diff --git a/template/.github/{% if include_actions %}workflows{% endif %}/{% if repo_visibility == 'public' %}scorecard.yml{% endif %}.jinja b/template/.github/{% if include_actions %}workflows{% endif %}/{% if repo_visibility == 'public' %}scorecard.yml{% endif %}.jinja
index d7801b9..e4bac50 100644
--- a/template/.github/{% if include_actions %}workflows{% endif %}/{% if repo_visibility == 'public' %}scorecard.yml{% endif %}.jinja	
+++ b/template/.github/{% if include_actions %}workflows{% endif %}/{% if repo_visibility == 'public' %}scorecard.yml{% endif %}.jinja	
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
 
       - name: Run analysis
-        uses: ossf/scorecard-action@v2
+        uses: ossf/scorecard-action@v2.4.4
         with:
           results_file: results.sarif
           results_format: sarif
diff --git a/tests/test_template.py b/tests/test_template.py
index 6f2cf2c..094d400 100644
--- a/tests/test_template.py
+++ b/tests/test_template.py
@@ -4184,7 +4184,7 @@ def test_docs_use_no_em_or_en_dashes(copie_session_default):
     "github/codeql-action/analyze": "v3",
     "github/codeql-action/init": "v3",
     "github/codeql-action/upload-sarif": "v3",
-    "ossf/scorecard-action": "v2",
+    "ossf/scorecard-action": "v2.4.4",
     "peter-evans/create-pull-request": "v8",
     "pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish": "v1.13.0",
     "taiki-e/install-action": "v2",
@@ -4234,6 +4234,57 @@ def test_action_pins_are_consistent_and_current(copie_session_default):
     assert not wrong, f"pins disagree with what the fleet runs (action: template -> expected): {wrong}"
 
 
+@pytest.mark.slow
+def test_expected_action_pins_actually_resolve_on_github():
+    """Every pin in EXPECTED_ACTION_PINS resolves to a real ref on GitHub.
+
+    ``test_action_pins_are_consistent_and_current`` only checks the template's pins are
+    self-consistent and match this map -- it cannot tell whether a tag *exists*. That
+    gap shipped ``ossf/scorecard-action@v2`` (no such tag; the action publishes only
+    ``vX.Y.Z`` tags), which passed every test and then failed at runtime on every
+    generated repo with "unable to find version v2". This closes it by resolving each
+    pinned ref against GitHub.
+
+    Network-gated: skips cleanly when ``gh`` or the network is unavailable, so it is a
+    CI safety net (CI has an authenticated ``gh`` and no rate limit) rather than an
+    offline tripwire. Marked ``slow`` so it stays out of the fast feedback loop.
+    """
+    gh = shutil.which("gh")
+    if gh is None:
+        pytest.skip("gh CLI not available")
+    missing = {}
+    uncheckable = []
+    for action, ref in EXPECTED_ACTION_PINS.items():
+        repo = "/".join(action.split("/")[:2])  # github/codeql-action/init -> github/codeql-action
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [gh, "api", f"repos/{repo}/commits/{ref}", "--jq", ".sha"],
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            timeout=30,
+            check=False,
+        )
+        if result.returncode == 0:
+            continue
+        err = (result.stderr + result.stdout).lower()
+        if "not found" in err or "404" in err or "no commit found" in err:
+            # Definitive: the ref does not exist. This is the failure worth catching.
+            missing[f"{action}@{ref}"] = result.stderr.strip()[:120]
+        else:
+            # Cannot verify: gh unauthenticated (no GH_TOKEN, e.g. the CI test env),
+            # rate limited, or offline. Do NOT fail on these -- only a real 404 fails.
+            uncheckable.append(f"{action}@{ref}")
+    # A definitive 404 fails regardless of any refs we could not check.
+    assert not missing, (
+        f"these pinned action refs do not exist on GitHub (a non-existent pin passes the consistency "
+        f"check but fails at runtime on every generated repo -- as ossf/scorecard-action@v2 did): {missing}"
+    )
+    if uncheckable:
+        pytest.skip(
+            f"could not verify {len(uncheckable)}/{len(EXPECTED_ACTION_PINS)} pins "
+            f"(gh unauthenticated or network unavailable); e.g. {uncheckable[0]}"
+        )
+
+
 def test_nav_order_is_diataxis_with_reference_last(copie_session_default, copie_minimal):
     """The nav reads learn -> do -> see -> understand -> look up, in that order.