mcp` - authentication state (token field)
+- `pdftract-inspector` - launch state (single-use token)
+- `pdftract-remote` - HTTP fetch URL credential
+
+These will need SecretString wrapping when implemented in future beads.
+
+## Acceptance Criteria Status
+
+| Criterion | Status |
+|-----------|--------|
+| secrecy crate is a workspace dependency | ✅ PASS |
+| All listed secret-holding fields are SecretString-wrapped | ⚠️ WARN - only ExtractionOptions exists; other crates not yet implemented |
+| No struct holding SecretString derives Debug | ✅ PASS - ExtractionOptions uses manual impl |
+| Custom clippy lint or CI grep rejects unauthorized expose_secret() | ✅ PASS - CI script added |
+| Doctest demonstrates Debug-print never leaks password | ✅ PASS - doctest passes |
+| TH-08 log audit test passes | ⚠️ WARN - separate bead, not yet verified |
+
+## Test Results
+
+```bash
+$ cargo test --doc -p pdftract-core
+# ...
+test crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/stream.rs - parser::stream::ExtractionOptions (line 840) ... ok
+
+test result: ok. 5 passed; 0 failed; 9 ignored; 0 measured; 0 filtered out
+```
+
+```bash
+$ bash scripts/ci/validate_expose_secret.sh
+Checking for unauthorized expose_secret() call sites...
+✓ All expose_secret() calls are authorized
+```
+
+## Files Modified/Created
+
+- Created: `scripts/ci/validate_expose_secret.sh` - CI validation for expose_secret() call sites
+- Created: `notes/pdftract-5l9m.md` - this verification note
+- Existing (no changes needed):
+  - `Cargo.toml` - secrecy dependency already present
+  - `crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/secrets.rs` - SecretFingerprint already implemented
+  - `crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/stream.rs` - ExtractionOptions already uses SecretString
+
+## References
+
+- Plan: line 921 (token in SecretString), Secrets Handling (lines 897-929), TH-08 (line 879)
diff --git a/scripts/ci/validate_expose_secret.sh b/scripts/ci/validate_expose_secret.sh
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+++ b/scripts/ci/validate_expose_secret.sh
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+#!/bin/bash
+# CI check for unauthorized expose_secret() call sites.
+#
+# Per pdftract-5l9m, the only legitimate uses of expose_secret() are:
+# - SecretFingerprint::from_secret() (crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/secrets.rs)
+# - Test code (crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/stream.rs deserialization test)
+#
+# This script should be run in CI to catch any new unauthorized uses.
+
+set -e
+
+echo "Checking for unauthorized expose_secret() call sites..."
+
+# Find all expose_secret() calls
+RESULTS=$(rg "expose_secret\(\)" crates/ --type rust -n || true)
+
+if [ -z "$RESULTS" ]; then
+    echo "✓ No expose_secret() calls found"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+# Check for unauthorized calls
+# Authorized locations:
+# 1. crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/secrets.rs:37 - SecretFingerprint::from_secret()
+# 2. crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/stream.rs:2161 - test deserialization
+
+UNAUTHORIZED=""
+while IFS= read -r line; do
+    # Extract file and line number
+    FILE_LINE=$(echo "$line" | cut -d: -f1-2)
+
+    # Check if this is an authorized location
+    if [[ "$FILE_LINE" == *"secrets.rs:37"* ]]; then
+        continue
+    fi
+    if [[ "$FILE_LINE" == *"stream.rs:2161"* ]]; then
+        continue
+    fi
+    # Skip comment lines (contain "//!")
+    if [[ "$line" == *"//!"* ]]; then
+        continue
+    fi
+    UNAUTHORIZED="$UNAUTHORIZED$line"$'\n'
+done <<< "$RESULTS"
+
+if [ -n "$UNAUTHORIZED" ]; then
+    echo "❌ Found unauthorized expose_secret() call sites:"
+    echo "$UNAUTHORIZED"
+    echo ""
+    echo "The only authorized uses of expose_secret() are:"
+    echo "  - crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/secrets.rs:SecretFingerprint::from_secret()"
+    echo "  - crates/pdftract-core/src/parser/stream.rs:2161 (test code)"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "✓ All expose_secret() calls are authorized"