diff --git a/readiness/checks.go b/readiness/checks.go
index 77a6f86..ad907a4 100644
--- a/readiness/checks.go
+++ b/readiness/checks.go
@@ -182,10 +182,21 @@ var secretPatterns = []struct {
 	{regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)(authorization:\s*basic\s+)\S+`), `${1}REDACTED`},
 
 	// Postgres / pq form: "password=abc123", "passwd=abc123", "pwd=abc123".
-	// Case-insensitive so "Password=" also redacts.
-	{regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)(password=)\S+`), `${1}REDACTED`},
-	{regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)(passwd=)\S+`), `${1}REDACTED`},
-	{regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)(pwd=)\S+`), `${1}REDACTED`},
+	// Case-insensitive so "Password=" also redacts. Each pattern accepts
+	// three value shapes — pq's key-value DSN (https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/lib/pq)
+	// supports all of them so a customer connection-URL containing a space
+	// in the password lands in the error message in quoted form:
+	//   bare:           password=secret             (ends at next whitespace)
+	//   single-quoted:  password='complex pass'     (may contain spaces)
+	//   double-quoted:  password="complex pass"     (may contain spaces)
+	// The plain `\S+` form caught only the bare case + the first non-space
+	// token of a quoted value, leaving the rest of the secret on the wire.
+	// 2026-05-31 fix — registry rows in checks_test.go::secretLeakCases
+	// (pq_*_quoted_*) lock the three shapes in CI; the registry-walk test
+	// fails closed on any regression to the bare `\S+` form.
+	{regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)(password=)(?:'[^']*'|"[^"]*"|\S+)`), `${1}REDACTED`},
+	{regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)(passwd=)(?:'[^']*'|"[^"]*"|\S+)`), `${1}REDACTED`},
+	{regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)(pwd=)(?:'[^']*'|"[^"]*"|\S+)`), `${1}REDACTED`},
 
 	// pq username leak: 'password authentication failed for user "instant"'.
 	// Treat usernames as semi-sensitive — a leaked user name still gives
diff --git a/readiness/checks_test.go b/readiness/checks_test.go
index 308dbd9..fd15f0f 100644
--- a/readiness/checks_test.go
+++ b/readiness/checks_test.go
@@ -334,6 +334,16 @@ var secretLeakCases = []struct {
 	{"pq_password_kv", `pq: FATAL: password=topsecret123 invalid`, []string{"topsecret123"}},
 	{"pq_passwd_kv", `pq: FATAL: passwd=topsecret123 invalid`, []string{"topsecret123"}},
 	{"pq_pwd_kv", `pq: FATAL: pwd=topsecret123 invalid`, []string{"topsecret123"}},
+	// pq's key-value DSN supports single- and double-quoted password values
+	// when the secret contains whitespace. The bare `\S+` form caught only
+	// the first non-space token, leaving the rest of the secret on the wire.
+	// 2026-05-31 regression rows — each shape must not leak its content.
+	{"pq_password_single_quote", `pq: FATAL: password='top secret with space' invalid`, []string{"top secret with space", "secret with"}},
+	{"pq_password_double_quote", `pq: FATAL: password="top secret with space" invalid`, []string{"top secret with space", "secret with"}},
+	{"pq_passwd_single_quote", `pq: FATAL: passwd='multi word secret' invalid`, []string{"multi word secret", "word secret"}},
+	{"pq_passwd_double_quote", `pq: FATAL: passwd="multi word secret" invalid`, []string{"multi word secret", "word secret"}},
+	{"pq_pwd_single_quote", `pq: FATAL: pwd='abc 123 def' invalid`, []string{"abc 123 def", "123 def"}},
+	{"pq_pwd_double_quote", `pq: FATAL: pwd="abc 123 def" invalid`, []string{"abc 123 def", "123 def"}},
 	{"pq_user_double_quote", `pq: password auth failed for user "dbadmin"`, []string{`"dbadmin"`}},
 	{"pq_user_single_quote", `pq: password auth failed for user 'dbadmin'`, []string{`'dbadmin'`}},
 	{"url_postgres", `dial postgres://app:p4ssw0rd@db:5432`, []string{"p4ssw0rd", "app:"}},