diff --git a/.github/workflows/dependabot-automerge.yml b/.github/workflows/dependabot-automerge.yml
index f7dfa562..8499715c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dependabot-automerge.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dependabot-automerge.yml
@@ -46,26 +46,60 @@ jobs:
             --jq '.user.login')
           FILES=$(gh api repos/${{ github.repository }}/pulls/$PR_NUMBER/files \
             --jq '[.[].filename] | join(" ")')
-          BODY=$(gh api repos/${{ github.repository }}/pulls/$PR_NUMBER \
-            --jq '.body')
-          if echo "$BODY" | grep -qE '(GHSA-[A-Za-z0-9-]+|CVE-[0-9]{4}-[0-9]+|dependabot-automerge-start)'; then
-            IS_SECURITY=true
-          else
-            IS_SECURITY=false
-          fi
+          TITLE=$(gh api repos/${{ github.repository }}/pulls/$PR_NUMBER \
+            --jq '.title')
           echo "author=$AUTHOR" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "files=$FILES" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "title=$TITLE" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+      - name: Check bumped package against open Dependabot alerts
+        id: security-check
+        if: steps.get-pr.outputs.pr_number != ''
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          TITLE="${{ steps.pr-info.outputs.title }}"
+          # Dependabot PR titles look like "build(deps): bump <pkg> from X to Y"
+          # or, for grouped/ancestor bumps, "build(deps): bump <pkg>, <pkg> and <pkg>"
+          REST=$(echo "$TITLE" | sed -n 's/^.*[Bb]ump \(.*\)$/\1/p')
+          REST=$(echo "$REST" | sed -E 's/ from .* to .*$//')
+          mapfile -t PACKAGES < <(echo "$REST" | sed -E 's/, /\n/g; s/ and /\n/g')
+
+          OPEN_ALERT_PACKAGES=$(gh api repos/${{ github.repository }}/dependabot/alerts --paginate \
+            --jq '.[] | select(.state == "open") | .dependency.package.name' | sort -u)
+
+          IS_SECURITY=false
+          MATCHED_PKG=""
+          for PKG in "${PACKAGES[@]}"; do
+            PKG=$(echo "$PKG" | xargs)
+            [ -z "$PKG" ] && continue
+            if echo "$OPEN_ALERT_PACKAGES" | grep -Fxq "$PKG"; then
+              IS_SECURITY=true
+              MATCHED_PKG="$PKG"
+              break
+            fi
+          done
+          echo "package=$MATCHED_PKG" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "is_security=$IS_SECURITY" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
       - name: Auto-approve and merge security-only lock file updates
         if: |
           steps.pr-info.outputs.author == 'dependabot[bot]' &&
           steps.pr-info.outputs.files == 'package-lock.json' &&
-          steps.pr-info.outputs.is_security == 'true'
+          steps.security-check.outputs.is_security == 'true'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           PR_NUMBER: ${{ steps.get-pr.outputs.pr_number }}
         run: |
           gh pr review $PR_NUMBER --approve --repo ${{ github.repository }} \
             --body "Auto-approving: security patch, package-lock.json only."
-          gh pr merge $PR_NUMBER --squash --repo ${{ github.repository }}
+
+          for attempt in 1 2 3 4 5; do
+            if gh pr merge $PR_NUMBER --squash --repo ${{ github.repository }}; then
+              exit 0
+            fi
+            echo "Merge attempt $attempt failed, retrying in 10s..."
+            sleep 10
+          done
+          echo "::error::Failed to merge PR $PR_NUMBER after 5 attempts"
+          exit 1