diff --git a/keetanetwork-vote/src/staple.rs b/keetanetwork-vote/src/staple.rs
index 03d3fdd..9712395 100644
--- a/keetanetwork-vote/src/staple.rs
+++ b/keetanetwork-vote/src/staple.rs
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 use alloc::vec::Vec;
 
 use miniz_oxide::deflate::compress_to_vec_zlib;
-use miniz_oxide::inflate::decompress_to_vec_zlib;
+use miniz_oxide::inflate::decompress_to_vec_zlib_with_limit;
 
 use keetanetwork_account::AccountPublicKey;
 use keetanetwork_asn1::vote as transport;
@@ -349,14 +349,37 @@ fn staple_decode_error(error: keetanetwork_asn1::Asn1Error) -> VoteError {
 // `compress_to_vec_zlib`'s level argument follows the zlib convention (0-10)
 const ZLIB_DEFAULT_LEVEL: u8 = 6;
 
+/// Upper bound on the *uncompressed* size of a staple bundle accepted from the
+/// wire. It exists only to stop a decompression bomb: a hostile peer sending a
+/// tiny zlib stream that inflates into an enormous allocation before any
+/// signature or content validation runs.
+///
+/// Why 8 MiB is safe (never rejects a legitimate staple):
+/// a staple's canonical form is `SEQUENCE { blocks SEQUENCE OF OCTET STRING,
+/// votes SEQUENCE OF OCTET STRING }`. A staple endorses one confirmed set of
+/// blocks and carries at most one vote per representative (votes are
+/// de-duplicated by issuer in `validate_vote_invariants`). Blocks are small:
+/// their text fields are individually length-capped (see
+/// `keetanetwork-block` validation, e.g. 1024-byte external data) and a block
+/// serializes to a few KB at most; a vote certificate is an X.509-shaped record
+/// of similar order. So even a large round — hundreds of blocks and hundreds of
+/// representative votes at a few KB each — stays in the low single-digit
+/// megabytes. 8 MiB leaves comfortable headroom above any realistic staple while
+/// still bounding the allocation an attacker can force by ~3 orders of
+/// magnitude below the previously-unbounded case. The repository does not define
+/// a hard protocol maximum staple size; if one is established, tighten this
+/// constant to it.
+const MAX_STAPLE_UNCOMPRESSED_BYTES: usize = 8 * 1024 * 1024;
+
 fn deflate(input: &[u8]) -> Result<Vec<u8>, VoteError> {
 	Ok(compress_to_vec_zlib(input, ZLIB_DEFAULT_LEVEL))
 }
 
 fn inflate(input: &[u8]) -> Result<Vec<u8>, VoteError> {
 	// Reference treats failed zlib inflation of a staple as a malformed
-	// staple (with a fallback to raw bytes).
-	decompress_to_vec_zlib(input).map_err(|_| VoteError::MalformedStaple)
+	// staple (with a fallback to raw bytes). Decompress under a fixed output
+	// cap so untrusted input cannot force an unbounded allocation.
+	decompress_to_vec_zlib_with_limit(input, MAX_STAPLE_UNCOMPRESSED_BYTES).map_err(|_| VoteError::MalformedStaple)
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
@@ -392,6 +415,25 @@ mod tests {
 		assert!(result.is_err());
 	}
 
+	#[test]
+	fn test_inflate_rejects_decompression_bomb() {
+		// A tiny compressed input that would inflate past the cap must be
+		// rejected as malformed rather than allocated.
+		let oversized = alloc::vec![0u8; MAX_STAPLE_UNCOMPRESSED_BYTES + 1];
+		let compressed = deflate(&oversized).expect("deflate");
+		assert!(compressed.len() < MAX_STAPLE_UNCOMPRESSED_BYTES);
+		let result = inflate(&compressed);
+		assert!(matches!(result, Err(VoteError::MalformedStaple)));
+	}
+
+	#[test]
+	fn test_inflate_accepts_within_cap() {
+		let payload = b"within-cap staple payload";
+		let compressed = deflate(payload).expect("deflate");
+		let inflated = inflate(&compressed).expect("inflate");
+		assert_eq!(inflated, payload);
+	}
+
 	#[test]
 	fn test_verifiable_matches_inherent_verify() -> Result<(), VoteError> {
 		let config = ValidationConfig::default();