diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 9667f56..0fd56c5 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "agentscore-py"
-version = "2.8.0"
+version = "2.8.1"
 description = "Python client for the AgentScore APIs"
 readme = "README.md"
 license = "MIT"
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ requires-python = ">=3.11"
 keywords = ["agentscore", "x402", "agent", "trust", "wallet", "blockchain", "ai-agent", "agentic-payments"]
 dependencies = [
     "httpx>=0.25.0,<1.0.0",
+    # Below 2026.10.19, certifi trusts emSign roots whose intermediate keys were
+    # compromised; httpx alone would let an install resolve one.
+    "certifi>=2026.10.19",
 ]
 classifiers = [
     "Development Status :: 4 - Beta",
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 49585b6..9183690 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@ requires-python = ">=3.11"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "agentscore-py"
-version = "2.8.0"
+version = "2.8.1"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
+    { name = "certifi" },
     { name = "httpx" },
 ]
 
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@ dev = [
 
 [package.metadata]
 requires-dist = [
+    { name = "certifi", specifier = ">=2026.10.19" },
     { name = "httpx", specifier = ">=0.25.0,<1.0.0" },
     { name = "pytest", marker = "extra == 'dev'", specifier = ">=7.0" },
     { name = "pytest-asyncio", marker = "extra == 'dev'", specifier = ">=0.21" },
@@ -65,11 +67,11 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "certifi"
-version = "2026.10.18"
+version = "2026.10.19"
 source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
-sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/7e/eb/a2aa1ac3ea30dd3f30ca57f40232138b6b0040719316ecb85daf61167771/certifi-2026.10.18.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:b9995d97b64d0431a5af837d8ca8cd6238104d1f319f04bd93ea43124d6c861e", size = 135227, upload-time = "2026-10-18T16:21:07.655Z" }
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/a6/bd/1436c50cc46699de0230fbaacc1d1de7bfec413176099949e9d5112e88f2/certifi-2026.10.19.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:035c1e85572b141bf1c3a3eff0e33a8eb74917522f2559075ff8d2fea780a1ae", size = 137598, upload-time = "2026-10-20T02:24:16.604Z" }
 wheels = [
-    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/08/ba/95dd616042484f7c83a06974388b37b837732740ee70bc5dc715b5fcd55a/certifi-2026.10.18-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:73191c47aaa79da394e8fee2dbc2ec827432cab56311122c9e47abf79e390f62", size = 134093, upload-time = "2026-10-18T16:21:06.276Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/c4/51/29046e48f693c54e5b7412216d447a1d8362c9653148d98c02cdf65fa733/certifi-2026.10.19-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:42d35340cc5b9ba78e818ddbff0c5b1c2b779de448a340fd1b989f5fa8670e1b", size = 136464, upload-time = "2026-10-20T02:24:15.072Z" },
 ]
 
 [[package]]