diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 9e73a5d..4436613 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ tracing = { version = "^0.1.41", features = ["std", "attributes"] } # 2025-11-03
 tracing-subscriber = { version = "^0.3.20", features = ["env-filter", "fmt", "json"] } # 2025-11-03 sw: logging bridge
 tracing-test = { version = "^0.2.5" } # 2025-11-03 sw: ensures span assertions match runtime wiring
 clap = { version = "^4.5.49", features = ["derive"] } # 2025-11-03 sw: CLI + xtask parsing, Tier1 review
-cargo_metadata = { version = "^0.18.1" } # 2025-11-03 sw: workspace graph inspection for xtask
+cargo_metadata = { version = "^0.23.1" } # 2025-11-03 sw: workspace graph inspection for xtask
 toml = { version = "^0.8.19" } # 2025-11-03 sw: manifest parsing in xtask
 time = { version = "^0.3.36", features = ["macros", "formatting"] } # 2025-11-03 sw: ISO-8601 timestamps for drift reports
 semver = { version = "^1.0.27" } # 2025-11-03 sw: version range evaluation for drift detection