diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5e97058..475a75d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,14 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Security
+
+- **SEC-012: Enforce explicit SSL certificate verification in embedding API requests** (#80)
+  - Added `CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER => true` and `CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST => 2` to all embedding HTTP requests
+  - Using `curl_setopt_array()` to ensure SSL options are always applied together
+  - Proxy configuration remains as a separate `curl_setopt()` call (unchanged)
+  - Added static analysis test `test_embedding_ssl_verify.phpt` to verify SSL options are present in source
+
 ### Added
 
 - **TEST-001: ZVecException isolation tests for error code strings, constructor, chaining, and error details** (#99)
diff --git a/src/embeddings/EmbeddingInterfaces.php b/src/embeddings/EmbeddingInterfaces.php
index 4e663c7..7c4ecb3 100644
--- a/src/embeddings/EmbeddingInterfaces.php
+++ b/src/embeddings/EmbeddingInterfaces.php
@@ -105,11 +105,18 @@ protected function post(string $endpoint, array $data): array
         $url = rtrim($this->baseUrl, '/') . '/' . ltrim($endpoint, '/');
         
         $ch = curl_init($url);
-        curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
-        curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
-        curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, json_encode($data));
-        curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, $this->timeout);
-        curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $this->getHeaders());
+        curl_setopt_array($ch, [
+            CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
+            CURLOPT_POST => true,
+            CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode($data),
+            CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => $this->timeout,
+            CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => $this->getHeaders(),
+            // Explicit SSL verification — never trust silently even if global
+            // PHP curl options are changed (e.g., curl.cainfo="") or CA bundle
+            // is not configured. See SEC-012.
+            CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER => true,
+            CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST => 2,
+        ]);
         
         if ($this->proxy !== null) {
             curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXY, $this->proxy);
diff --git a/tests/test_embedding_ssl_verify.php b/tests/test_embedding_ssl_verify.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..70d571a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_embedding_ssl_verify.php
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * SEC-012: Explicit SSL verification in embedding API requests.
+ *
+ * Verifies that CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER and CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST are
+ * explicitly set in the EmbeddingInterfaces.php source, using the
+ * curl_setopt_array() form (not individual curl_setopt() calls),
+ * and that the proxy option remains a separate curl_setopt() call.
+ */
+
+$source = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/../src/embeddings/EmbeddingInterfaces.php');
+
+$hasSslVerifyPeer = str_contains($source, 'CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER');
+$hasSslVerifyHost = str_contains($source, 'CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST');
+$hasCurlSetoptArray = str_contains($source, 'curl_setopt_array');
+
+echo "CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER present: " . ($hasSslVerifyPeer ? 'yes' : 'no') . "\n";
+echo "CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST present: " . ($hasSslVerifyHost ? 'yes' : 'no') . "\n";
+echo "curl_setopt_array used: " . ($hasCurlSetoptArray ? 'yes' : 'no') . "\n";
+
+// Verify the values are set to secure defaults (curl_setopt_array format)
+$peerMatch = preg_match('/CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER\s*=>\s*true/', $source);
+$hostMatch = preg_match('/CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST\s*=>\s*2/', $source);
+
+echo "SSL_VERIFYPEER set to true: " . ($peerMatch ? 'yes' : 'no') . "\n";
+echo "SSL_VERIFYHOST set to 2: " . ($hostMatch ? 'yes' : 'no') . "\n";
+
+// Verify options are in the post() method specifically (not just anywhere)
+$postMethodStart = strpos($source, 'protected function post(');
+$postMethodEnd = strpos($source, 'abstract protected function getHeaders(');
+$postSource = substr($source, $postMethodStart, $postMethodEnd - $postMethodStart);
+
+$postHasPeer = str_contains($postSource, 'CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER');
+$postHasHost = str_contains($postSource, 'CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST');
+
+echo "SSL options in post() method: " . ($postHasPeer && $postHasHost ? 'yes' : 'no') . "\n";
+
+// Verify options are set before the proxy check (correct ordering)
+$peerPos = strpos($postSource, 'CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER');
+$proxyPos = strpos($postSource, 'CURLOPT_PROXY');
+$correctOrder = $peerPos < $proxyPos;
+
+echo "SSL options before proxy: " . ($correctOrder ? 'yes' : 'no') . "\n";
+
+// Verify proxy uses separate curl_setopt (not in the array)
+$proxyInArray = preg_match('/CURLOPT_PROXY\s*=>/', $postSource);
+echo "Proxy NOT in curl_setopt_array: " . ($proxyInArray ? 'no' : 'yes') . "\n";
+
+$allPass = $hasSslVerifyPeer && $hasSslVerifyHost && $hasCurlSetoptArray
+    && $peerMatch && $hostMatch
+    && $postHasPeer && $postHasHost
+    && $correctOrder && !$proxyInArray;
+
+echo ($allPass ? "PASS" : "FAIL") . "\n";
diff --git a/tests/test_embedding_ssl_verify.phpt b/tests/test_embedding_ssl_verify.phpt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6a335c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_embedding_ssl_verify.phpt
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+--TEST--
+SEC-012: Explicit SSL verification in embedding API requests
+--FILE--
+<?php
+// Verify CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER and CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST are explicitly set
+// in the EmbeddingInterfaces.php source. This test is a static analysis check —
+// it does not make network requests or require FFI.
+$source = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/../src/embeddings/EmbeddingInterfaces.php');
+
+$hasVerifyPeer = strpos($source, 'CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER') !== false;
+$hasVerifyHost = strpos($source, 'CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST') !== false;
+
+if (!$hasVerifyPeer) {
+    echo "FAIL: CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER not found in EmbeddingInterfaces.php\n";
+    exit(1);
+}
+if (!$hasVerifyHost) {
+    echo "FAIL: CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST not found in EmbeddingInterfaces.php\n";
+    exit(1);
+}
+
+echo "PASS: CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER and CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST are explicitly set\n";
+
+// Verify the values are true and 2 respectively
+$patternPeer = '/CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER\s*=>\s*true/';
+$patternHost = '/CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST\s*=>\s*2/';
+
+if (!preg_match($patternPeer, $source)) {
+    echo "FAIL: CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER is not set to true\n";
+    exit(1);
+}
+if (!preg_match($patternHost, $source)) {
+    echo "FAIL: CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST is not set to 2\n";
+    exit(1);
+}
+
+echo "PASS: CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER => true and CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST => 2\n";
+
+// Verify curl_setopt_array is used (not individual curl_setopt calls for SSL)
+if (strpos($source, 'curl_setopt_array') === false) {
+    echo "FAIL: curl_setopt_array not used (should use array form for SSL options)\n";
+    exit(1);
+}
+echo "PASS: curl_setopt_array is used for setting curl options\n";
+?>
+--EXPECT--
+PASS: CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER and CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST are explicitly set
+PASS: CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER => true and CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST => 2
+PASS: curl_setopt_array is used for setting curl options