diff --git a/staging/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler.go b/staging/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler.go
index a4370df5f4..d30104a9c0 100644
--- a/staging/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler.go
+++ b/staging/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler.go
@@ -356,6 +356,12 @@ func Pod(source *operatorsv1alpha1.CatalogSource, name, opmImg, utilImage, img s
 	if securityContextConfig == operatorsv1alpha1.Restricted {
 		// Apply 'restricted' security settings
 		addSecurityContext(pod, runAsUser)
+
+		// Pin SCC selection to prevent custom SCCs from preempting catalog pods on
+		// HCP, where the creating user has broader SCC access than the local SA.
+		if _, alreadySet := podAnnotations["openshift.io/required-scc"]; !alreadySet {
+			podAnnotations["openshift.io/required-scc"] = "restricted-v2"
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Set priorityclass if its annotation exists
diff --git a/staging/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler_test.go b/staging/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler_test.go
index cfcf065dbe..738bb04487 100644
--- a/staging/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler_test.go
+++ b/staging/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler_test.go
@@ -523,7 +523,7 @@ func TestPodExtractContent(t *testing.T) {
 					GenerateName: "test-",
 					Namespace:    "testns",
 					Labels:       map[string]string{"olm.pod-spec-hash": "8qB6OcFt60v8HdhXnPkB1cjF39t7RkFx9K0JxW", "olm.managed": "true"},
-					Annotations:  map[string]string{"cluster-autoscaler.kubernetes.io/safe-to-evict": "true"},
+					Annotations:  map[string]string{"cluster-autoscaler.kubernetes.io/safe-to-evict": "true", "openshift.io/required-scc": "restricted-v2"},
 				},
 				Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
 					Containers: []corev1.Container{
@@ -606,7 +606,7 @@ func TestPodExtractContent(t *testing.T) {
 					GenerateName: "test-",
 					Namespace:    "testns",
 					Labels:       map[string]string{"olm.pod-spec-hash": "3xuLPXGJ2pzekw21PFU68XUKOYc7PTuW45M521", "olm.managed": "true"},
-					Annotations:  map[string]string{"cluster-autoscaler.kubernetes.io/safe-to-evict": "true"},
+					Annotations:  map[string]string{"cluster-autoscaler.kubernetes.io/safe-to-evict": "true", "openshift.io/required-scc": "restricted-v2"},
 				},
 				Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
 					Volumes: []corev1.Volume{
@@ -738,7 +738,7 @@ func TestPodExtractContent(t *testing.T) {
 					GenerateName: "test-",
 					Namespace:    "testns",
 					Labels:       map[string]string{"olm.pod-spec-hash": "7noQSgGmkI4BD1MPKe0pEFFfOE3jJtN2DUyZuD", "olm.managed": "true"},
-					Annotations:  map[string]string{"cluster-autoscaler.kubernetes.io/safe-to-evict": "true"},
+					Annotations:  map[string]string{"cluster-autoscaler.kubernetes.io/safe-to-evict": "true", "openshift.io/required-scc": "restricted-v2"},
 				},
 				Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
 					Volumes: []corev1.Volume{
@@ -1159,6 +1159,58 @@ func TestPodContainerSecurityContext(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestPodRequiredSCCAnnotation(t *testing.T) {
+	testcases := []struct {
+		title              string
+		securityConfig     v1alpha1.SecurityConfig
+		inputAnnotations   map[string]string
+		expectAnnotation   bool
+		expectedSCCValue   string
+	}{
+		{
+			title:            "Restricted config adds required-scc annotation",
+			securityConfig:   v1alpha1.Restricted,
+			inputAnnotations: map[string]string{},
+			expectAnnotation: true,
+			expectedSCCValue: "restricted-v2",
+		},
+		{
+			title:            "Legacy config does not add required-scc annotation",
+			securityConfig:   v1alpha1.Legacy,
+			inputAnnotations: map[string]string{},
+			expectAnnotation: false,
+		},
+		{
+			title:            "User-provided required-scc annotation is preserved",
+			securityConfig:   v1alpha1.Restricted,
+			inputAnnotations: map[string]string{"openshift.io/required-scc": "nonroot-v2"},
+			expectAnnotation: true,
+			expectedSCCValue: "nonroot-v2",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range testcases {
+		t.Run(tc.title, func(t *testing.T) {
+			catsrc := &v1alpha1.CatalogSource{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name:      "test",
+					Namespace: testNamespace,
+				},
+			}
+			pod, err := Pod(catsrc, "catalog", "opmImage", "utilImage", "busybox", serviceAccount("", "service-account"), map[string]string{}, tc.inputAnnotations, int32(0), int32(0), workloadUserID, tc.securityConfig)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+
+			val, exists := pod.Annotations["openshift.io/required-scc"]
+			if tc.expectAnnotation {
+				require.True(t, exists, "expected openshift.io/required-scc annotation to be present")
+				require.Equal(t, tc.expectedSCCValue, val)
+			} else {
+				require.False(t, exists, "expected openshift.io/required-scc annotation to be absent")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 // TestPodAvoidsConcurrentWrite is a regression test for
 // https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2101357
 // we were mutating the input annotations and labels parameters causing
diff --git a/vendor/github.com/operator-framework/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler.go b/vendor/github.com/operator-framework/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler.go
index a4370df5f4..d30104a9c0 100644
--- a/vendor/github.com/operator-framework/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler.go
+++ b/vendor/github.com/operator-framework/operator-lifecycle-manager/pkg/controller/registry/reconciler/reconciler.go
@@ -356,6 +356,12 @@ func Pod(source *operatorsv1alpha1.CatalogSource, name, opmImg, utilImage, img s
 	if securityContextConfig == operatorsv1alpha1.Restricted {
 		// Apply 'restricted' security settings
 		addSecurityContext(pod, runAsUser)
+
+		// Pin SCC selection to prevent custom SCCs from preempting catalog pods on
+		// HCP, where the creating user has broader SCC access than the local SA.
+		if _, alreadySet := podAnnotations["openshift.io/required-scc"]; !alreadySet {
+			podAnnotations["openshift.io/required-scc"] = "restricted-v2"
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Set priorityclass if its annotation exists