diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
index 94ca836..2b13723 100644
--- a/.github/dependabot.yml
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -14,6 +14,13 @@ updates:
       - dependencies
     open-pull-requests-limit: 10
     rebase-strategy: auto
+    ignore:
+      - dependency-name: koa
+        update-types:
+          - version-update:semver-major
+      - dependency-name: "@types/koa"
+        update-types:
+          - version-update:semver-major
     groups:
       production-dependencies:
         dependency-type: production
@@ -40,6 +47,10 @@ updates:
       - dependencies
       - docker
     open-pull-requests-limit: 5
+    ignore:
+      - dependency-name: node
+        update-types:
+          - version-update:semver-major
 
   - package-ecosystem: github-actions
     directory: /
diff --git a/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml b/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
index 80c262e..6f1c3bc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml
@@ -23,6 +23,16 @@ jobs:
           PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
         run: gh pr review --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" "$PR_URL" --approve --body "Approved automatically after policy checks." || true
 
+      - name: Update stale Dependabot branches
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
+        run: |
+          merge_state="$(gh pr view --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" "$PR_URL" --json mergeStateStatus --jq .mergeStateStatus)"
+          if [ "$merge_state" = "BEHIND" ]; then
+            gh pr update-branch --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" "$PR_URL"
+          fi
+
       - name: Enable auto-merge after required checks pass
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/tests/github-automation.test.cjs b/tests/github-automation.test.cjs
index 042656f..2294b9d 100644
--- a/tests/github-automation.test.cjs
+++ b/tests/github-automation.test.cjs
@@ -53,6 +53,14 @@ test('dependabot config covers npm, docker, and github-actions updates', () => {
   assert.match(dependabot, /package-ecosystem: github-actions/);
 });
 
+test('dependabot ignores unsupported major upgrades for koa and docker base images', () => {
+  const dependabot = read('.github/dependabot.yml');
+
+  assert.match(dependabot, /dependency-name:\s*koa/);
+  assert.match(dependabot, /update-types:\s*\n\s*- version-update:semver-major/);
+  assert.match(dependabot, /dependency-name:\s*node/);
+});
+
 test('CI workflow runs lint before tests and build', () => {
   const workflow = read('.github/workflows/ci.yml');
 
@@ -69,6 +77,13 @@ test('CI validates Docker builds for pull requests without publishing images', (
   assert.match(workflow, /push: false/);
 });
 
+test('dependabot auto-merge workflow updates stale branches before enabling auto-merge', () => {
+  const workflow = read('.github/workflows/dependabot-auto-merge.yml');
+
+  assert.match(workflow, /gh pr update-branch/);
+  assert.match(workflow, /mergeStateStatus/);
+});
+
 test('Dockerfile is self-contained and no longer relies on curl-impersonate', () => {
   const dockerfile = read('Dockerfile');