diff --git a/cli/verifier/cpu_count_valid.go b/cli/verifier/cpu_count_valid.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8b9806727b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/verifier/cpu_count_valid.go
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+// Copyright 2026 Edgeless Systems GmbH
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: BUSL-1.1
+
+package verifier
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/edgelesssys/contrast/internal/kuberesource"
+	applycorev1 "k8s.io/client-go/applyconfigurations/core/v1"
+)
+
+// CPUCountValid verifies that all workloads have a valid vCPU count.
+type CPUCountValid struct{}
+
+// Verify checks that pods do not require more than the currently supported 8 vCPUs.
+func (v *CPUCountValid) Verify(toVerify any) error {
+	var findings error
+
+	kuberesource.MapPodSpec(toVerify, func(spec *applycorev1.PodSpecApplyConfiguration) *applycorev1.PodSpecApplyConfiguration {
+		if spec == nil || spec.RuntimeClassName == nil || !strings.HasPrefix(*spec.RuntimeClassName, "contrast-cc") {
+			return spec
+		}
+
+		cpuCount := kuberesource.GetPodCPUCount(spec)
+		if cpuCount < 1 || cpuCount > 8 {
+			// TODO(charludo): find way to add pod name to error message
+			findings = errors.Join(findings, fmt.Errorf("pod failed verification: currently only 0-7 additional vCPUs are supported (1-8 vCPUs in total), but %d were requested", cpuCount))
+		}
+
+		return spec
+	})
+
+	return findings
+}
diff --git a/cli/verifier/cpu_count_valid_test.go b/cli/verifier/cpu_count_valid_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ea065aed67d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/verifier/cpu_count_valid_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+// Copyright 2026 Edgeless Systems GmbH
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: BUSL-1.1
+
+package verifier_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/edgelesssys/contrast/cli/verifier"
+	"github.com/edgelesssys/contrast/internal/kuberesource"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+const deploymentWithoutExplicitCPUCount = `
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: web
+spec:
+  replicas: 1
+  template:
+    spec:
+      runtimeClassName: contrast-cc
+      containers:
+        - name: app
+          resources:
+            limits:
+              cpu: 2000m
+`
+
+const deploymentWithValidCPUCount = `
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: web
+spec:
+  replicas: 1
+  template:
+    spec:
+      runtimeClassName: contrast-cc
+      containers:
+        - name: app
+          resources:
+            limits:
+              cpu: 2000m
+`
+
+const deploymentWithTooManyCPUs = `
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: web
+spec:
+  replicas: 1
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      name: web-pod
+      namespace: test
+    spec:
+      runtimeClassName: contrast-cc
+      containers:
+        - name: app
+          resources:
+            limits:
+              cpu: "8" # invalid because of always-added CPU
+`
+
+func TestCPUCountValid(t *testing.T) {
+	testCases := map[string]struct {
+		k8sYaml string
+		wantErr bool
+	}{
+		"no explicit cpu count": {
+			k8sYaml: deploymentWithoutExplicitCPUCount,
+		},
+		"valid cpu count": {
+			k8sYaml: deploymentWithValidCPUCount,
+		},
+		"too many cpus": {
+			k8sYaml: deploymentWithTooManyCPUs,
+			wantErr: true,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for name, tc := range testCases {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			require := require.New(t)
+			toVerifySlice, err := kuberesource.UnmarshalApplyConfigurations([]byte(tc.k8sYaml))
+			require.NoError(err)
+
+			verifier := verifier.CPUCountValid{}
+
+			for _, toVerify := range toVerifySlice {
+				err := verifier.Verify(toVerify)
+				if tc.wantErr {
+					require.Error(err)
+				} else {
+					require.NoError(err)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cli/verifier/verifiers.go b/cli/verifier/verifiers.go
index 51e1e5fcc54..41bda8e37f3 100644
--- a/cli/verifier/verifiers.go
+++ b/cli/verifier/verifiers.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ func AllVerifiersBeforeGenerate(cmd *cobra.Command) []Verifier {
 		&ImageRefValid{ExcludeContrastImages: true},
 		&ServiceMeshEgressNotEmpty{},
 		&RuntimeClassesExist{Command: cmd},
+		&CPUCountValid{},
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/kuberesource/parts.go b/internal/kuberesource/parts.go
index 0d61d7b270b..a91dc3ac428 100644
--- a/internal/kuberesource/parts.go
+++ b/internal/kuberesource/parts.go
@@ -523,3 +523,38 @@ func getPorts(podSpec *applycorev1.PodSpecApplyConfiguration) (ports []applycore
 	}
 	return ports
 }
+
+// GetCPUCount returns the CPU count in milliCPUs from resources.
+func GetCPUCount(resources *applycorev1.ResourceRequirementsApplyConfiguration) int64 {
+	if resources != nil && resources.Limits != nil {
+		return resources.Limits.Cpu().MilliValue()
+	}
+	return 0
+}
+
+// GetPodCPUCount computes the total CPU count (in whole CPUs) required by a pod, adding hypervisor overhead.
+func GetPodCPUCount(spec *applycorev1.PodSpecApplyConfiguration) uint64 {
+	var regularContainersCPU int64
+	for _, container := range spec.Containers {
+		regularContainersCPU += GetCPUCount(container.Resources)
+	}
+	var maxInitContainerCPU int64
+	for _, container := range spec.InitContainers {
+		cpuCount := GetCPUCount(container.Resources)
+		// Sidecar containers remain running alongside the actual application, consuming CPU resources
+		if container.RestartPolicy != nil && *container.RestartPolicy == corev1.ContainerRestartPolicyAlways {
+			regularContainersCPU += cpuCount
+		} else {
+			if cpuCount > maxInitContainerCPU {
+				maxInitContainerCPU = cpuCount
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	podLevelCPU := GetCPUCount(spec.Resources)
+
+	// Convert milliCPUs to number of CPUs (rounding up), and add 1 for hypervisor overhead.
+	// Pod resources are added to the maximum of regular containers and init containers.
+	totalMilliCPUs := max(regularContainersCPU, maxInitContainerCPU) + podLevelCPU
+	totalCPUs := (totalMilliCPUs+999)/1000 + 1
+	return uint64(totalCPUs)
+}