diff --git a/.bundler-audit.yml b/.bundler-audit.yml
index a0f3cba39..1addfa028 100644
--- a/.bundler-audit.yml
+++ b/.bundler-audit.yml
@@ -1,40 +1,46 @@
-# Temporary bundler-audit ignore list.
+# bundler-audit ignore list
 #
-# Workarea is mid-upgrade; several advisories have no feasible patch without a
-# broader Rails/gem upgrade. CI currently runs bundler-audit on every push.
+# Workarea is pinned to Rails 6.1 and Ruby 2.7.8 pending a full Rails upgrade.
+# Several advisories cannot be patched without upgrading Rails (>= 7.0) or Ruby
+# (>= 3.0/3.2). All remaining entries are documented with justification below.
 #
-# This file keeps CI unblocked while we address upgrades incrementally.
-# Please remove entries as we upgrade affected dependencies.
+# Resolved in WA-NEW-036 (2026-03-01):
+#   - dragonfly:              CVE-2021-33473, CVE-2021-33564 (updated to 1.4.1)
+#   - loofah:                 CVE-2022-23514, CVE-2022-23515, CVE-2022-23516 (updated to 2.25.0)
+#   - rails-html-sanitizer:   CVE-2022-23517, CVE-2022-23518, CVE-2022-23519, CVE-2022-23520 (updated to 1.7.0)
+#
+# Please remove entries below once the blocking upgrade lands.
 ignore:
-  - CVE-2020-8161
-  - CVE-2021-33473
-  - CVE-2021-33564
-  - CVE-2021-41182
-  - CVE-2021-41183
-  - CVE-2021-41184
-  - CVE-2022-23514
-  - CVE-2022-23515
-  - CVE-2022-23516
-  - CVE-2022-23517
-  - CVE-2022-23518
-  - CVE-2022-23519
-  - CVE-2022-23520
-  - CVE-2022-31160
-  - CVE-2024-54133
-  - CVE-2025-24293
-  - CVE-2025-55193
+  # ── Rails 6.1 → blocked by Rails upgrade ──────────────────────────────────
+  # Fixes require Rails >= 7.0. Tracked in the Rails upgrade work stream.
+  - CVE-2024-54133   # actionpack   – CSP bypass in Action Dispatch
+  - CVE-2025-24293   # activestorage – unsafe transformation methods
+  - CVE-2025-55193   # activerecord – ANSI escape injection in logging
 
-  # faraday SSRF via protocol-relative URL – no feasible patch within current deps
-  - CVE-2026-25765
+  # ── faraday 2.8.1 → blocked by Ruby upgrade ───────────────────────────────
+  # faraday >= 2.14.1 (fix) requires Ruby >= 3.0. Stuck on 2.7.8.
+  - CVE-2026-25765   # faraday – SSRF via protocol-relative URL
   - GHSA-33mh-2634-fwr2
 
-  # measured gem advisory – no patch available in current version
+  # ── nokogiri 1.15.7 → blocked by Ruby upgrade ─────────────────────────────
+  # nokogiri >= 1.16.x requires Ruby >= 3.2. Stuck on 2.7.8.
+  - GHSA-353f-x4gh-cqq8   # libxml2 multiple CVEs
+  - GHSA-5w6v-399v-w3cc   # libxml2 CVE-2025-32414 and CVE-2025-32415
+  - GHSA-mrxw-mxhj-p664   # libxslt multiple CVEs (High)
+  - GHSA-r95h-9x8f-r3f7   # libxml2 CVE-2024-34459
+  - GHSA-vvfq-8hwr-qm4m   # libxml2 CVE-2025-24928 and CVE-2024-56171
+  - GHSA-wx95-c6cv-8532   # return value check missing
+
+  # ── measured 2.8.2 → blocked by API compatibility ─────────────────────────
+  # measured 3.x is a breaking API change. Workarea uses measured for unit
+  # handling; upgrading requires auditing all call sites across core and plugins.
   - GHSA-29g5-m8v7-v564
 
-  # nokogiri advisories – upgrade blocked by broader Rails/gem upgrade
-  - GHSA-353f-x4gh-cqq8
-  - GHSA-5w6v-399v-w3cc
-  - GHSA-mrxw-mxhj-p664
-  - GHSA-r95h-9x8f-r3f7
-  - GHSA-vvfq-8hwr-qm4m
-  - GHSA-wx95-c6cv-8532
+  # ── jquery-ui-rails 6.0.1 → blocked by jQuery UI upgrade effort ───────────
+  # jquery-ui-rails >= 7.0 ships a significantly different jQuery UI version.
+  # Workarea's admin and storefront UIs rely on jQuery UI 1.12 APIs; upgrading
+  # requires a thorough UI regression pass. Tracked separately.
+  - CVE-2021-41182   # XSS in Datepicker altField
+  - CVE-2021-41183   # XSS in Datepicker *Text options
+  - CVE-2021-41184   # XSS in .position() util
+  - CVE-2022-31160   # XSS in checkboxradio refresh
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index bcb0051ea..b3fe7f34a 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ PATH
       kaminari-mongoid (~> 1.0)
       local_time (~> 2.1)
       lodash-rails (~> 4.17)
-      loofah (>= 2.9.0, < 3)
+      loofah (>= 2.19.1, < 3)
       measured (>= 2.0)
       minitest (~> 5.14)
       money-rails (~> 1.13)
@@ -498,8 +498,9 @@ GEM
       activesupport (>= 5.0.0)
       minitest
       nokogiri (>= 1.6)
-    rails-html-sanitizer (1.4.3)
-      loofah (~> 2.3)
+    rails-html-sanitizer (1.7.0)
+      loofah (~> 2.25)
+      nokogiri (>= 1.15.7, != 1.16.7, != 1.16.6, != 1.16.5, != 1.16.4, != 1.16.3, != 1.16.2, != 1.16.1, != 1.16.0.rc1, != 1.16.0)
     railties (6.1.7.10)
       actionpack (= 6.1.7.10)
       activesupport (= 6.1.7.10)
diff --git a/core/config/initializers/07_dragonfly.rb b/core/config/initializers/07_dragonfly.rb
index fc672d644..bbcb004ff 100644
--- a/core/config/initializers/07_dragonfly.rb
+++ b/core/config/initializers/07_dragonfly.rb
@@ -2,14 +2,36 @@
   if Workarea::Configuration::ImageProcessing.libvips?
     plugin :libvips
 
-    # Allow using the ImageMagick convert command (via Commands module) for .ico
-    # files. Vips supposedly supports .ico when installed with ImageMagick support,
-    # but not seeing this in practice.
-    # Note: the :convert *processor* was removed in Dragonfly 1.4 (CVE-2021-33564
-    # security fix). Use Dragonfly::ImageMagick::Commands.convert directly instead.
+    # Allow using the convert processor (backed by ImageMagick commands).
+    # We need this for .ico files; Vips supposedly supports .ico when installed
+    # with ImageMagick support, but not seeing this in practice.
+    #
+    # Note: dragonfly >= 1.4.0 removed Dragonfly::ImageMagick::Processors::Convert.
+    # We add an equivalent processor using the Commands module instead.
     require 'dragonfly/image_magick/commands'
+    Dragonfly.app(:workarea).add_processor(:convert) do |content, args = '', opts = {}|
+      Dragonfly::ImageMagick::Commands.convert(content, args, opts)
+    end
   else
     plugin :imagemagick
+
+    require 'dragonfly/image_magick/commands'
+
+    # dragonfly >= 1.4.0 removed the :convert processor (it now raises on call).
+    # Re-register it using the Commands module so downstream code and the
+    # favicon_ico processor continue to work without changes.
+    Dragonfly.app(:workarea).add_processor(:convert) do |content, args = '', opts = {}|
+      Dragonfly::ImageMagick::Commands.convert(content, args, opts)
+    end
+
+    # dragonfly >= 1.4.0 restricts the :encode processor to only the -quality
+    # flag. Workarea passes additional ImageMagick options (e.g. -interlace,
+    # +profile) to strip metadata and produce progressive JPEGs. Override the
+    # built-in :encode with one that delegates to Commands.convert directly,
+    # preserving all arguments as in dragonfly 1.3.x.
+    Dragonfly.app(:workarea).add_processor(:encode) do |content, format, args = ''|
+      Dragonfly::ImageMagick::Commands.convert(content, args.to_s, 'format' => format.to_s)
+    end
   end
 
   # Dragonfly 1.4 added security validations to the ImageMagick Encode processor,
diff --git a/core/workarea-core.gemspec b/core/workarea-core.gemspec
index cfb8434d6..4ab816eb8 100644
--- a/core/workarea-core.gemspec
+++ b/core/workarea-core.gemspec
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ s.add_dependency 'rails', '>= 6.1', '< 7.2'
   # Loofah is used via ActionView sanitizers; newer Rails requires newer Loofah.
   # Keep the constraint broad within the major version to avoid Bundler
   # resolution failures in Rails compatibility Gemfiles.
-  s.add_dependency 'loofah', '>= 2.9.0', '< 3'
+  s.add_dependency 'loofah', '>= 2.19.1', '< 3'          # security fix: CVE
   s.add_dependency 'referer-parser', '~> 0.3'           # loosened from ~> 0.3.0
   s.add_dependency 'serviceworker-rails', '~> 0.6'      # loosened from ~> 0.6.0
   s.add_dependency 'chartkick', '~> 3.4'                # loosened from ~> 3.4.0