diff --git a/packages/core/src/environment/tools/read-file.ts b/packages/core/src/environment/tools/read-file.ts
index e1b7c09..745e270 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/environment/tools/read-file.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/environment/tools/read-file.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
  * Docs: /docs/tools § "File tools".
  */
 import path from "node:path";
-import { open, stat } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { open, realpath, stat } from "node:fs/promises";
 import { partialToolCallOutput } from "../../omnimessage/index.js";
 import type { OmniMessage } from "../../omnimessage/index.js";
 import type { ToolDefinitionConfig } from "../../interfaces.js";
@@ -65,6 +65,29 @@ const DEFAULT_OUTPUT_BUDGET = 64000;
  */
 const SECRET_BASENAMES = new Set([".vault.toml", ".project_config.toml"]);
 
+/**
+ * The secret-store name a path hits, or null. Checks the LOWERCASED basename of both the
+ * lexical path and its realpath: a case-insensitive filesystem (macOS/Windows) opens
+ * ".VAULT.TOML" as .vault.toml, and a symlink's own name says nothing about what it
+ * dereferences to — either would slip past a plain case-sensitive basename check. On a
+ * case-sensitive filesystem the lowercase compare can refuse a differently-cased sibling
+ * that is NOT the secret store; for a guard, that false positive is the right trade.
+ */
+async function secretStoreHit(resolved: string): Promise<string | null> {
+  let target = resolved;
+  try {
+    target = await realpath(resolved);
+  } catch {
+    // Missing file / permission error: the lexical name is still checked below, and the
+    // read path reports the real error afterwards.
+  }
+  for (const name of [path.basename(resolved), path.basename(target)]) {
+    const lower = name.toLowerCase();
+    if (SECRET_BASENAMES.has(lower)) return lower;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
 /** Renders one `cat -n` style line: 6-column right-aligned line number, tab, content. */
 export function numberedLine(lineNo: number, content: string): string {
   const capped =
@@ -251,9 +274,13 @@ export function createReadFileTool(definition: ToolDefinitionConfig): BuiltinToo
       const resolved = path.resolve(ctx.workspaceDir, filePath);
       // Secret stores are refused by name: read_file is auto-approved under read-only
       // approval, so it needs its own guard (aligned with the system prompt's ban).
-      if (SECRET_BASENAMES.has(path.basename(resolved))) {
+      // secretStoreHit resolves symlinks and compares case-insensitively — the lexical
+      // basename alone is bypassable via ".VAULT.TOML" (case-insensitive filesystems) or
+      // a symlink pointing at the store.
+      const secretHit = await secretStoreHit(resolved);
+      if (secretHit !== null) {
         yield delta(
-          `Refusing to read "${filePath}": ${path.basename(resolved)} holds the user's secrets and must never enter the conversation.`,
+          `Refusing to read "${filePath}": ${secretHit} holds the user's secrets and must never enter the conversation.`,
         );
         return { stopReason: "failed" };
       }
diff --git a/packages/core/test/file-tools.test.ts b/packages/core/test/file-tools.test.ts
index fecf5cf..f15445a 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/file-tools.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/test/file-tools.test.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,17 @@
  * read-image.test.ts); Environment-side framing is covered by environment.test.ts.
  */
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import { chmod, mkdir, mkdtemp, readdir, readFile, rm, stat, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import {
+  chmod,
+  mkdir,
+  mkdtemp,
+  readdir,
+  readFile,
+  rm,
+  stat,
+  symlink,
+  writeFile,
+} from "node:fs/promises";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 import {
@@ -384,6 +394,32 @@ describe("read_file — argument coercion, CRLF, secret guard", () => {
     expect(cfg.result?.stopReason).toBe("failed");
     expect(cfg.text).toContain("Refusing to read");
   });
+
+  it("refuses case-variant names and symlinks that dereference to a secret store", async () => {
+    await writeFile(path.join(tmp, ".vault.toml"), "SECRET=1\n");
+    // Case variant: a case-insensitive filesystem (macOS/Windows) opens ".VAULT.TOML" as
+    // the store itself; on a case-sensitive one refusing the name is a harmless false positive.
+    const upper = await run(tool(), { file_path: ".VAULT.TOML" }, tmp);
+    expect(upper.result?.stopReason).toBe("failed");
+    expect(upper.text).toContain("Refusing to read");
+    // Symlink: the link's own basename says nothing about what it dereferences to.
+    await symlink(path.join(tmp, ".vault.toml"), path.join(tmp, "notes.txt"));
+    const linked = await run(tool(), { file_path: "notes.txt" }, tmp);
+    expect(linked.result?.stopReason).toBe("failed");
+    expect(linked.text).toContain("Refusing to read");
+    expect(linked.text).not.toContain("SECRET=1");
+    // A symlink NAMED like a store but pointing elsewhere is refused on the lexical name —
+    // an acceptable false positive for a guard.
+    await writeFile(path.join(tmp, "plain.txt"), "hello\n");
+    await symlink(path.join(tmp, "plain.txt"), path.join(tmp, ".project_config.toml"));
+    const named = await run(tool(), { file_path: ".project_config.toml" }, tmp);
+    expect(named.result?.stopReason).toBe("failed");
+    // An ordinary symlink to an ordinary file still reads.
+    await symlink(path.join(tmp, "plain.txt"), path.join(tmp, "alias.txt"));
+    const ok = await run(tool(), { file_path: "alias.txt" }, tmp);
+    expect(ok.result?.stopReason).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(ok.text).toContain("hello");
+  });
 });
 
 describe("read_file — bounded scan and output budget", () => {