diff --git a/.buildkite/Dockerfile b/.buildkite/Dockerfile
index 2b5f944834..7f97965191 100644
--- a/.buildkite/Dockerfile
+++ b/.buildkite/Dockerfile
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
    wget curl git python3 python3-pip ninja-build \
    software-properties-common apt-transport-https \
    ca-certificates gnupg lsb-release unzip \
-   libxml2-dev ruby ruby-dev bison gawk perl make golang ccache \
+   libxml2-dev ruby ruby-dev bison gawk perl make golang ccache qemu-user-static \
    && add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-toolchain-r/test \
    && apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y gcc-13 g++-13 libgcc-13-dev libstdc++-13-dev \
diff --git a/.buildkite/ci.mjs b/.buildkite/ci.mjs
index 88e879a806..543375a0ad 100755
--- a/.buildkite/ci.mjs
+++ b/.buildkite/ci.mjs
@@ -537,6 +537,66 @@ function getLinkBunStep(platform, options) {
   };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Returns the artifact triplet for a platform, e.g. "bun-linux-aarch64" or "bun-linux-x64-musl-baseline".
+ * Matches the naming convention in cmake/targets/BuildBun.cmake.
+ * @param {Platform} platform
+ * @returns {string}
+ */
+function getTargetTriplet(platform) {
+  const { os, arch, abi, baseline } = platform;
+  let triplet = `bun-${os}-${arch}`;
+  if (abi === "musl") {
+    triplet += "-musl";
+  }
+  if (baseline) {
+    triplet += "-baseline";
+  }
+  return triplet;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns true if a platform needs QEMU-based baseline CPU verification.
+ * x64 baseline builds verify no AVX/AVX2 instructions snuck in.
+ * aarch64 builds verify no LSE/SVE instructions snuck in.
+ * @param {Platform} platform
+ * @returns {boolean}
+ */
+function needsBaselineVerification(platform) {
+  const { os, arch, baseline } = platform;
+  if (os !== "linux") return false;
+  return (arch === "x64" && baseline) || arch === "aarch64";
+}
+
+/**
+ * @param {Platform} platform
+ * @param {PipelineOptions} options
+ * @returns {Step}
+ */
+function getVerifyBaselineStep(platform, options) {
+  const { arch } = platform;
+  const targetKey = getTargetKey(platform);
+  const archArg = arch === "x64" ? "x64" : "aarch64";
+
+  return {
+    key: `${targetKey}-verify-baseline`,
+    label: `${getTargetLabel(platform)} - verify-baseline`,
+    depends_on: [`${targetKey}-build-bun`],
+    agents: getLinkBunAgent(platform, options),
+    retry: getRetry(),
+    cancel_on_build_failing: isMergeQueue(),
+    timeout_in_minutes: 5,
+    command: [
+      `buildkite-agent artifact download '*.zip' . --step ${targetKey}-build-bun`,
+      `unzip -o '${getTargetTriplet(platform)}.zip'`,
+      `unzip -o '${getTargetTriplet(platform)}-profile.zip'`,
+      `chmod +x ${getTargetTriplet(platform)}/bun ${getTargetTriplet(platform)}-profile/bun-profile`,
+      `./scripts/verify-baseline-cpu.sh --arch ${archArg} --binary ${getTargetTriplet(platform)}/bun`,
+      `./scripts/verify-baseline-cpu.sh --arch ${archArg} --binary ${getTargetTriplet(platform)}-profile/bun-profile`,
+    ],
+  };
+}
+
 /**
  * @param {Platform} platform
  * @param {PipelineOptions} options
@@ -1126,6 +1186,10 @@ async function getPipeline(options = {}) {
         steps.push(getBuildZigStep(target, options));
         steps.push(getLinkBunStep(target, options));
 
+        if (needsBaselineVerification(target)) {
+          steps.push(getVerifyBaselineStep(target, options));
+        }
+
         return getStepWithDependsOn(
           {
             key: getTargetKey(target),
diff --git a/scripts/bootstrap.sh b/scripts/bootstrap.sh
index 5deb20a7c7..43aa7fad7d 100755
--- a/scripts/bootstrap.sh
+++ b/scripts/bootstrap.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/bin/sh
-# Version: 26
+# Version: 27
 
 # A script that installs the dependencies needed to build and test Bun.
 # This should work on macOS and Linux with a POSIX shell.
@@ -1061,6 +1061,11 @@ install_build_essentials() {
 			go \
 			xz
 		install_packages apache2-utils
+		# QEMU user-mode for baseline CPU verification in CI
+		case "$arch" in
+		x64)     install_packages qemu-x86_64 ;;
+		aarch64) install_packages qemu-aarch64 ;;
+		esac
 		;;
 	esac
 
diff --git a/scripts/verify-baseline-cpu.sh b/scripts/verify-baseline-cpu.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..d86a744f27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/verify-baseline-cpu.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Verify that a Bun binary doesn't use CPU instructions beyond its baseline target.
+# Uses QEMU user-mode emulation with restricted CPU features.
+# Any illegal instruction (SIGILL) causes exit code 132 and fails the build.
+#
+# QEMU must be pre-installed in the CI image (see .buildkite/Dockerfile and
+# scripts/bootstrap.sh).
+
+ARCH=""
+BINARY=""
+
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case $1 in
+    --arch) ARCH="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+    --binary) BINARY="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+    *) echo "Unknown arg: $1"; exit 1 ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+if [ -z "$ARCH" ] || [ -z "$BINARY" ]; then
+  echo "Usage: $0 --arch <x64|aarch64> --binary <path>"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ ! -f "$BINARY" ]; then
+  echo "ERROR: Binary not found: $BINARY"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Select QEMU binary and CPU model
+HOST_ARCH=$(uname -m)
+if [ "$ARCH" = "x64" ]; then
+  QEMU_BIN="qemu-x86_64"
+  if [ -f "/usr/bin/qemu-x86_64-static" ]; then
+    QEMU_BIN="qemu-x86_64-static"
+  fi
+  QEMU_CPU="Nehalem"
+  CPU_DESC="Nehalem (SSE4.2, no AVX/AVX2/AVX512)"
+elif [ "$ARCH" = "aarch64" ]; then
+  QEMU_BIN="qemu-aarch64"
+  if [ -f "/usr/bin/qemu-aarch64-static" ]; then
+    QEMU_BIN="qemu-aarch64-static"
+  fi
+  # cortex-a53 is ARMv8.0-A (no LSE atomics, no SVE). It's the most widely
+  # supported ARMv8.0 model across QEMU versions.
+  QEMU_CPU="cortex-a53"
+  CPU_DESC="Cortex-A53 (ARMv8.0-A+CRC, no LSE/SVE)"
+else
+  echo "ERROR: Unknown arch: $ARCH"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! command -v "$QEMU_BIN" &>/dev/null; then
+  echo "ERROR: $QEMU_BIN not found. It must be pre-installed in the CI image."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+BINARY_NAME=$(basename "$BINARY")
+
+echo "--- Verifying $BINARY_NAME on $CPU_DESC"
+echo "    Binary: $BINARY"
+echo "    QEMU:   $QEMU_BIN -cpu $QEMU_CPU"
+echo "    Host:   $HOST_ARCH"
+echo ""
+
+run_test() {
+  local label="$1"
+  shift
+  echo "+++ $BINARY_NAME: $label"
+  if "$QEMU_BIN" -cpu "$QEMU_CPU" "$@"; then
+    echo "    PASS"
+    return 0
+  else
+    local exit_code=$?
+    echo ""
+    if [ $exit_code -eq 132 ]; then
+      echo "    FAIL: Illegal instruction (SIGILL)"
+      echo ""
+      echo "    The $BINARY_NAME binary uses CPU instructions not available on $QEMU_CPU."
+      if [ "$ARCH" = "x64" ]; then
+        echo "    The baseline x64 build targets Nehalem (SSE4.2)."
+        echo "    AVX, AVX2, and AVX512 instructions are not allowed."
+      else
+        echo "    The aarch64 build targets Cortex-A53 (ARMv8.0-A+CRC)."
+        echo "    LSE atomics, SVE, and dotprod instructions are not allowed."
+      fi
+    else
+      echo "    FAIL: exit code $exit_code"
+    fi
+    exit $exit_code
+  fi
+}
+
+run_test "bun --version" "$BINARY" --version
+run_test "bun -e eval" "$BINARY" -e "console.log(JSON.stringify({ok:1+1}))"
+
+echo ""
+echo "    All checks passed for $BINARY_NAME on $QEMU_CPU."