diff --git a/scripts/vault-token-renew.sh b/scripts/vault-token-renew.sh
index 60502ac5..42e78603 100644
--- a/scripts/vault-token-renew.sh
+++ b/scripts/vault-token-renew.sh
@@ -67,6 +67,72 @@ vtr_is_stale_periodic() {
   [ "$acc" != "$2" ]
 }
 
+# vtr_heal <foreign-dn> <log-file> -> 0 if ~/.vault-token was re-minted back to
+# our periodic admin token using the foreign token's own authority, 1 if the
+# heal was denied or failed (caller exits non-zero; the unit goes failed).
+#
+# Self-heal added 2026-07-03 (docs/plans/2026-07-03-vault-token-self-heal-design.md):
+# an OIDC login — which the infra docs prescribe before applies — clobbers
+# ~/.vault-token with a 7-day token, and detect-only drift left that unnoticed
+# for weeks (the weekly-expiry loop). We ATTEMPT the re-mint with the
+# clobbering token itself and let Vault's authz decide — a read-only clobber
+# (the 2026-06-05 woodpecker incident) is denied the mint and stays a loud
+# failure, because it signals a misbehaving flow that someone should look at.
+vtr_heal() {
+  local foreign_dn="$1" log="$2"
+  local errf new_token new_info new_dn new_pols new_acc tmp
+  errf=$(mktemp)
+  if ! new_token=$(vault token create -orphan -period=768h \
+        -policy=vault-admin -policy=sops-admin -display-name=devvm-wizard \
+        -field=token 2>"$errf") || [ -z "$new_token" ]; then
+    printf '%s DRIFT: ~/.vault-token is dn=%q — heal denied, foreign token lacks create authority (%s); investigate what wrote it. Manual re-mint: vault login -method=oidc && vault token create -orphan -period=768h -policy=vault-admin -policy=sops-admin -display-name=devvm-wizard -field=token > ~/.vault-token && chmod 600 ~/.vault-token\n' \
+      "$(date -Is)" "$foreign_dn" "$(tr '\n' ' ' <"$errf")" >>"$log"
+    rm -f "$errf"
+    return 1
+  fi
+  rm -f "$errf"
+
+  # Sanity: the minted token must itself pass the drift guard before it may
+  # replace ~/.vault-token.
+  if ! new_info=$(VAULT_TOKEN="$new_token" vault token lookup -format=json 2>&1); then
+    printf '%s FAIL: heal minted a token but its lookup failed: %s\n' \
+      "$(date -Is)" "$new_info" >>"$log"
+    return 1
+  fi
+  new_dn=$(vtr_display_name "$new_info")
+  new_pols=$(vtr_policies_csv "$new_info")
+  if ! vtr_drift_ok "$new_dn" "$new_pols"; then
+    printf '%s FAIL: heal minted an unexpected token (dn=%q policies=%q) — not writing it\n' \
+      "$(date -Is)" "$new_dn" "$new_pols" >>"$log"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  # Atomic replace: mktemp files are 0600 from birth; same-filesystem mv.
+  tmp=$(mktemp "$HOME/.vault-token.XXXXXX")
+  printf '%s' "$new_token" >"$tmp"
+  mv "$tmp" "$HOME/.vault-token"
+
+  # Anti-sprawl: revoke previous token-devvm-wizard tokens — each heal would
+  # otherwise strand the prior periodic ADMIN token server-side for up to 32d.
+  # The clobbering foreign token is deliberately NOT revoked: it may still back
+  # the user's live login session, and it ages out on its own (7d for OIDC).
+  local sweep="accessor sweep skipped (list denied)" accessors a a_info revoked=0
+  new_acc=$(vtr_accessor "$new_info")
+  if [ -n "$new_acc" ] && accessors=$(VAULT_TOKEN="$new_token" vault list -format=json auth/token/accessors 2>/dev/null); then
+    while IFS= read -r a; do
+      [ -n "$a" ] || continue
+      a_info=$(VAULT_TOKEN="$new_token" vault token lookup -format=json -accessor "$a" 2>/dev/null) || continue
+      if vtr_is_stale_periodic "$a_info" "$new_acc"; then
+        VAULT_TOKEN="$new_token" vault token revoke -accessor "$a" >/dev/null 2>&1 && revoked=$((revoked + 1))
+      fi
+    done < <(printf '%s' "$accessors" | jq -r '.[]')
+    sweep="revoked $revoked stale periodic token(s)"
+  fi
+
+  printf '%s HEALED: re-minted periodic token from foreign dn=%q (%s)\n' \
+    "$(date -Is)" "$foreign_dn" "$sweep" >>"$log"
+}
+
 vtr_main() {
   set -euo pipefail
   export PATH="/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:${PATH:-}"
@@ -83,16 +149,19 @@ vtr_main() {
   dn=$(vtr_display_name "$info")
   pols=$(vtr_policies_csv "$info")
 
-  # Drift guard (added 2026-06-07): the renewer must NOT keep a FOREIGN token alive.
-  # On 2026-06-05 a stray `vault login -method=kubernetes` overwrote ~/.vault-token
-  # with a read-only woodpecker token, and this script then silently renewed THAT
-  # for two days — masking the loss of write access. So before renewing, confirm
-  # the token is our periodic admin token; if it has drifted, fail loudly (systemd
-  # marks the unit failed) instead of keeping someone else's token alive.
+  # Drift guard (2026-06-07) + self-heal (2026-07-03): the renewer must not
+  # keep a FOREIGN token alive (on 2026-06-05 a stray kubernetes login was
+  # silently renewed for two days, masking lost write access). But detect-only
+  # drift proved worse in practice: an OIDC login — which the infra docs
+  # prescribe before applies — clobbers this file too, and the resulting DRIFT
+  # failures went unnoticed for weeks while access degraded to a 7-day token
+  # (the weekly-expiry loop). On drift we now ATTEMPT to heal (see vtr_heal):
+  # re-mint the periodic token with the clobbering token's own authority.
+  # Vault's authz keeps the old guarantee — a token that couldn't legitimately
+  # hold vault-admin is denied the mint, and we still fail loud.
   if ! vtr_drift_ok "$dn" "$pols"; then
-    printf '%s DRIFT: ~/.vault-token is dn=%q policies=%q (expected dn=%q with %q). Refusing to renew a foreign token. Re-mint: vault login -method=oidc && vault token create -orphan -period=768h -policy=vault-admin -policy=sops-admin -display-name=devvm-wizard -field=token > ~/.vault-token && chmod 600 ~/.vault-token\n' \
-      "$(date -Is)" "$dn" "$pols" "$EXPECTED_DN" "$REQUIRED_POLICY" >>"$log"
-    exit 1
+    vtr_heal "$dn" "$log" || exit 1
+    exit 0
   fi
 
   # `vault token renew` with no argument renews the calling token (renew-self).