diff --git a/.github/actions/security/org-membership-check/README.md b/.github/actions/security/org-membership-check/README.md
index a3b48ef3f4f9..49dc37cc21de 100644
--- a/.github/actions/security/org-membership-check/README.md
+++ b/.github/actions/security/org-membership-check/README.md
@@ -39,12 +39,7 @@ This composite action checks if a GitHub user is a member of the dotCMS organiza
 
 ## Implementation Details
 
-The action uses the GitHub CLI (`gh`) with a fine-grained GitHub token to check organization membership via the GitHub API endpoint `GET /orgs/dotCMS/members/{username}`.
-
-**Token Requirements:**
-- Fine-grained token with organization membership read permissions
-- Should be from a machine/service account for security
-- Stored as repository secret: `MACHINE_USER_CORE_ORG_MEMBERSHIP_CHECK`
+The action uses the GitHub CLI (`gh`) with the repository's `GITHUB_TOKEN` to check organization membership via the GitHub API endpoint `GET /orgs/dotCMS/members/{username}`.
 
 **Key Design Decision: Status Code vs Response Body**
 
diff --git a/.github/actions/security/org-membership-check/action.yml b/.github/actions/security/org-membership-check/action.yml
index 1b67872dfd5d..bc66ffe0a683 100644
--- a/.github/actions/security/org-membership-check/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/security/org-membership-check/action.yml
@@ -31,26 +31,27 @@ runs:
 
         set +e  # Don't exit on error, we want to handle it gracefully
 
-        # Check organization membership using GitHub API with fine-grained token
+        # Check organization membership using GitHub API
         #
-        # Uses a fine-grained token with organization membership read permissions
-        # to check both public and private organization membership reliably.
+        # IMPORTANT: We check the HTTP status code (via exit code) rather than parsing
+        # the response body because GitHub's membership API has specific behavior:
         #
-        # API Behavior:
-        # - HTTP 200 + user object = Public member
-        # - HTTP 200 + empty response = Private member
-        # - HTTP 404 = Not a member
-        # - Other errors = API/token issues
-
-        echo "Checking organization membership for ${{ inputs.username }} in dotCMS..."
+        # HTTP 200 (exit code 0) = User IS a member (regardless of response content)
+        #   - Public member: Returns user object with populated fields
+        #   - Private member: Returns empty response body (but still 200 OK)
+        #
+        # HTTP 404 (exit code 1) = User is NOT a member
+        #   - Returns {"message":"Not Found",...} error response
+        #
+        # This approach correctly handles both public and private organization members
+        # without needing to distinguish between their visibility settings.
 
-        # Use the provided fine-grained token instead of default GITHUB_TOKEN
-        response=$(gh api orgs/dotCMS/members/${{ inputs.username }} \
-          --header "Authorization: token ${{ inputs.github_token }}" 2>/dev/null)
+        response=$(gh api orgs/dotCMS/members/${{ inputs.username }} 2>/dev/null)
         api_exit_code=$?
 
         if [ $api_exit_code -eq 0 ]; then
           # HTTP 200: User is a member (public or private)
+          # We check response content only for logging clarity, not authorization logic
           if [ -n "$response" ]; then
             echo "✅ User ${{ inputs.username }} is a member of dotCMS (public membership)"
           else
@@ -59,7 +60,8 @@ runs:
           echo "is_member=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "membership_status=member" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
         else
-          # HTTP 404 or other error: User is not a member or API issue
+          # HTTP 404 or other error: User is not a member
+
           echo "❌ User ${{ inputs.username }} is not a member of dotCMS (API exit code: $api_exit_code)"
           echo "is_member=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "membership_status=non-member" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT