diff --git a/requirements-test.txt b/requirements-test.txt
index f0b5eb27..a11b33a4 100644
--- a/requirements-test.txt
+++ b/requirements-test.txt
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 # Test-only dependencies for the plugin safety harness and pytest suite.
 # Install alongside requirements.txt:  pip install -r requirements.txt -r requirements-test.txt
-# Upper bounds pin the major version so a new release can't silently change
-# golden-image / time-sensitive test behavior between CI runs.
-pytest>=7.4,<9
-pytest-cov>=4.1,<7
-jsonschema>=4.0,<5       # manifest validation
+#
+# pytest, pytest-cov, pytest-mock, and jsonschema are already pinned (with
+# major-version caps) in requirements.txt, so they are intentionally NOT
+# repeated here — re-pinning pytest to <9 collided with requirements.txt's
+# pytest>=9.0.3,<10 and made the two files impossible to install together.
+# Only declare what requirements.txt doesn't already provide.
 freezegun>=1.2,<2        # deterministic time for golden-image tests