diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
index 30b6f3b..5200490 100644
--- a/.github/dependabot.yml
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@ updates:
     directory: "/"
     schedule:
       interval: "weekly"
+    # The test/ tree holds throwaway fixture packages (npm, yarn, pnpm, pip,
+    # docker, Pipfile, ...) that are intentionally pinned, out of date, or
+    # deliberately broken. Never open version-update PRs for their manifests.
+    # `**` matches recursively, so this covers every nested fixture manifest.
     exclude-paths:
       - "test/**"
-      - "ossprey/test_*.py"
diff --git a/.github/scripts/dismiss-test-fixture-alerts.sh b/.github/scripts/dismiss-test-fixture-alerts.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..c0a7481
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/dismiss-test-fixture-alerts.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# Dismiss all OPEN Dependabot alerts whose manifest lives under a given path
+# prefix (default: test/). Every other alert is left untouched, so real
+# (root) dependencies keep alerting normally and the "Dependabot alerts
+# enabled" compliance control (e.g. Vanta) stays satisfied. Dismissing an
+# alert also stops Dependabot from opening security-update PRs for it.
+#
+# The test/ tree holds intentionally vulnerable / pinned / broken fixture
+# packages used by the scanner's own test suite; they are never shipped or
+# executed, so their alerts are dismissed as "not_used".
+#
+# Requires: gh CLI, authenticated (GH_TOKEN) with a token that has
+#   "Dependabot alerts: read and write" (fine-grained PAT) or the classic
+#   `repo` + `security_events` scope. The default Actions GITHUB_TOKEN
+#   CANNOT write Dependabot alerts, so a dedicated secret is required.
+#
+# Env vars:
+#   REPO         owner/repo            (default: ossprey/ossprey-python-client)
+#   PATH_PREFIX  manifest path prefix  (default: test/)
+#   APPLY        1 to dismiss, else dry-run (default: dry-run)
+#
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO="${REPO:-ossprey/ossprey-python-client}"
+PATH_PREFIX="${PATH_PREFIX:-test/}"
+REASON="not_used"   # one of: fix_started inaccurate no_bandwidth not_used tolerable_risk
+COMMENT="Intentional vulnerable test fixture under ${PATH_PREFIX}; not shipped or executed in production."
+
+echo ">> Repo: ${REPO}  |  prefix: ${PATH_PREFIX}  |  apply: ${APPLY:-0}"
+echo ">> Fetching open Dependabot alerts ..."
+
+mapfile -t nums < <(
+  gh api --paginate "/repos/${REPO}/dependabot/alerts?state=open&per_page=100" \
+    --jq ".[] | select(.dependency.manifest_path | startswith(\"${PATH_PREFIX}\")) | .number"
+)
+
+if [ "${#nums[@]}" -eq 0 ]; then
+  echo ">> No open alerts under ${PATH_PREFIX}. Nothing to do."
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+echo ">> ${#nums[@]} open alert(s) under ${PATH_PREFIX}: ${nums[*]}"
+
+if [ "${APPLY:-0}" != "1" ]; then
+  echo ">> DRY RUN. Set APPLY=1 to dismiss the alerts above."
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+for num in "${nums[@]}"; do
+  echo ">> Dismissing alert #${num} ..."
+  gh api -X PATCH "/repos/${REPO}/dependabot/alerts/${num}" \
+    -f state="dismissed" \
+    -f dismissed_reason="${REASON}" \
+    -f dismissed_comment="${COMMENT}" \
+    --jq '"   -> now: \(.state) (\(.dismissed_reason))"'
+done
+
+echo ">> Done. Dismissed ${#nums[@]} alert(s)."
diff --git a/.github/workflows/dismiss-test-fixture-alerts.yml b/.github/workflows/dismiss-test-fixture-alerts.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..595c01d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/dismiss-test-fixture-alerts.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+name: Dismiss test-fixture Dependabot alerts
+
+# The test/ tree holds intentionally vulnerable / pinned / broken fixture
+# packages used by the scanner's own test suite. They must stay in the repo
+# for the tests to work, but they should never count as open Dependabot
+# alerts. This job dismisses (as "not_used") any open alert whose manifest
+# lives under test/, leaving alerts for real dependencies untouched so the
+# repo-wide Dependabot alerting (and the Vanta control that monitors it)
+# stays intact.
+#
+# Requires a repository secret DEPENDABOT_ALERTS_TOKEN: a fine-grained PAT
+# scoped to this repo with "Dependabot alerts: Read and write" permission.
+# The built-in GITHUB_TOKEN cannot write Dependabot alerts, so this secret
+# is mandatory.
+
+on:
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "0 6 * * 1"   # every Monday 06:00 UTC
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      dry_run:
+        description: "Only list what would be dismissed (do not dismiss)"
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
+
+permissions: {}
+
+concurrency:
+  group: dismiss-test-fixture-alerts
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+jobs:
+  dismiss:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Verify token secret is configured
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DEPENDABOT_ALERTS_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          if [ -z "${GH_TOKEN}" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Secret DEPENDABOT_ALERTS_TOKEN is not set. Create a fine-grained PAT" \
+                 "with 'Dependabot alerts: Read and write' on this repo and add it as a repo secret."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - name: Dismiss test-fixture alerts
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DEPENDABOT_ALERTS_TOKEN }}
+          REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+          PATH_PREFIX: "test/"
+          # Scheduled runs apply; manual runs honor the dry_run toggle.
+          APPLY: ${{ (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.dry_run) && '0' || '1' }}
+        run: bash .github/scripts/dismiss-test-fixture-alerts.sh