diff --git a/src/Testing/DesignGuard.php b/src/Testing/DesignGuard.php
index aff72808..58aab999 100644
--- a/src/Testing/DesignGuard.php
+++ b/src/Testing/DesignGuard.php
@@ -923,7 +923,9 @@ class DesignGuard
             $value = trim($value);
             $line = substr_count(substr($css, 0, $offset), "\n") + 1;
 
-            if (isset(self::LITERAL_PROPERTIES[$property]) && ! $this->isSafeLiteralValue($value)) {
+            $isRing = $property === 'box-shadow' && $this->isSafeBoxShadowRing($value);
+
+            if (isset(self::LITERAL_PROPERTIES[$property]) && ! $this->isSafeLiteralValue($value) && ! $isRing) {
                 $config = self::LITERAL_PROPERTIES[$property];
                 $found[] = [$line, "literal {$config['kind']} `{$property}: {$value}` — {$config['hint']}"];
             }
@@ -932,7 +934,11 @@ class DesignGuard
                 continue;
             }
 
-            if (preg_match('/cubic-bezier\(|steps\(|(?<![\w-])(?:ease(?:-in-out|-in|-out)?|linear|step-start|step-end)(?![\w-])/i', $value) === 1) {
+            // `linear` is M3's own easing for continuous motion (an indeterminate progress
+            // indicator's rotation, foundations-supplement.md § Motion) — legitimate literal CSS,
+            // unlike `ease`/`ease-in`/`ease-out`/`ease-in-out`, a spring's own shape and never
+            // written by hand, or `cubic-bezier()`/`steps()`, always a hand-rolled curve.
+            if (preg_match('/cubic-bezier\(|steps\(|(?<![\w-])(?:ease(?:-in-out|-in|-out)?|step-start|step-end)(?![\w-])/i', $value) === 1) {
                 $found[] = [$line, "literal easing in `{$property}: {$value}` — use `var(--md-sys-motion-spatial-*)`/`var(--md-sys-motion-effects-*)`, paired with its `-duration`"];
             }
 
@@ -958,6 +964,23 @@ class DesignGuard
         return $value === '' || in_array(strtolower($value), ['0', '0px', '0s', '0ms', 'none', 'inherit', 'initial', 'unset', 'revert', 'normal', 'auto'], true);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * A `box-shadow` shaped like an inset or outline-style ring in a colour role — `[inset] 0 0 0
+     * <n>px` in a `var(--md-sys-color-*)`, or one mixed toward transparent for a disabled ring
+     * (`color-mix(in srgb, var(--md-sys-color-*) <n>, transparent)`) — the shape the package's own
+     * stylesheets (and their stylesheet tests) use for a day's or a year's "current" outline, a
+     * focused field's edge, a selected chip's border: legitimate M3 CSS, not a hand-made shadow.
+     * `$value` has already had every `var()`/`calc()` call's own arguments blanked (see
+     * `withoutTokenFunctions()`), so the colour itself is read here only as an empty shell.
+     */
+    protected function isSafeBoxShadowRing(string $value): bool
+    {
+        return preg_match(
+            '/^(?:inset\s+)?0\s+0\s+0\s+\d+(?:\.\d+)?px\s+(?:var\([ \t]*\)|color-mix\(in srgb,\s*var\([ \t]*\)[^,]*,\s*transparent\s*\))$/',
+            trim($value),
+        ) === 1;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Every width in an `@media` condition that is not one of M3's four breakpoints written in
      * px: `(width >= 840px)`, `(min-width: 840px)` and `(600px <= width < 840px)` pass, `(width >
diff --git a/tests/Feature/DesignGuardTest.php b/tests/Feature/DesignGuardTest.php
index 5931f3fc..9097bf30 100644
--- a/tests/Feature/DesignGuardTest.php
+++ b/tests/Feature/DesignGuardTest.php
@@ -540,6 +540,17 @@ it('finds every literal design value and off-scale media query in the applicatio
     ]);
 });
 
+it('leaves a box-shadow ring in a colour role alone, but still reports a blurred or literal-coloured one', function () {
+    $violations = fixtureRelative(DesignGuard::scan(realpath(GUARD_FIXTURES.'/shadows/rings.css'))->violations());
+
+    expect($violations)->toBe([
+        'shadows/rings.css:16 literal colour `rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2)` — use `var(--md-sys-color-*)`',
+        'shadows/rings.css:16 literal shadow `box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2)` — use `var(--md-sys-elevation-*)`',
+        'shadows/rings.css:20 literal colour `#000` — use `var(--md-sys-color-*)`',
+        'shadows/rings.css:20 literal shadow `box-shadow: inset 0 0 4px 1px #000` — use `var(--md-sys-elevation-*)`',
+    ]);
+});
+
 it('ignores the generated material-scheme.css, by name and by its generated header, wherever it sits among the scanned paths', function () {
     $withScheme = fixtureRelative(DesignGuard::scan(realpath(GUARD_FIXTURES.'/app-css'))->violations());
     $withoutScheme = fixtureRelative(DesignGuard::scan(realpath(GUARD_FIXTURES.'/app-css/app.css'))->violations());
diff --git a/tests/Fixtures/design-guard/shadows/rings.css b/tests/Fixtures/design-guard/shadows/rings.css
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fb8e5da4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Fixtures/design-guard/shadows/rings.css
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+/* A ring in a colour role (a focused field's edge, a day's "current" outline), and the two shapes
+   check (iii) still reports: a blurred shadow, and one with a literal colour. */
+.ring-outline {
+    box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 1px var(--md-sys-color-outline);
+}
+
+.ring-secondary {
+    box-shadow: 0 0 0 3px var(--md-sys-color-secondary);
+}
+
+.ring-disabled {
+    box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 1px color-mix(in srgb, var(--md-sys-color-on-surface) 38%, transparent);
+}
+
+.literal-shadow {
+    box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);
+}
+
+.blurred-ring {
+    box-shadow: inset 0 0 4px 1px #000;
+}