diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index b1abd52..9485fa4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ on:
         required: false
         type: string
 
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
 concurrency:
   group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
   cancel-in-progress: ${{ github.ref != 'refs/heads/main' }}
diff --git a/changelog.d/20260722_issue_33_release_permissions.md b/changelog.d/20260722_issue_33_release_permissions.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fdc6355
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/20260722_issue_33_release_permissions.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+### Security
+
+- Default the release workflow token to read-only repository access, with write
+  access limited to the publishing jobs that require it.
diff --git a/tests/test_workflows.py b/tests/test_workflows.py
index 8917fd3..122edf2 100644
--- a/tests/test_workflows.py
+++ b/tests/test_workflows.py
@@ -71,6 +71,17 @@ def test_release_workflow_keeps_main_releases_running() -> None:
     assert "cancel-in-progress: true" not in workflow
 
 
+def test_release_workflow_uses_least_privilege_permissions() -> None:
+    """Only publishing jobs should receive write-capable tokens."""
+    workflow = read_workflow("release.yml")
+
+    assert "\npermissions:\n  contents: read\n" in workflow
+
+    for job_name in ("auto-release", "manual-release"):
+        block = workflow_job_block(workflow, job_name)
+        assert "permissions:\n      contents: write\n      id-token: write" in block
+
+
 def test_release_workflow_jobs_have_explicit_timeouts() -> None:
     """Release workflow jobs should fail fast instead of using the six-hour default."""
     workflow = read_workflow("release.yml")