diff --git a/src/artifacts/NativeDmgArtifactReader.ts b/src/artifacts/NativeDmgArtifactReader.ts
index a3f3fb120..801ee4daf 100644
--- a/src/artifacts/NativeDmgArtifactReader.ts
+++ b/src/artifacts/NativeDmgArtifactReader.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import {
   type NativeDmgInfo,
 } from "./NativeDmgOwnership.js";
 const HDIUTIL_COMMAND_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
+const VERIFY_SETTLE_DELAYS_MS = [250, 500] as const;
 // APFS ejects and busy reporting can lag a detach attempt.
 const DETACH_SETTLE_DELAYS_MS = [250, 500, 1000] as const;
 const delay = (milliseconds: number): Promise<void> =>
@@ -44,22 +45,30 @@ export interface NativeDmgHost {
 
 class NativeDmgCommandFailure extends ArtifactReaderFailure {
   readonly processNotStarted: boolean;
+  readonly verifyDiagnostic: string | undefined;
+  readonly exitCode: number | null;
 
   constructor(
-    reason: ArtifactReaderFailure["reason"],
+    failure: {
+      readonly reason: ArtifactReaderFailure["reason"];
+      readonly verifyDiagnostic?: string;
+    },
     message: string,
     readonly stdout: string,
     options?: {
       readonly cause?: unknown;
       readonly processNotStarted?: boolean;
+      readonly exitCode?: number;
     },
   ) {
     super(
-      reason,
+      failure.reason,
       message,
       options?.cause === undefined ? undefined : { cause: options.cause },
     );
     this.processNotStarted = options?.processNotStarted ?? false;
+    this.verifyDiagnostic = failure.verifyDiagnostic;
+    this.exitCode = options?.exitCode ?? null;
   }
 }
 
@@ -84,7 +93,7 @@ const createSystemHost = (
       const output = execFileOutputFailure(cause);
       if (cause instanceof Error && cause.name === "AbortError")
         throw new NativeDmgCommandFailure(
-          "cancelled",
+          { reason: "cancelled" },
           "DMG operation cancelled",
           output?.stdout ?? "",
           { cause },
@@ -99,7 +108,7 @@ const createSystemHost = (
           cause,
         };
       throw new NativeDmgCommandFailure(
-        commandFailureReason(cause, arguments_[0]),
+        classifyCommandFailure(cause, arguments_[0]),
         `hdiutil ${arguments_[0] ?? "operation"} failed: ${describeCommandFailure(cause, arguments_)}`,
         output?.stdout ?? "",
         { cause, processNotStarted: processNotStarted(cause) },
@@ -348,8 +357,7 @@ export class NativeDmgArtifactReader implements ArtifactReader {
   }
 
   async #attach(signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<void> {
-    await runChecked(this.host, ["verify", this.path], signal);
-    this.#provenance.push(command(["verify", this.path], ["read"]));
+    await this.#verify(signal);
     const baseline = await this.#readInfo();
     this.#baselineDevices = new Set(
       baseline.images.flatMap((image) =>
@@ -431,6 +439,40 @@ export class NativeDmgArtifactReader implements ArtifactReader {
     }
   }
 
+  async #verify(signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<void> {
+    const arguments_ = ["verify", this.path];
+    const deadline = performance.now() + HDIUTIL_COMMAND_TIMEOUT_MS;
+    for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt += 1) {
+      if (signal?.aborted === true)
+        throw new NativeDmgCommandFailure(
+          { reason: "cancelled" },
+          "DMG operation cancelled",
+          "",
+          { cause: signal.reason },
+        );
+      try {
+        await runChecked(this.host, arguments_, signal, {
+          timeoutMs: Math.max(1, Math.ceil(deadline - performance.now())),
+        });
+        this.#provenance.push(command(arguments_, ["read"]));
+        return;
+      } catch (cause: unknown) {
+        if (!(cause instanceof NativeDmgCommandFailure)) throw cause;
+        this.#provenance.push(command(arguments_, ["read"], cause.exitCode));
+        const delayMs = VERIFY_SETTLE_DELAYS_MS[attempt];
+        // Retry only the producer's explicit transient diagnostic, before any mount.
+        if (
+          cause.verifyDiagnostic !== "Resource temporarily unavailable" ||
+          delayMs === undefined ||
+          deadline - performance.now() <= delayMs
+        )
+          throw cause;
+        await (this.host.delay ?? delay)(delayMs);
+        if (performance.now() >= deadline) throw cause;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   async #readInfo(): Promise<NativeDmgInfo> {
     const info = await runChecked(this.host, ["info", "-plist"], undefined, {
       timeoutMs: HDIUTIL_COMMAND_TIMEOUT_MS,
@@ -501,14 +543,14 @@ const runChecked = async (
     if (cause instanceof ArtifactReaderFailure) throw cause;
     if (cause instanceof Error && cause.name === "AbortError")
       throw new NativeDmgCommandFailure(
-        "cancelled",
+        { reason: "cancelled" },
         "DMG operation cancelled",
         execFileOutputFailure(cause)?.stdout ?? "",
         { cause },
       );
     const output = execFileOutputFailure(cause);
     throw new NativeDmgCommandFailure(
-      commandFailureReason(cause, arguments_[0]),
+      classifyCommandFailure(cause, arguments_[0]),
       `hdiutil ${arguments_[0] ?? "operation"} failed: ${describeCommandFailure(
         cause,
         arguments_,
@@ -527,17 +569,17 @@ const runChecked = async (
       stdout: result.stdout,
       ...(result.stderr === undefined ? {} : { stderr: result.stderr }),
     };
-    const reason = commandFailureReason(failure, arguments_[0]);
+    const classification = classifyCommandFailure(failure, arguments_[0]);
     const details = describeCommandFailure(failure, arguments_);
     const unknownVerifyFailure =
-      arguments_[0] === "verify" && reason === "unavailable";
+      arguments_[0] === "verify" && classification.reason === "unavailable";
     throw new NativeDmgCommandFailure(
-      reason,
+      classification,
       unknownVerifyFailure
         ? `hdiutil verify failed; captured diagnostics do not establish the failure cause: ${details}`
         : `hdiutil ${arguments_[0] ?? "operation"} failed: ${details}`,
       result.stdout,
-      { cause: result.cause ?? failure },
+      { cause: result.cause ?? failure, exitCode: result.exitCode },
     );
   }
   return { stdout: result.stdout, exitCode: 0 };
@@ -587,20 +629,36 @@ const processOutput = (cause: unknown, field: "stdout" | "stderr"): string => {
   return typeof value === "string" ? value : "";
 };
 
-const commandFailureReason = (
+const classifyCommandFailure = (
   cause: unknown,
   operation: string | undefined,
-): ArtifactReaderFailure["reason"] => {
-  if (typeof cause !== "object" || cause === null) return "unavailable";
+): {
+  readonly reason: ArtifactReaderFailure["reason"];
+  readonly verifyDiagnostic?: string;
+} => {
+  if (typeof cause !== "object" || cause === null)
+    return { reason: "unavailable" };
   const code = Reflect.get(cause, "code");
   const exitCode = Reflect.get(cause, "exitCode");
-  if (typeof code === "number" || typeof exitCode === "number")
-    return operation === "verify" ? verifyFailureReason(cause) : "unavailable";
+  if (typeof code === "number" || typeof exitCode === "number") {
+    if (operation !== "verify") return { reason: "unavailable" };
+    const diagnostic = verifyFailureDiagnostic(
+      processOutput(cause, "stdout"),
+      processOutput(cause, "stderr"),
+    );
+    return {
+      reason: verifyFailureReason(diagnostic),
+      ...(diagnostic === undefined ? {} : { verifyDiagnostic: diagnostic }),
+    };
+  }
   if (code === "ENOENT") {
     const syscall = Reflect.get(cause, "syscall");
-    return typeof syscall === "string" && syscall.startsWith("spawn")
-      ? "unavailable"
-      : "io";
+    return {
+      reason:
+        typeof syscall === "string" && syscall.startsWith("spawn")
+          ? "unavailable"
+          : "io",
+    };
   }
   if (
     code === "EACCES" ||
@@ -613,17 +671,13 @@ const commandFailureReason = (
     code === "EMFILE" ||
     code === "ENFILE"
   )
-    return "io";
-  return "unavailable";
+    return { reason: "io" };
+  return { reason: "unavailable" };
 };
 
 const verifyFailureReason = (
-  cause: unknown,
+  diagnostic: string | undefined,
 ): ArtifactReaderFailure["reason"] => {
-  const diagnostic = verifyFailureDiagnostic(
-    processOutput(cause, "stdout"),
-    processOutput(cause, "stderr"),
-  );
   switch (diagnostic) {
     // hdiutil follows AppleLanguages, so en-GB and en-AU spell it "recognised".
     case "image not recognized":
@@ -656,11 +710,12 @@ const verifyFailureDiagnostic = (
 const command = (
   arguments_: readonly string[],
   effects: ArtifactCommand["effects"],
+  exitCode: number | null = 0,
 ): ArtifactCommand => ({
   tool: "/usr/bin/hdiutil",
   arguments: [...arguments_],
   tool_version: null,
   executable_sha256: null,
-  exit_code: 0,
+  exit_code: exitCode,
   effects,
 });
diff --git a/tests/boundary/providers/native/nativeDmgArtifactReader.test.ts b/tests/boundary/providers/native/nativeDmgArtifactReader.test.ts
index 9e03727c1..5d6af987d 100644
--- a/tests/boundary/providers/native/nativeDmgArtifactReader.test.ts
+++ b/tests/boundary/providers/native/nativeDmgArtifactReader.test.ts
@@ -1200,6 +1200,138 @@ describe("native DMG command diagnostics", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("native DMG verification resource availability", () => {
+  const transientFailure = {
+    stdout: "",
+    stderr:
+      'hdiutil: verify: unable to recognize "/tmp/image.dmg" as a disk image. (Resource temporarily unavailable)\nhdiutil: verify failed - Resource temporarily unavailable\n',
+    exitCode: 1,
+  };
+
+  it("retries the explicit transient refusal before attachment and retains both attempts", async () => {
+    const { host, state } = createOmittedInventoryHost();
+    state.inventoryMode = "listed";
+    state.detachAttempts = 4;
+    const delays = vi.fn(async () => {});
+    const timeouts: number[] = [];
+    let attempts = 0;
+    const reader = await createAttachedReader(
+      "/tmp/image.dmg",
+      process.env,
+      undefined,
+      {
+        ...host,
+        delay: delays,
+        async run(arguments_, signal, options) {
+          if (arguments_[0] === "verify") {
+            attempts += 1;
+            if (options === undefined)
+              throw new Error("missing verify deadline");
+            timeouts.push(options.timeoutMs);
+            if (attempts === 1) return transientFailure;
+          }
+          return host.run(arguments_, signal, options);
+        },
+      },
+    );
+    onTestFinished(() => reader.close());
+    expect(attempts).toBe(2);
+    expect(delays.mock.calls).toEqual([[250]]);
+    expect(timeouts[0]).toBeLessThanOrEqual(120_000);
+    expect(timeouts[1]).toBeLessThanOrEqual(timeouts[0]!);
+    expect(reader.provenance().slice(0, 2)).toMatchObject([
+      {
+        arguments: ["verify", "/tmp/image.dmg"],
+        exit_code: 1,
+        effects: ["read"],
+      },
+      {
+        arguments: ["verify", "/tmp/image.dmg"],
+        exit_code: 0,
+        effects: ["read"],
+      },
+    ]);
+    await reader.close();
+    expect(state.attached).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("bounds repeated transient refusals and never attaches an unverified image", async () => {
+    const run = vi.fn(async () => transientFailure);
+    const delay = vi.fn(async () => {});
+    const reader = new NativeDmgArtifactReader("/tmp/image.dmg", process.env, {
+      run,
+      delay,
+    });
+    await expect(entryPaths(reader)).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      reason: "unavailable",
+      message: expect.stringContaining("Resource temporarily unavailable"),
+    });
+    await reader.close();
+    expect(run.mock.calls).toHaveLength(3);
+    expect(delay.mock.calls).toEqual([[250], [500]]);
+    expect(reader.provenance().map(({ exit_code }) => exit_code)).toEqual([
+      1, 1, 1,
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("honors cancellation during the wait without starting another command", async () => {
+    const controller = new AbortController();
+    const run = vi.fn(async () => transientFailure);
+    await expect(
+      createAttachedReader("/tmp/image.dmg", process.env, controller.signal, {
+        run,
+        async delay() {
+          controller.abort(new Error("cancel verification"));
+        },
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toMatchObject({ reason: "cancelled" });
+    expect(run).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("does not start another verification after the shared deadline", async () => {
+    const clock = vi.spyOn(performance, "now").mockReturnValue(0);
+    const run = vi.fn(async () => transientFailure);
+    try {
+      await expect(
+        createAttachedReader("/tmp/image.dmg", process.env, undefined, {
+          run,
+          async delay() {
+            clock.mockReturnValue(120_001);
+          },
+        }),
+      ).rejects.toMatchObject({
+        reason: "unavailable",
+        message: expect.stringContaining("Resource temporarily unavailable"),
+      });
+      expect(run).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    } finally {
+      clock.mockRestore();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    ["image data corrupted", "integrity"],
+    ["image not recognized", "format"],
+    ["Permission denied", "io"],
+    ["an unknown failure", "unavailable"],
+  ])("does not retry %s", async (diagnostic, reason) => {
+    const run = vi.fn(async () => ({
+      stdout: "",
+      stderr: `hdiutil: verify failed - ${diagnostic}\n`,
+      exitCode: 1,
+    }));
+    const delay = vi.fn(async () => {});
+    await expect(
+      createAttachedReader("/tmp/image.dmg", process.env, undefined, {
+        run,
+        delay,
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toMatchObject({ reason });
+    expect(run).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(delay).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
+
 describe("native DMG real verification diagnostics", () => {
   it.skipIf(process.platform !== "darwin")(
     "classifies a real hdiutil verify refusal as a format failure with captured output",