diff --git a/.jules/sentinel.md b/.jules/sentinel.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c8c9bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.jules/sentinel.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+## 2026-06-17 - Fix Path Traversal in exportGherkin
+**Vulnerability:** `exportGherkin` accepts an unvalidated `output` path relative to the project root, allowing arbitrary file writes outside the project directory using `../../` or absolute paths.
+**Learning:** The `output` option in `vspec export gherkin` lacked validation to ensure the resolved output path stays within the project root directory.
+**Prevention:** Always validate constructed file paths when they incorporate user input using `path.resolve` and checking if the resulting relative path begins with `..` or is absolute.
diff --git a/src/export/gherkin.ts b/src/export/gherkin.ts
index 4710ea9..051c160 100644
--- a/src/export/gherkin.ts
+++ b/src/export/gherkin.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import { mkdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
-import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
+import { dirname, join, resolve, relative, sep, isAbsolute } from "node:path";
 import { findUseCaseFile, readConfig, relativePath } from "../files.js";
 import { parseUseCaseMarkdown } from "../format/parse.js";
 import type { ParsedUseCase } from "../domain/types.js";
+import { VspecError } from "../errors.js";
 
 export function renderGherkin(useCase: ParsedUseCase): string {
   const lines: string[] = [
@@ -39,7 +40,13 @@ export function exportGherkin(args: { key: string; output?: string; cwd?: string
   if (!source) throw new Error("KEY_NOT_FOUND");
   const text = renderGherkin(parseUseCaseMarkdown(readFileSync(source, "utf8")));
   const output = args.output ?? join("tests", `${args.key}.feature`);
-  const outputPath = join(config.root, output);
+  const outputPath = resolve(config.root, output);
+
+  const rel = relative(config.root, outputPath);
+  if (rel === ".." || rel.startsWith(`..${sep}`) || isAbsolute(rel)) {
+    throw new VspecError("INVALID_ARGUMENT", "Output path must be within the project root directory.");
+  }
+
   mkdirSync(dirname(outputPath), { recursive: true });
   writeFileSync(outputPath, text);
   return { key: args.key, text, path: relativePath(outputPath, config.root) };
diff --git a/tests/gherkin.test.ts b/tests/gherkin.test.ts
index 1a0c28e..371ac5c 100644
--- a/tests/gherkin.test.ts
+++ b/tests/gherkin.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,13 @@
-import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { readFileSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
 import { join } from "node:path";
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import { renderGherkin } from "../src/export/gherkin.js";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { renderGherkin, exportGherkin } from "../src/export/gherkin.js";
 import { parseUseCaseMarkdown } from "../src/format/parse.js";
+import { initProject } from "../src/project.js";
+import { createUseCase } from "../src/usecase-commands.js";
+import { createActor } from "../src/entity-commands.js";
 
 describe("gherkin export", () => {
   it("renders the golden feature byte-for-byte", () => {
@@ -11,3 +16,28 @@ describe("gherkin export", () => {
     expect(renderGherkin(useCase)).toBe(expected);
   });
 });
+
+describe("exportGherkin command", () => {
+  let cwd: string;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    cwd = join(tmpdir(), randomUUID());
+    initProject({ root: cwd, key: "TEST" });
+    createActor({ name: "user", cwd });
+    createUseCase({ title: "Test Path Traversal", primaryActor: "user", cwd });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    rmSync(cwd, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  it("prevents path traversal outside project root", () => {
+    expect(() => {
+      exportGherkin({ key: "TEST-001", output: "../../../../../tmp/escaped.feature", cwd });
+    }).toThrowError(/Output path must be within the project root directory/);
+
+    expect(() => {
+      exportGherkin({ key: "TEST-001", output: "/tmp/absolute.feature", cwd });
+    }).toThrowError(/Output path must be within the project root directory/);
+  });
+});