diff --git a/internal/sandbox/profile.go b/internal/sandbox/profile.go
index 349e2b1c6..8be099168 100644
--- a/internal/sandbox/profile.go
+++ b/internal/sandbox/profile.go
@@ -96,15 +96,28 @@ var protectedMetadataNames = []string{".git", ".zero", ".agents"}
 // gitMetadataWriteCarveouts below.
 var sandboxFullyProtectedMetadataNames = []string{".zero", ".agents"}
 
-// gitMetadataWriteCarveouts returns the .git subpaths that stay write-denied
-// under the OS-level sandbox even though the rest of .git is writable to git
-// subprocesses. Nonexistent paths are harmless no-ops in every backend's
-// enforcement (seatbelt regex, bwrap ro-bind, Windows ACL deny entry).
+// gitMetadataWriteCarveouts returns the .git paths that stay write-denied under
+// the OS-level sandbox even though the rest of .git is writable to git
+// subprocesses. Worktrees and submodules store .git as a regular pointer file,
+// so they protect that file itself: constructing .git/hooks below it makes
+// bwrap fail before the command starts. All other entry and error states retain
+// the legacy child paths. The pointer is deliberately not parsed here;
+// repository-controlled metadata must not redirect sandbox rules elsewhere.
 func gitMetadataWriteCarveouts(root string) []string {
-	return []string{
-		filepath.Join(root, ".git", "hooks"),
-		filepath.Join(root, ".git", "config"),
+	return gitMetadataWriteCarveoutsWithLstat(root, os.Lstat)
+}
+
+func gitMetadataWriteCarveoutsWithLstat(root string, lstat func(string) (os.FileInfo, error)) []string {
+	gitPath := filepath.Join(root, ".git")
+	children := []string{
+		filepath.Join(gitPath, "hooks"),
+		filepath.Join(gitPath, "config"),
+	}
+	info, err := lstat(gitPath)
+	if err != nil || !info.Mode().IsRegular() {
+		return children
 	}
+	return []string{gitPath}
 }
 
 func PermissionProfileFromPolicy(workspaceRoot string, policy Policy, scope *Scope) PermissionProfile {
diff --git a/internal/sandbox/profile_worktree_test.go b/internal/sandbox/profile_worktree_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e89d23953
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/sandbox/profile_worktree_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+package sandbox
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func mustEqualCarveouts(t *testing.T, got, want []string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	if len(got) != len(want) {
+		t.Fatalf("carveouts = %v, want %v", got, want)
+	}
+	for i := range want {
+		if got[i] != want[i] {
+			t.Fatalf("carveout[%d] = %q, want %q", i, got[i], want[i])
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Worktree/submodule checkouts store .git as a pointer file. Protect the file
+// itself and never create a bwrap mount target beneath it.
+func TestGitMetadataWriteCarveoutsProtectsWorktreePointer(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	gitPath := filepath.Join(root, ".git")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(gitPath, []byte("gitdir: ../outside\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	got := gitMetadataWriteCarveouts(root)
+	mustEqualCarveouts(t, got, []string{gitPath})
+	for _, carveout := range got {
+		if carveout == filepath.Join(gitPath, "hooks") || carveout == filepath.Join(gitPath, "config") {
+			t.Fatalf("carveout points beneath .git file: %q", carveout)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestLinuxBwrapPlanDoesNotMountBelowWorktreePointer(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	gitPath := filepath.Join(root, ".git")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(gitPath, []byte("gitdir: ../outside\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	profile := PermissionProfile{FileSystem: FileSystemPolicy{
+		Kind: FileSystemRestricted,
+		WriteRoots: []WritableRoot{{
+			Root:             root,
+			ReadOnlySubpaths: gitMetadataWriteCarveouts(root),
+		}},
+	}}
+	args := linuxBwrapFilesystemArgs(profile)
+	assertArgsContainSequence(t, args, "--ro-bind", gitPath, gitPath)
+	for _, child := range []string{"hooks", "config"} {
+		bogus := filepath.Join(gitPath, child)
+		if argsContainSequence(args, "--tmpfs", bogus) || argsContainSequence(args, "--ro-bind", bogus, bogus) {
+			t.Fatalf("bwrap args contain mount below .git file %q: %v", bogus, args)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGitMetadataWriteCarveoutsPlainCheckout(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	want := []string{
+		filepath.Join(root, ".git", "hooks"),
+		filepath.Join(root, ".git", "config"),
+	}
+	mustEqualCarveouts(t, gitMetadataWriteCarveouts(root), want)
+
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(root, ".git"), 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	mustEqualCarveouts(t, gitMetadataWriteCarveouts(root), want)
+}
+
+func TestGitMetadataWriteCarveoutsPreservesSymlinkBehavior(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, targetKind := range []string{"directory", "file", "dangling"} {
+		t.Run(targetKind, func(t *testing.T) {
+			root := t.TempDir()
+			target := filepath.Join(root, "real.git")
+			switch targetKind {
+			case "directory":
+				if err := os.MkdirAll(target, 0o755); err != nil {
+					t.Fatal(err)
+				}
+			case "file":
+				if err := os.WriteFile(target, []byte("gitdir: ../outside\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+					t.Fatal(err)
+				}
+			}
+			if err := os.Symlink(target, filepath.Join(root, ".git")); err != nil {
+				t.Skipf("symlink unavailable: %v", err)
+			}
+			want := []string{
+				filepath.Join(root, ".git", "hooks"),
+				filepath.Join(root, ".git", "config"),
+			}
+			mustEqualCarveouts(t, gitMetadataWriteCarveouts(root), want)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGitMetadataWriteCarveoutsPreservesInspectionErrorBehavior(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	gitPath := filepath.Join(root, ".git")
+	want := []string{
+		filepath.Join(gitPath, "hooks"),
+		filepath.Join(gitPath, "config"),
+	}
+	got := gitMetadataWriteCarveoutsWithLstat(root, func(string) (os.FileInfo, error) {
+		return nil, errors.New("inspection failed")
+	})
+	mustEqualCarveouts(t, got, want)
+}
diff --git a/internal/sandbox/profile_worktree_unix_test.go b/internal/sandbox/profile_worktree_unix_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e26ca2f0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/sandbox/profile_worktree_unix_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+//go:build unix
+
+package sandbox
+
+import (
+	"path/filepath"
+	"syscall"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestGitMetadataWriteCarveoutsPreservesSpecialGitEntryBehavior(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	gitPath := filepath.Join(root, ".git")
+	if err := syscall.Mkfifo(gitPath, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Skip(err)
+	}
+	mustEqualCarveouts(t, gitMetadataWriteCarveouts(root), []string{
+		filepath.Join(gitPath, "hooks"),
+		filepath.Join(gitPath, "config"),
+	})
+}