diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b964068..a90d997 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ A manifest stream usually mixes workloads with other objects. `kir` handles each
 | A workload — `Pod`, `Deployment`, `DaemonSet`, `ReplicaSet`, `StatefulSet`, `Job`, `CronJob` | its images are printed to stdout |
 | A valid object with no images — `Service`, `ConfigMap`, `Secret`, … | skipped silently (exit 0) |
 | Malformed or unreadable input | reported on stderr, non-zero exit |
+| A workload whose image value isn't a valid image reference | that image is reported on stderr with a non-zero exit; the document's other images are still printed |
 | An unrecognized custom resource (CRD) | skipped for now — see [#75](https://github.com/MPV/kir/issues/75) |
 
 So stdout carries only images and stderr stays quiet for normal input. See [ADR 0007](docs/adr/0007-document-classification.md) for the rationale.
diff --git a/cmd/cmd.go b/cmd/cmd.go
index 9a9b34d..3dea33e 100644
--- a/cmd/cmd.go
+++ b/cmd/cmd.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/mpv/kir/fileutil"
+	"github.com/mpv/kir/imageref"
 	"github.com/mpv/kir/processor"
 )
 
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ func Run(args []string, stdin io.Reader, stdout, stderr io.Writer) int {
 			}
 			images, err := processor.ProcessStdin(stdin)
 			failures := logErrors(logger, err)
-			printImages(stdout, images)
+			failures += printImages(stdout, logger, "stdin", images)
 			if failures > 0 {
 				return 1
 			}
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ func Run(args []string, stdin io.Reader, stdout, stderr io.Writer) int {
 		// yielded images from the others, and dropping them would defeat the
 		// point of reporting the failure.
 		failures += logErrors(logger, err)
-		printImages(stdout, images)
+		failures += printImages(stdout, logger, filePath, images)
 	}
 	if failures > 0 {
 		return 1
@@ -96,8 +97,19 @@ func logErrors(logger *log.Logger, err error) int {
 	return 1
 }
 
-func printImages(w io.Writer, images []string) {
+// printImages writes every reportable image to w, reports the rest to logger,
+// and returns how many it rejected. An unreportable reference gets the same
+// treatment as a malformed document (ADR 0008): named on stderr, counted
+// against the exit code, and not allowed to discard the images beside it.
+func printImages(w io.Writer, logger *log.Logger, source string, images []string) int {
+	rejected := 0
 	for _, image := range images {
+		if err := imageref.Validate(image); err != nil {
+			logger.Printf("error: %s: %v", source, err)
+			rejected++
+			continue
+		}
 		fmt.Fprintln(w, image)
 	}
+	return rejected
 }
diff --git a/cmd/cmd_test.go b/cmd/cmd_test.go
index 8a0ce2c..a2a3c36 100644
--- a/cmd/cmd_test.go
+++ b/cmd/cmd_test.go
@@ -95,6 +95,42 @@ func TestRunFileFailure(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// Which values are unreportable is imageref's business; this pins the CLI
+// contract around them. The hostile bytes are written here rather than in an
+// approvals fixture, which tooling would normalise (see AGENTS.md).
+const hostileImageManifest = `
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Pod
+metadata:
+  name: hostile
+spec:
+  containers:
+  - name: reportable
+    image: registry.k8s.io/nginx-slim:0.8
+  - name: forges-a-second-entry
+    image: "evil\nsecond-line"
+  - name: repaints-the-terminal
+    image: "nginx:1.0\x1b[2K\rregistry.io/trusted:safe"
+`
+
+func TestRunRejectsUnreportableImages(t *testing.T) {
+	var stdout, stderr bytes.Buffer
+	code := Run([]string{"-"}, strings.NewReader(hostileImageManifest), &stdout, &stderr)
+
+	if code != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("exit code = %d, want 1", code)
+	}
+	if got, want := stdout.String(), "registry.k8s.io/nginx-slim:0.8\n"; got != want {
+		t.Errorf("stdout = %q, want only the reportable image %q", got, want)
+	}
+	if got, want := strings.Count(stderr.String(), "error:"), 2; got != want {
+		t.Errorf("stderr reported %d errors, want %d:\n%s", got, want, stderr.String())
+	}
+	if strings.ContainsRune(stderr.String(), '\x1b') {
+		t.Errorf("stderr contains a raw escape byte, want it quoted:\n%q", stderr.String())
+	}
+}
+
 func TestRunNoArgs(t *testing.T) {
 	var stdout, stderr bytes.Buffer
 	code := Run(nil, nil, &stdout, &stderr)
diff --git a/docs/adr/0007-document-classification.md b/docs/adr/0007-document-classification.md
index a3336c0..c5ad378 100644
--- a/docs/adr/0007-document-classification.md
+++ b/docs/adr/0007-document-classification.md
@@ -4,13 +4,14 @@
 - Date: 2026-08-08
 
 A manifest stream mixes workloads, image-less objects, custom resources, and the
-occasional malformed document. Each falls into one of three tiers:
+occasional malformed document. Each falls into one of these tiers:
 
 | Tier | Examples | stdout | stderr | exit |
 |---|---|---|---|---|
 | Workload (has a PodSpec) | Pod, Deployment, …, CronJob | images | — | 0 |
 | Known, image-less | Service, ConfigMap, Secret, … | — | — | 0 |
 | Unprocessable | malformed YAML, unreadable file | — | `error: …` | non-zero (ADR 0008) |
+| Workload with an unreportable image | an image value that is not a valid reference | its other images | `error: …` | non-zero |
 
 The load-bearing choice: a valid image-less document is **not** an error and
 **not** a warning — it's expected input with nothing to report, so it's skipped
@@ -19,7 +20,24 @@ stdout to images, keeps stderr quiet for normal input, and keeps the exit code
 trustworthy (an earlier version erred on every Service, which — once failures
 became non-zero, ADR 0008 — would make `kir manifests/*` exit non-zero).
 
-Unregistered kinds (CRDs) are a fourth case, today handled like image-less —
+The last tier classifies an image *value*, because stdout is a contract as much
+as a report: one image per line, normally fed straight into another program's
+arguments. A line break in a value forges an extra entry in that list, escape
+sequences can make a terminal show a registry the scanner was never given, and a
+leading dash arrives at the scanner as an option. Each is refused on its own,
+leaving the document's other images reported.
+
+Validity is the canonical parser's verdict
+([`distribution/reference`](https://github.com/distribution/reference)), not a
+hand-written rule set — the load-bearing choice here. kir accepts exactly what a
+registry client would, so anything it refuses was never a pullable image, which
+is what makes refusing safe; and it refuses nothing a registry would serve, so it
+cannot drop a real image. Hand-written rules failed both ways: an earlier draft
+of this let `nginx:`, `{{.Values.image}}` and `$IMAGE` through as images.
+Normalisation is not borrowed, only validation — kir reports what the manifest
+said, so `nginx` stays `nginx`, not `docker.io/library/nginx`.
+
+Unregistered kinds (CRDs) are a further case, today handled like image-less —
 skipped silently. But a CRD may embed a PodSpec (Argo Rollouts, Knative, …), so
 skipping it silently can drop images (the #49 failure mode). Planned (#75): a
 `warning:` on stderr, exit 0 — "seen but not detected" — distinct from the silent
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 9784262..bf15914 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ go 1.26.0
 
 require (
 	github.com/approvals/go-approval-tests v1.14.0
+	github.com/distribution/reference v0.6.0
 	k8s.io/api v0.36.3
 	k8s.io/apimachinery v0.36.3
 	k8s.io/client-go v0.36.3
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/kr/text v0.2.0 // indirect
 	github.com/modern-go/concurrent v0.0.0-20180306012644-bacd9c7ef1dd // indirect
 	github.com/modern-go/reflect2 v1.0.3-0.20250322232337-35a7c28c31ee // indirect
+	github.com/opencontainers/go-digest v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/x448/float16 v0.8.4 // indirect
 	go.yaml.in/yaml/v2 v2.4.3 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/net v0.49.0 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index a0ff543..c7f6c0f 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSs
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.2-0.20180830191138-d8f796af33cc h1:U9qPSI2PIWSS1VwoXQT9A3Wy9MM3WgvqSxFWenqJduM=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.2-0.20180830191138-d8f796af33cc/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
+github.com/distribution/reference v0.6.0 h1:0IXCQ5g4/QMHHkarYzh5l+u8T3t73zM5QvfrDyIgxBk=
+github.com/distribution/reference v0.6.0/go.mod h1:BbU0aIcezP1/5jX/8MP0YiH4SdvB5Y4f/wlDRiLyi3E=
 github.com/fxamacker/cbor/v2 v2.9.0 h1:NpKPmjDBgUfBms6tr6JZkTHtfFGcMKsw3eGcmD/sapM=
 github.com/fxamacker/cbor/v2 v2.9.0/go.mod h1:vM4b+DJCtHn+zz7h3FFp/hDAI9WNWCsZj23V5ytsSxQ=
 github.com/go-logr/logr v1.4.3 h1:CjnDlHq8ikf6E492q6eKboGOC0T8CDaOvkHCIg8idEI=
@@ -24,6 +26,8 @@ github.com/modern-go/concurrent v0.0.0-20180306012644-bacd9c7ef1dd/go.mod h1:6dJ
 github.com/modern-go/reflect2 v1.0.2/go.mod h1:yWuevngMOJpCy52FWWMvUC8ws7m/LJsjYzDa0/r8luk=
 github.com/modern-go/reflect2 v1.0.3-0.20250322232337-35a7c28c31ee h1:W5t00kpgFdJifH4BDsTlE89Zl93FEloxaWZfGcifgq8=
 github.com/modern-go/reflect2 v1.0.3-0.20250322232337-35a7c28c31ee/go.mod h1:yWuevngMOJpCy52FWWMvUC8ws7m/LJsjYzDa0/r8luk=
+github.com/opencontainers/go-digest v1.0.0 h1:apOUWs51W5PlhuyGyz9FCeeBIOUDA/6nW8Oi/yOhh5U=
+github.com/opencontainers/go-digest v1.0.0/go.mod h1:0JzlMkj0TRzQZfJkVvzbP0HBR3IKzErnv2BNG4W4MAM=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.1-0.20181226105442-5d4384ee4fb2 h1:Jamvg5psRIccs7FGNTlIRMkT8wgtp5eCXdBlqhYGL6U=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.1-0.20181226105442-5d4384ee4fb2/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
diff --git a/imageref/imageref.go b/imageref/imageref.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fdd0785
--- /dev/null
+++ b/imageref/imageref.go
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+// Package imageref decides whether a container image reference is safe for kir
+// to report. See docs/adr/0007-document-classification.md for why kir refuses
+// some values outright.
+package imageref
+
+import (
+	// go-digest resolves sha256 only when that hash is linked in, and rejects
+	// every digest-pinned reference without it. kir links it anyway today via
+	// client-go, so this changes nothing now; it keeps imageref standing on its
+	// own for when #26's candidates drop client-go. No test here can pin it —
+	// the test binary links the hash regardless.
+	_ "crypto/sha256"
+	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
+
+	"github.com/distribution/reference"
+)
+
+// Validate returns an error describing why image cannot be reported, or nil if
+// it can. The canonical parser decides, so kir accepts exactly what a registry
+// client would. The parsed value is discarded: kir reports what the manifest
+// said, so "nginx" stays "nginx" rather than becoming "docker.io/library/nginx".
+func Validate(image string) error {
+	if _, err := reference.ParseNormalizedNamed(image); err != nil {
+		// Quoted, not interpolated: the parser echoes the offending value back,
+		// and an escape sequence in it must not reach the terminal this is
+		// reported on.
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid image reference %q: %s", image, strconv.Quote(err.Error()))
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/imageref/imageref_test.go b/imageref/imageref_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5333bff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/imageref/imageref_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+package imageref
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// One case per way a reference can be unreportable, rather than one per hostile
+// byte — the parser treats them all the same, so byte variants would pin
+// nothing extra. Hostile bytes live here and not in an approvals fixture: a
+// checked-in .yaml would have its escapes and trailing whitespace normalised
+// (see AGENTS.md).
+func TestValidateRejects(t *testing.T) {
+	for name, image := range map[string]string{
+		"empty":                    "",
+		"newline forges an entry":  "evil\nsecond-line",
+		"escape sequence spoofs":   "nginx:1.0\x1b[2K\rregistry.io/trusted:safe",
+		"whitespace splits args":   "a b c",
+		"leading dash is a flag":   "--platform=linux/amd64",
+		"empty tag":                "nginx:",
+		"unrendered helm template": "{{.Values.image}}",
+		"unexpanded variable":      "$IMAGE",
+	} {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if err := Validate(image); err == nil {
+				t.Errorf("Validate(%q) = nil, want an error", image)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// Over-rejection is the failure that matters: a dropped image is
+// indistinguishable from a manifest that had none. Every shape a registry could
+// serve must pass.
+func TestValidateAccepts(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, image := range []string{
+		"nginx",
+		"nginx:1.28",
+		"registry.k8s.io/nginx-slim:0.8",
+		"kiwigrid/k8s-sidecar",
+		"localhost:5000/kir:0.4.3",
+		"quay.io/org/sub/repo:v1.2.3-rc.1",
+		"registry.example.com:5000/team/app:2026-08-10_build.7",
+		// Digest-pinned references are what break when go-digest cannot resolve
+		// sha256; see the crypto/sha256 import in imageref.go.
+		"ghcr.io/mpv/kir@sha256:66b7bf84cfc7c1b2d4a7d9848114270ce6049a04d5dab67d767d8ab5c0b3412a",
+		"nginx:1.0@sha256:76944c9752702d324e06e2a9fa791c38f2b654ee4100c85327729eb3377a4284",
+	} {
+		t.Run(image, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if err := Validate(image); err != nil {
+				t.Errorf("Validate(%q) = %v, want nil", image, err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// The parser echoes the offending value back in its message, so reporting a
+// rejection must not pass those bytes through to a terminal.
+func TestValidateErrorEscapesTheValue(t *testing.T) {
+	err := Validate("nginx:1.0\x1b[2K\rregistry.io/trusted:safe")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("Validate() = nil, want an error")
+	}
+	if strings.ContainsAny(err.Error(), "\x1b\r\n") {
+		t.Errorf("error message carries raw control bytes: %q", err.Error())
+	}
+}