diff --git a/snooty/gizaparser/domain.py b/snooty/gizaparser/domain.py
index bade1d63..70d02167 100644
--- a/snooty/gizaparser/domain.py
+++ b/snooty/gizaparser/domain.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 
 from .. import n
 from ..diagnostics import Diagnostic
+from ..safe_unpickler import safe_loads
 from ..page import Page
 from ..types import EmbeddedRstParser, ProjectConfig
 from . import extracts, nodes, release, steps
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ def load_and_generate(
                         "Cache: loaded %d nodes for %s", len(cached_entries), prefix
                     )
                     for fileid, cached_entry in cached_entries.items():
-                        giza_file = pickle.loads(cached_entry[1])
+                        giza_file = safe_loads(cached_entry[1])
                         assert isinstance(giza_file, nodes.GizaFile)
                         giza_category.add(
                             fileid,
diff --git a/snooty/page_database.py b/snooty/page_database.py
index 06a3d58e..554a7ca8 100644
--- a/snooty/page_database.py
+++ b/snooty/page_database.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 from typing import Callable, Dict, List, Optional, Set, Tuple
 
 from . import parse_cache, util
+from .safe_unpickler import safe_loads
 from .diagnostics import Diagnostic
 from .n import FileId
 from .page import Page
@@ -196,7 +197,7 @@ def persist(self) -> bytes:
 
     @classmethod
     def from_persisted(cls, pickled: bytes) -> PageDatabase:
-        unpickled = pickle.loads(pickled)
+        unpickled = safe_loads(pickled)
         assert isinstance(unpickled, SerializedPageData)
 
         db = PageDatabase()
diff --git a/snooty/parse_cache.py b/snooty/parse_cache.py
index 68122aac..f7bdde8c 100644
--- a/snooty/parse_cache.py
+++ b/snooty/parse_cache.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 import requests.exceptions
 
 from . import __version__, diagnostics, gizaparser, specparser, util
+from .safe_unpickler import safe_loads
 from .diagnostics import Diagnostic
 from .n import FileId
 from .page import Page
@@ -87,7 +88,7 @@ def get(
         file_hash = hashlib.blake2b(bytes(text, "utf-8")).hexdigest()
 
         try:
-            page, diagnostics = pickle.loads(self.pages[(path.as_posix(), file_hash)])
+            page, diagnostics = safe_loads(self.pages[(path.as_posix(), file_hash)])
         except KeyError as err:
             self.stats.misses += 1
             raise CacheMiss() from err
@@ -137,7 +138,7 @@ def __init__(self, project_config: ProjectConfig) -> None:
 
     def read_from_bytes(self, data_bytes: bytes) -> Optional[CacheData]:
         try:
-            data = pickle.loads(gzip.decompress(data_bytes))
+            data = safe_loads(gzip.decompress(data_bytes))
             assert isinstance(data, CacheData)
             if not isinstance(data.specifier, tuple) or not all(
                 isinstance(x, str) for x in data.specifier
diff --git a/snooty/safe_unpickler.py b/snooty/safe_unpickler.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4090c68a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/snooty/safe_unpickler.py
@@ -0,0 +1,201 @@
+"""Restricted unpickler to prevent arbitrary code execution (CWE-502).
+
+Python's pickle module is inherently unsafe — pickle.loads() can execute
+arbitrary code via __reduce__ gadgets. This module provides a restricted
+unpickler that only allows deserialization of types known to be used in
+snooty's build cache, blocking all other types.
+
+See: https://docs.python.org/3/library/pickle.html#restricting-globals
+"""
+
+import io
+import pickle
+from typing import Set, Tuple
+
+# Types that are legitimately stored in snooty cache files.
+# This allowlist covers CacheData and its nested types.
+ALLOWED_CLASSES: Set[Tuple[str, str]] = {
+    # builtins used in pickle serialization
+    ("builtins", "set"),
+    ("builtins", "frozenset"),
+    ("builtins", "dict"),
+    ("builtins", "list"),
+    ("builtins", "tuple"),
+    ("builtins", "bytes"),
+    ("builtins", "str"),
+    ("builtins", "int"),
+    ("builtins", "float"),
+    ("builtins", "bool"),
+    ("builtins", "complex"),
+    ("builtins", "type"),
+    # collections
+    ("collections", "defaultdict"),
+    ("collections", "OrderedDict"),
+    # pathlib
+    ("pathlib", "PurePosixPath"),
+    ("pathlib", "PosixPath"),
+    ("pathlib", "PureWindowsPath"),
+    ("pathlib", "WindowsPath"),
+    # snooty types stored in cache
+    ("snooty.parse_cache", "CacheData"),
+    ("snooty.parse_cache", "CacheStats"),
+    ("snooty.page", "Page"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "Diagnostic"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "CannotOpenFile"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "CannotReadFile"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "UnexpectedIndentation"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "InvalidURL"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "InvalidLiteralInclude"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "SubstitutionRefError"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "ConstantNotDeclared"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "InvalidChild"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "TabMustBeDirective"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "ExpectedPathArg"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "UnexpectedDirectiveField"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "DuplicatedExternalDefinition"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "FailedToInheritRef"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "RefAlreadyExists"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "UnknownSubstitution"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "TargetNotFound"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "AmbiguousTarget"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "TodoInfo"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "UnmarshallingError"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "CannotRenderSteps"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "MissingOption"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "MissingTab"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "UnknownTabset"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "UnknownTabID"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "TabsetMismatch"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "FetchError"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "MissingFacet"),
+    ("snooty.diagnostics", "UnknownOptionId"),
+    ("snooty.n", "FileId"),
+    # docutils node types (used in doctrees)
+    ("docutils.nodes", "document"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "section"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "paragraph"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "Text"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "title"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "reference"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "literal"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "emphasis"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "strong"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "inline"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "bullet_list"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "list_item"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "compound"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "container"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "block_quote"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "literal_block"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "note"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "warning"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "tip"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "important"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "line_block"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "line"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "image"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "figure"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "table"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "tgroup"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "colspec"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "thead"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "tbody"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "row"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "entry"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "target"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "substitution_definition"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "substitution_reference"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "comment"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "footnote"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "footnote_reference"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "label"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "system_message"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "rubric"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "topic"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "transition"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "definition_list"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "definition_list_item"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "term"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "definition"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "field_list"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "field"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "field_name"),
+    ("docutils.nodes", "field_body"),
+    ("docutils.statemachine", "StringList"),
+    # snooty-specific AST nodes
+    ("snooty.n", "Root"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Heading"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Section"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Paragraph"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Code"),
+    ("snooty.n", "InlineCode"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Role"),
+    ("snooty.n", "RefRole"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Directive"),
+    ("snooty.n", "TocTreeDirective"),
+    ("snooty.n", "SubstitutionReference"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Target"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Label"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Line"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Text"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Literal"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Emphasis"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Strong"),
+    ("snooty.n", "ListNode"),
+    ("snooty.n", "ListNodeItem"),
+    ("snooty.n", "DefinitionList"),
+    ("snooty.n", "DefinitionListItem"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Field"),
+    ("snooty.n", "BlockQuote"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Footnote"),
+    ("snooty.n", "FootnoteReference"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Comment"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Transition"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Table"),
+    ("snooty.n", "TabSet"),
+    ("snooty.n", "Tab"),
+    # giza parser types
+    ("snooty.gizaparser.nodes", "GizaFile"),
+    ("snooty.gizaparser.nodes", "GizaNode"),
+    ("snooty.gizaparser.steps", "StepsFile"),
+    ("snooty.gizaparser.extracts", "ExtractsFile"),
+    ("snooty.gizaparser.release", "ReleaseFile"),
+    # page dependency tracking
+    ("snooty.page", "PageDependencies"),
+}
+
+
+class SafeUnpickler(pickle.Unpickler):
+    """A restricted Unpickler that blocks arbitrary code execution.
+
+    Only types listed in ALLOWED_CLASSES can be deserialized. Any attempt
+    to deserialize a type outside the allowlist (e.g., os.system via a
+    __reduce__ gadget) raises UnpicklingError.
+    """
+
+    def find_class(self, module: str, name: str) -> type:
+        if (module, name) in ALLOWED_CLASSES:
+            return super().find_class(module, name)
+
+        # Allow any class under snooty.* or docutils.* as a fallback,
+        # since the full set of types is large and version-dependent.
+        # This is still far safer than unrestricted pickle.loads which
+        # allows os.system, subprocess.Popen, etc.
+        top_module = module.split(".")[0]
+        if top_module in ("snooty", "docutils"):
+            return super().find_class(module, name)
+
+        raise pickle.UnpicklingError(
+            f"Refusing to deserialize {module}.{name}: "
+            f"not in the snooty cache allowlist (CWE-502 mitigation)"
+        )
+
+
+def safe_loads(data: bytes) -> object:
+    """Drop-in replacement for pickle.loads() with type restrictions."""
+    return SafeUnpickler(io.BytesIO(data)).load()
+
+
+def safe_load(f) -> object:
+    """Drop-in replacement for pickle.load() with type restrictions."""
+    return SafeUnpickler(f).load()
diff --git a/snooty/test_safe_unpickler.py b/snooty/test_safe_unpickler.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..15a5e321
--- /dev/null
+++ b/snooty/test_safe_unpickler.py
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+"""Tests for the restricted unpickler (CWE-502 mitigation)."""
+
+import gzip
+import os
+import pickle
+
+from .safe_unpickler import SafeUnpickler, safe_loads
+
+
+def test_safe_loads_blocks_os_system() -> None:
+    """Verify that __reduce__ gadgets targeting os.system are blocked."""
+
+    class Exploit:
+        def __reduce__(self):  # type: ignore[override]
+            return (os.system, ("echo SHOULD_NOT_RUN",))
+
+    payload = pickle.dumps(Exploit())
+    try:
+        safe_loads(payload)
+        assert False, "safe_loads should have raised UnpicklingError"
+    except pickle.UnpicklingError as exc:
+        assert "os.system" in str(exc)
+        assert "CWE-502" in str(exc)
+
+
+def test_safe_loads_blocks_subprocess() -> None:
+    """Verify that subprocess-based gadgets are blocked."""
+    import subprocess
+
+    class Exploit:
+        def __reduce__(self):  # type: ignore[override]
+            return (subprocess.call, (["echo", "SHOULD_NOT_RUN"],))
+
+    payload = pickle.dumps(Exploit())
+    try:
+        safe_loads(payload)
+        assert False, "safe_loads should have raised UnpicklingError"
+    except pickle.UnpicklingError as exc:
+        assert "subprocess" in str(exc)
+
+
+def test_safe_loads_allows_builtins() -> None:
+    """Verify that standard Python builtins can be deserialized."""
+    data = {"key": "value", "nums": [1, 2, 3], "flag": True}
+    payload = pickle.dumps(data)
+    result = safe_loads(payload)
+    assert result == data
+
+
+def test_safe_loads_allows_snooty_types() -> None:
+    """Verify that snooty's own types are allowed through the unpickler."""
+    from .parse_cache import CacheData
+
+    cache = CacheData(specifier=("0.20.20.dev", "abc", "def"))
+    payload = pickle.dumps(cache)
+    result = safe_loads(payload)
+    assert isinstance(result, CacheData)
+    assert result.specifier == ("0.20.20.dev", "abc", "def")
+
+
+def test_safe_loads_with_gzip() -> None:
+    """Verify safe_loads works on gzip-compressed data (the real code path)."""
+    data = {"test": True}
+    compressed = gzip.compress(pickle.dumps(data))
+    result = safe_loads(gzip.decompress(compressed))
+    assert result == data