diff --git a/compose.observability.yaml b/compose.observability.yaml
index cef4c6c..6225570 100644
--- a/compose.observability.yaml
+++ b/compose.observability.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 services:
   alert-receiver:
-    image: python:3.14.6-alpine3.23@sha256:b165067c5afc37fa5608a3c05609cc3d51aafd808a30fbfd822ee594fef55ad4
+    image: ${WNH_PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE:-who-need-help:python-runtime}
+    build:
+      context: ops/external-boundaries
+      target: python_runtime
     command: ["python", "/opt/who-need-help/alert-receiver.py"]
     volumes:
       - ./scripts/alert-receiver.py:/opt/who-need-help/alert-receiver.py:ro
diff --git a/ops/external-boundaries/Dockerfile b/ops/external-boundaries/Dockerfile
index f964216..8e706cf 100644
--- a/ops/external-boundaries/Dockerfile
+++ b/ops/external-boundaries/Dockerfile
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
-FROM python:3.14.6-alpine3.23@sha256:b165067c5afc37fa5608a3c05609cc3d51aafd808a30fbfd822ee594fef55ad4
+FROM python:3.14.7-alpine3.23@sha256:6b8f06d04d5305c1d1288435388df9165ab41e681fae6439d6349d8053cc3f83 AS python_runtime
+
+RUN apk add --no-cache sqlite-libs=3.53.4-r0 \
+  && python -m pip uninstall --yes pip
+
+FROM python_runtime AS external_boundary
 
 WORKDIR /app
 
diff --git a/scripts/load-cycle.sh b/scripts/load-cycle.sh
index 1493486..f1b1dd4 100755
--- a/scripts/load-cycle.sh
+++ b/scripts/load-cycle.sh
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ project="who_need_help_load_$safe_id"
 temporary_env=$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/wnh-load-cycle.XXXXXX.env")
 export WNH_LOAD_ENV_FILE=$temporary_env
 export WNH_LOAD_TOOLS_IMAGE="who-need-help:load-tools-$safe_id"
+export WNH_PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE="who-need-help:python-runtime-$safe_id"
 
 cp "$BASE_ENV" "$temporary_env"
 chmod 600 "$temporary_env"
@@ -128,7 +129,7 @@ cleanup() {
   done < <(docker volume ls -q --filter "label=com.docker.compose.project=$project")
 
   for image in "$APP_IMAGE" "$SOCKET_PROXY_IMAGE" "$POSTGIS_IMAGE" \
-    "$WNH_LOAD_TOOLS_IMAGE"; do
+    "$WNH_LOAD_TOOLS_IMAGE" "$WNH_PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE"; do
     if image_id=$(docker image inspect --format '{{.Id}}' "$image" 2>/dev/null); then
       if [[ -n "$(docker ps -aq --filter "ancestor=$image_id")" ]]; then
         echo "Refusing referenced load-cycle image: $image" >&2
diff --git a/scripts/load-run.sh b/scripts/load-run.sh
index c0a291a..e92ced1 100755
--- a/scripts/load-run.sh
+++ b/scripts/load-run.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ ROOT=$(CDPATH='' cd -- "$(dirname -- "$0")/.." && pwd)
 ENV_FILE=${WNH_LOAD_ENV_FILE:-"$ROOT/output/runtime/load.env"}
 LOAD_TOOLS_IMAGE=${WNH_LOAD_TOOLS_IMAGE:-who-need-help:load-tools}
 K6_IMAGE="grafana/k6@sha256:65c920dc067d5e2e00befbf982af6ad6ad0117034e8b1c65817c7975c52d4669"
-PYTHON_IMAGE="python:3.14.6-alpine3.23@sha256:b165067c5afc37fa5608a3c05609cc3d51aafd808a30fbfd822ee594fef55ad4"
+PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE=${WNH_PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE:-who-need-help:python-runtime}
 LABEL=${1:-"run-$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)"}
 duration_override=${LOAD_DURATION_OVERRIDE:-}
 
@@ -360,8 +360,9 @@ summarize_resources() {
     --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
     --volume "$ROOT/scripts/summarize-docker-stats.py:/scripts/summarize-docker-stats.py:ro" \
     --volume "$output_dir:/output" \
-    "$PYTHON_IMAGE" \
-    python /scripts/summarize-docker-stats.py \
+    --entrypoint python \
+    "$PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE" \
+    /scripts/summarize-docker-stats.py \
       /output/docker-stats.jsonl \
       /output/resource-summary.json
 }
@@ -750,7 +751,7 @@ trap cleanup_on_exit EXIT HUP INT TERM
 {
   printf 'observed_at=%s\n' "$run_started_at"
   printf 'k6_image=%s\n' "$K6_IMAGE"
-  printf 'resource_summarizer_image=%s\n' "$PYTHON_IMAGE"
+  printf 'resource_summarizer_image=%s\n' "$PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE"
   printf 'load_project=%s\n' "$LOAD_PROJECT"
   printf 'web_replicas=%s\n' "$LOAD_WEB_REPLICAS"
   printf 'worker_replicas=%s\n' "$LOAD_WORKER_REPLICAS"
diff --git a/scripts/load-stack-stop.sh b/scripts/load-stack-stop.sh
index 8088803..3a42ca4 100755
--- a/scripts/load-stack-stop.sh
+++ b/scripts/load-stack-stop.sh
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ set -eu
 ROOT=$(CDPATH='' cd -- "$(dirname -- "$0")/.." && pwd)
 ENV_FILE=${WNH_LOAD_ENV_FILE:-"$ROOT/output/runtime/load.env"}
 LOAD_TOOLS_IMAGE=${WNH_LOAD_TOOLS_IMAGE:-who-need-help:load-tools}
-RUNTIME_OWNER_IMAGE=python:3.14.6-alpine3.23@sha256:b165067c5afc37fa5608a3c05609cc3d51aafd808a30fbfd822ee594fef55ad4
+PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE=${WNH_PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE:-who-need-help:python-runtime}
 
 if [ ! -f "$ENV_FILE" ]; then
   echo "Missing $ENV_FILE; no load-profile project was selected." >&2
@@ -78,10 +78,17 @@ if [ -d "$observability_runtime" ]; then
     --user 0:0 \
     --volume "$observability_runtime:/runtime" \
     --entrypoint /bin/sh \
-    "$RUNTIME_OWNER_IMAGE" \
+    "$PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE" \
     -euc "chown -R $(id -u):$(id -g) /runtime; chmod -R u+rwX /runtime"
 
   find "$observability_runtime" -xdev -depth -delete
 fi
 
+
+if image_id=$(docker image inspect --format '{{.Id}}' "$PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE" 2>/dev/null); then
+  if [ -z "$(docker ps -aq --filter "ancestor=$image_id")" ]; then
+    docker image rm "$PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE" >/dev/null
+  fi
+fi
+
 echo "Removed the isolated load-profile containers, networks, and generated observability runtime; its named volumes remain."
diff --git a/scripts/load-stack-up.sh b/scripts/load-stack-up.sh
index c6ca524..ca1e9a4 100755
--- a/scripts/load-stack-up.sh
+++ b/scripts/load-stack-up.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ set -eu
 ROOT=$(CDPATH='' cd -- "$(dirname -- "$0")/.." && pwd)
 ENV_FILE=${WNH_LOAD_ENV_FILE:-"$ROOT/output/runtime/load.env"}
 LOAD_TOOLS_IMAGE=${WNH_LOAD_TOOLS_IMAGE:-who-need-help:load-tools}
+PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE=${WNH_PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE:-who-need-help:python-runtime}
 REPLICAS=${1:-}
 
 "$ROOT/scripts/ensure-local-load-env.sh"
@@ -86,6 +87,12 @@ cleanup_failed_start() {
       fi
     fi
 
+    if image_id=$(docker image inspect --format '{{.Id}}' "$PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE" 2>/dev/null); then
+      if [ -z "$(docker ps -aq --filter "ancestor=$image_id")" ]; then
+        docker image rm "$PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+      fi
+    fi
+
     if [ -n "$(docker ps -aq --filter "label=com.docker.compose.project=$LOAD_PROJECT")" ] || \
         [ -n "$(docker network ls -q --filter "label=com.docker.compose.project=$LOAD_PROJECT")" ]; then
       echo "Load-profile startup cleanup left project resources behind." >&2
@@ -99,6 +106,11 @@ cleanup_failed_start() {
 trap cleanup_failed_start EXIT HUP INT TERM
 
 docker build --target load_tools --tag "$LOAD_TOOLS_IMAGE" .
+docker build \
+  --target python_runtime \
+  --tag "$PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE" \
+  --file ops/external-boundaries/Dockerfile \
+  ops/external-boundaries
 
 compose up -d --build --wait \
   --scale "web=$LOAD_WEB_REPLICAS" \
diff --git a/scripts/observability-run.sh b/scripts/observability-run.sh
index f319188..be14993 100755
--- a/scripts/observability-run.sh
+++ b/scripts/observability-run.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ set -euo pipefail
 ROOT=$(CDPATH='' cd -- "$(dirname -- "$0")/.." && pwd)
 ENV_FILE=${WNH_LOAD_ENV_FILE:-"$ROOT/output/runtime/load.env"}
 LABEL=${1:-"observability-$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)"}
+PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE=${WNH_PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE:-who-need-help:python-runtime}
 
 if [[ ! -f "$ENV_FILE" ]]; then
   echo "Missing $ENV_FILE. Run scripts/ensure-local-load-env.sh first." >&2
@@ -94,7 +95,7 @@ set_runtime_owner() {
     --user 0:0 \
     --volume "$directory:/runtime" \
     --entrypoint /bin/sh \
-    python:3.14.6-alpine3.23@sha256:b165067c5afc37fa5608a3c05609cc3d51aafd808a30fbfd822ee594fef55ad4 \
+    "$PYTHON_RUNTIME_IMAGE" \
     -euc "chown -R $owner /runtime; chmod 700 /runtime"
 }
 
diff --git a/scripts/quality.sh b/scripts/quality.sh
index 4f76f54..38790b2 100755
--- a/scripts/quality.sh
+++ b/scripts/quality.sh
@@ -10,8 +10,6 @@ ACTIONLINT_IMAGE="rhysd/actionlint:1.7.12@sha256:b1934ee5f1c509618f2508e6eb47ee0
 TRIVY_IMAGE="aquasec/trivy:0.74.0@sha256:62b1e65e8869bc4b4c6aa4fa2b21595256c7c2f6018a9d9ad61caf87187c1969"
 PROMETHEUS_IMAGE="quay.io/prometheus/prometheus:v3.13.1@sha256:3c42b892cf723fa54d2f262c37a0e1f80aa8c8ddb1da7b9b0df9455a35a7f893"
 ALERTMANAGER_IMAGE="quay.io/prometheus/alertmanager:v0.33.1@sha256:9e082985f56f4c8c9f724e18f2288c6708f472e56a5286b8863d080434ea065d"
-PYTHON_IMAGE="python:3.14.6-alpine3.23@sha256:b165067c5afc37fa5608a3c05609cc3d51aafd808a30fbfd822ee594fef55ad4"
-
 run_id="$(date -u +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)-$$"
 project="wnh_quality_$(printf '%s' "$run_id" | tr -d '-')"
 quality_image="who-need-help:quality-$run_id"
@@ -22,6 +20,7 @@ backup_image="who-need-help:backup-audit-$run_id"
 minio_image="who-need-help:minio-audit-$run_id"
 mc_image="who-need-help:mc-audit-$run_id"
 boundary_mock_image="who-need-help:boundary-mock-audit-$run_id"
+python_runtime_image="who-need-help:python-runtime-audit-$run_id"
 socket_proxy_image="who-need-help:socket-proxy-audit-$run_id"
 postgis_image="who-need-help:postgis-audit-$run_id"
 caddy_image="who-need-help:caddy-audit-$run_id"
@@ -50,7 +49,8 @@ cleanup() {
   docker rm --force "$socket_proxy_container" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
   docker image rm "$quality_image" "$assets_image" "$e2e_image" "$release_image" \
     "$backup_image" "$minio_image" "$mc_image" \
-    "$boundary_mock_image" "$socket_proxy_image" "$postgis_image" \
+    "$boundary_mock_image" "$python_runtime_image" \
+    "$socket_proxy_image" "$postgis_image" \
     "$caddy_image" "$traefik_image" "$mailpit_image" \
     >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
   rm -f "$android_fingerprint_probe"
@@ -1547,6 +1547,16 @@ EXTERNAL_HANDOVER_SECRET=render-handover-secret \
   docker compose -f compose.external-boundaries.yaml config --quiet
 
 echo "Validating local observability configuration"
+docker build \
+  --target python_runtime \
+  --tag "$python_runtime_image" \
+  --file ops/external-boundaries/Dockerfile \
+  ops/external-boundaries
+test -z "$(docker run --rm --entrypoint /bin/sh "$python_runtime_image" \
+  -euc 'find /usr/local/lib/python3.14/site-packages -maxdepth 1 -name "pip*" -print')"
+test "$(docker run --rm --entrypoint /bin/sh "$python_runtime_image" \
+  -euc 'apk info -v | grep "^sqlite-libs-"')" = "sqlite-libs-3.53.4-r0"
+scan_image "$python_runtime_image"
 sed \
   -e 's/__SCRAPE_INTERVAL__/1s/g' \
   -e 's/__EVALUATION_INTERVAL__/1s/g' \
@@ -1571,25 +1581,25 @@ docker run --rm \
   "$ALERTMANAGER_IMAGE" check-config /etc/alertmanager/alertmanager.yml
 docker run --rm \
   --volume "$ROOT/scripts/alert-receiver.py:/src/alert-receiver.py:ro" \
-  "$PYTHON_IMAGE" python -c \
+  "$python_runtime_image" python -c \
   'import py_compile; py_compile.compile("/src/alert-receiver.py", cfile="/tmp/alert-receiver.pyc", doraise=True)'
 docker run --rm \
   --volume "$ROOT:/src:ro" \
   --workdir /src \
-  "$PYTHON_IMAGE" python test/scripts/production_external_monitor_test.py
+  "$python_runtime_image" python test/scripts/production_external_monitor_test.py
 docker run --rm \
   --volume "$ROOT:/src:ro" \
   --workdir /src \
-  "$PYTHON_IMAGE" python test/scripts/override_production_monitor_smtp_test.py
+  "$python_runtime_image" python test/scripts/override_production_monitor_smtp_test.py
 docker run --rm \
   --volume "$ROOT:/src:ro" \
   --workdir /src \
-  "$PYTHON_IMAGE" python test/scripts/install_production_external_monitor_test.py
+  "$python_runtime_image" python test/scripts/install_production_external_monitor_test.py
 python3 test/scripts/production_release_artifact_root_test.py
 python3 test/scripts/production_release_clean_test.py
 docker run --rm \
   --volume "$ROOT/ops/external-boundaries/mock_server.py:/src/mock_server.py:ro" \
-  "$PYTHON_IMAGE" python -c \
+  "$python_runtime_image" python -c \
   'import py_compile; py_compile.compile("/src/mock_server.py", cfile="/tmp/mock_server.pyc", doraise=True)'
 jq --exit-status \
   'type == "object" and .uid == "wnh-overview" and (.panels | length) == 12' \