diff --git a/mssql_python/pybind/ddbc_bindings.cpp b/mssql_python/pybind/ddbc_bindings.cpp
index cd3a45fa..7342c0f5 100644
--- a/mssql_python/pybind/ddbc_bindings.cpp
+++ b/mssql_python/pybind/ddbc_bindings.cpp
@@ -26,6 +26,18 @@
 // Macro definitions
 //-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+#ifdef _WIN32
+// Constrained DLL search flags (Windows 8+ / Win7 + KB2533623). Defined
+// defensively in case the build's SDK headers gate them behind an older
+// _WIN32_WINNT than this project targets.
+#ifndef LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DLL_LOAD_DIR
+#define LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DLL_LOAD_DIR 0x00000100
+#endif
+#ifndef LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DEFAULT_DIRS
+#define LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DEFAULT_DIRS 0x00001000
+#endif
+#endif  // _WIN32
+
 #ifndef SQL_C_DATE
 #define SQL_C_DATE (9)
 #endif
@@ -1047,9 +1059,17 @@ DriverHandle LoadDriverLibrary(const std::string& driverPath) {
     // fs::path::c_str() returns wchar_t* on Windows with correct encoding
     namespace fs = std::filesystem;
     fs::path pathObj(driverPath);
-    HMODULE handle = LoadLibraryW(pathObj.c_str());
+    // Resolve the vendored driver's dependencies with a constrained search
+    // path. LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DLL_LOAD_DIR adds the driver's own folder for
+    // its dependency lookups, and LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DEFAULT_DIRS restricts the
+    // rest of the search to System32 and the application directory -- excluding
+    // the current working directory and %PATH%, which the legacy LoadLibraryW
+    // search order would otherwise include.
+    HMODULE handle = LoadLibraryExW(
+        pathObj.c_str(), nullptr,
+        LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DEFAULT_DIRS | LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DLL_LOAD_DIR);
     if (!handle) {
-        LOG("LoadDriverLibrary: LoadLibraryW failed for path='%s' - %s", driverPath.c_str(),
+        LOG("LoadDriverLibrary: LoadLibraryExW failed for path='%s' - %s", driverPath.c_str(),
             GetLastErrorMessage().c_str());
         ThrowStdException("Failed to load library: " + driverPath);
     }
@@ -1199,7 +1219,9 @@ DriverHandle LoadDriverOrThrowException() {
     fs::path authDllPath = dllDir / "mssql-auth.dll";
     if (fs::exists(authDllPath)) {
         // Use fs::path::c_str() which returns wchar_t* on Windows with proper encoding
-        HMODULE hAuth = LoadLibraryW(authDllPath.c_str());
+        HMODULE hAuth = LoadLibraryExW(
+            authDllPath.c_str(), nullptr,
+            LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DEFAULT_DIRS | LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DLL_LOAD_DIR);
         if (hAuth) {
             LOG("LoadDriverOrThrowException: mssql-auth.dll loaded "
                 "successfully from '%s'",
diff --git a/tests/test_026_windows_dll_search.py b/tests/test_026_windows_dll_search.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5a57bda6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_026_windows_dll_search.py
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+"""
+Regression guard for the Windows package-local DLL load path.
+
+The vendored ODBC driver (``msodbcsql18.dll``) and Entra auth DLL
+(``mssql-auth.dll``) must be loaded with a constrained search path --
+``LoadLibraryExW`` with ``LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DEFAULT_DIRS |
+LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DLL_LOAD_DIR`` -- rather than the legacy ``LoadLibraryW``
+search order, which also consults the current working directory and ``%PATH%``
+when resolving those DLLs' dependencies.
+
+This is a source-contract test on purpose. The restriction only manifests at
+DLL-resolution time on Windows, which cannot be observed without dropping a
+file on disk; a success-path "does it still load" check passes on the
+unhardened code too (any host with ``msvcp140.dll`` in System32), so it guards
+nothing. Asserting the loader keeps using the constrained API is the
+deterministic, platform-independent way to fail if the hardening is reverted.
+"""
+
+import re
+from pathlib import Path
+
+_LOADER_SRC = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1] / "mssql_python" / "pybind" / "ddbc_bindings.cpp"
+
+
+def _code_without_comments(text):
+    # Drop // line comments so prose that mentions LoadLibraryW is not matched.
+    return "\n".join(re.sub(r"//.*", "", line) for line in text.splitlines())
+
+
+def test_loader_source_present():
+    assert _LOADER_SRC.is_file(), f"loader source not found at {_LOADER_SRC}"
+
+
+def test_no_unhardened_loadlibrary_call():
+    code = _code_without_comments(_LOADER_SRC.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    # A bare LoadLibraryW(...) call resolves dependencies via the legacy search
+    # order, which includes the current directory and %PATH%.
+    assert re.search(r"\bLoadLibraryW\s*\(", code) is None, (
+        "ddbc_bindings.cpp contains a bare LoadLibraryW call; the vendored "
+        "driver and auth DLLs must be loaded with LoadLibraryExW and the "
+        "constrained search flags instead."
+    )
+
+
+def test_driver_and_auth_loads_use_constrained_search():
+    code = _code_without_comments(_LOADER_SRC.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    # Match each LoadLibraryExW( ... ); call and require BOTH flags inside that
+    # call's own argument list -- not merely somewhere in the file (the flag
+    # names also appear in the #define block, so a file-wide substring check
+    # would still pass if a call's flags were replaced with 0).
+    calls = re.findall(r"LoadLibraryExW\s*\(.*?\)\s*;", code, re.DOTALL)
+    assert len(calls) >= 2, "expected LoadLibraryExW for both the driver and the auth DLL loads"
+    for call in calls:
+        assert "LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DEFAULT_DIRS" in call, (
+            "a LoadLibraryExW call is missing LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DEFAULT_DIRS: " + call
+        )
+        assert "LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DLL_LOAD_DIR" in call, (
+            "a LoadLibraryExW call is missing LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DLL_LOAD_DIR: " + call
+        )