diff --git a/src/foundation/workspace.c b/src/foundation/workspace.c
index cb254f3d9..40e009a03 100644
--- a/src/foundation/workspace.c
+++ b/src/foundation/workspace.c
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 #include "foundation/compat.h"
 #include "foundation/compat_fs.h"
+#include "foundation/constants.h"
 #include "foundation/platform.h"
 #include "foundation/sha256.h"
 
@@ -239,6 +240,22 @@ static bool ws_is_windows_user_programs_tree(const char *path) {
     return true;
 }
 
+/* strncmp that treats "/" and "\" as the same character. On Windows a
+ * canonical path arrives with backslashes from the resolver and with forward
+ * slashes from callers that normalize, and both spell one directory. Stops at
+ * the end of either string like strncmp does. */
+static bool ws_prefix_equal(const char *a, const char *b, size_t len) {
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < len; i++) {
+        if (a[i] != b[i] && !(ws_is_sep(a[i]) && ws_is_sep(b[i]))) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        if (a[i] == '\0') {
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
 /* True when b is a or lives under a. Compares on a separator boundary so
  * "/a/bc" is not treated as living under "/a/b". */
 static bool ws_is_ancestor_or_equal(const char *a, const char *b) {
@@ -249,7 +266,7 @@ static bool ws_is_ancestor_or_equal(const char *a, const char *b) {
     while (la > 1 && ws_is_sep(a[la - 1])) {
         la--;
     }
-    if (strncmp(a, b, la) != 0) {
+    if (!ws_prefix_equal(a, b, la)) {
         return false;
     }
     return b[la] == '\0' || ws_is_sep(b[la]);
@@ -600,14 +617,34 @@ bool cbm_workspace_root_allowed(const char *canonical_path, const char *home_dir
 /* ── Environment helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 /* Callers should not each re-derive these; a caller that resolved the home
- * directory differently would classify the same path differently. */
+ * directory differently would classify the same path differently.
+ *
+ * The value is the CANONICAL form of $HOME (then %USERPROFILE%), through the
+ * same resolver callers apply to the path they classify. The policy compares
+ * the two byte for byte, and a home reached through a link — "/home" kept on
+ * another volume, a macOS firmlink, a HOME that is itself a link — differs
+ * from its resolved form, so the raw value would never match and the home
+ * rule would not fire. A home that cannot be resolved (it does not exist)
+ * falls back to the raw value, which is all the comparison could use anyway.
+ *
+ * Storage is per thread and recomputed on every call, as cbm_resolve_cache_dir
+ * does: no lock, a changed environment is seen at once, and the pointer stays
+ * valid until the next call on the same thread. */
 const char *cbm_workspace_home_dir(void) {
-    const char *home = getenv("HOME");
-    if (home && home[0]) {
-        return home;
+    static CBM_TLS char resolved[CBM_SZ_4K];
+    char raw[CBM_SZ_4K];
+    const char *home = cbm_safe_getenv("HOME", raw, sizeof(raw), NULL);
+    if (!home || !home[0]) {
+        home = cbm_safe_getenv("USERPROFILE", raw, sizeof(raw), NULL);
     }
-    home = getenv("USERPROFILE");
-    return (home && home[0]) ? home : NULL;
+    if (!home || !home[0]) {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    if (!cbm_canonical_path(home, resolved, sizeof(resolved))) {
+        memcpy(resolved, raw, strlen(raw) + 1);
+    }
+    cbm_normalize_path_sep(resolved);
+    return resolved;
 }
 
 const char *cbm_workspace_cache_dir(void) {
diff --git a/tests/test_mcp.c b/tests/test_mcp.c
index 22af972af..918f53552 100644
--- a/tests/test_mcp.c
+++ b/tests/test_mcp.c
@@ -1952,8 +1952,14 @@ TEST(mcp_issue403_sensitive_root_stops_before_discovery_count) {
 }
 
 TEST(mcp_issue403_explicit_approval_preserves_auto_index) {
-    char *sensitive_home = th_mktempdir("cbm_mcp_403_home");
-    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(sensitive_home);
+    char *created = th_mktempdir("cbm_mcp_403_home");
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(created);
+    /* The session root is presented in its resolved form, as the daemon does,
+     * because the home helper hands out the resolved home: with the raw
+     * spelling the two differ on macOS (/tmp is a firmlink) and the root
+     * would pass as an ordinary one, never reaching the approval path. */
+    char sensitive_home[4096];
+    ASSERT_TRUE(cbm_canonical_path(created, sensitive_home, sizeof(sensitive_home)));
     const char *saved_home = getenv("HOME");
     char *saved_home_copy = saved_home ? strdup(saved_home) : NULL;
     cbm_setenv("HOME", sensitive_home, 1);
diff --git a/tests/test_workspace.c b/tests/test_workspace.c
index faf936e1b..afe6726e2 100644
--- a/tests/test_workspace.c
+++ b/tests/test_workspace.c
@@ -9,8 +9,13 @@
 #include "test_helpers.h"
 #include "foundation/workspace.h"
 #include "foundation/compat_fs.h"
+#include "foundation/platform.h"
 #include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
+#ifndef _WIN32
+#include <unistd.h>
+#endif
 
 static const char *HOME = "/Users/dev";
 static const char *CACHE = "/Users/dev/.cache/codebase-memory-mcp";
@@ -375,6 +380,89 @@ TEST(ws_manifest_approval_refuses_overbroad_requests) {
     PASS();
 }
 
+/* ── Environment helpers ────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+static char *ws_env_save(const char *name) {
+    const char *value = getenv(name);
+    return value ? strdup(value) : NULL;
+}
+
+static void ws_env_restore(const char *name, char *saved) {
+    if (saved) {
+        (void)cbm_setenv(name, saved, 1);
+        free(saved);
+    } else {
+        (void)cbm_unsetenv(name);
+    }
+}
+
+/* The policy compares the home directory against canonical paths, so the
+ * helper must hand out the canonical form. A plain temp directory already
+ * shows the difference: on macOS /tmp is a firmlink to /private/tmp, and on
+ * Windows the temp path may carry a short (8.3) component. */
+TEST(ws_home_dir_is_resolved) {
+    char *created = th_mktempdir("cbm_ws_home");
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(created);
+    char real[256];
+    snprintf(real, sizeof(real), "%s", created);
+    char expected[4096];
+    ASSERT_TRUE(cbm_canonical_path(real, expected, sizeof(expected)));
+    cbm_normalize_path_sep(expected);
+
+    char *saved_home = ws_env_save("HOME");
+    ASSERT_EQ(cbm_setenv("HOME", real, 1), 0);
+    const char *home = cbm_workspace_home_dir();
+    bool resolved = home && strcmp(home, expected) == 0;
+    ws_env_restore("HOME", saved_home);
+    th_cleanup(real);
+
+    ASSERT_TRUE(resolved);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* A home directory reached through a link — "/home" kept on another volume,
+ * an account whose HOME is itself a link — is still the home directory when
+ * a caller presents its resolved path, and must be refused as such. */
+TEST(ws_linked_home_classified_as_home) {
+#ifdef _WIN32
+    /* symlink() does not exist on Windows, and creating a symbolic link there
+     * needs a privilege an ordinary account (and the CI runner) does not hold.
+     * A directory junction (cmd.exe mklink /J) is the Windows shape of the
+     * same case and would need a cmd.exe fixture; the resolution the case
+     * depends on is covered on Windows by ws_home_dir_is_resolved, and the
+     * link itself is exercised on POSIX. */
+    SKIP_PLATFORM("Windows: symlink() unavailable; links need a privilege");
+#else
+    char *created = th_mktempdir("cbm_ws_linked_home");
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(created);
+    char base[256];
+    snprintf(base, sizeof(base), "%s", created);
+    char real[512];
+    char link[512];
+    snprintf(real, sizeof(real), "%s/real", base);
+    snprintf(link, sizeof(link), "%s/link", base);
+    ASSERT_EQ(cbm_mkdir(real), 0);
+    ASSERT_EQ(symlink(real, link), 0);
+
+    char canonical_real[4096];
+    ASSERT_TRUE(cbm_canonical_path(real, canonical_real, sizeof(canonical_real)));
+    /* The fixture proves something only when the two spellings differ. */
+    ASSERT_TRUE(strcmp(link, canonical_real) != 0);
+
+    char *saved_home = ws_env_save("HOME");
+    ASSERT_EQ(cbm_setenv("HOME", link, 1), 0);
+    const char *home = cbm_workspace_home_dir();
+    bool resolved = home && strcmp(home, canonical_real) == 0;
+    cbm_ws_verdict_t verdict = cbm_workspace_classify_root(canonical_real, home, NULL);
+    ws_env_restore("HOME", saved_home);
+    th_cleanup(base);
+
+    ASSERT_TRUE(resolved);
+    ASSERT_EQ(verdict, CBM_WS_DENY_SENSITIVE);
+    PASS();
+#endif
+}
+
 SUITE(workspace) {
     RUN_TEST(ws_manifest_absent_is_not_an_error);
     RUN_TEST(ws_manifest_parses_entries_and_skips_comments);
@@ -396,4 +484,6 @@ SUITE(workspace) {
     RUN_TEST(ws_posix_matching_is_case_sensitive);
     RUN_TEST(ws_null_context_disables_dependent_checks);
     RUN_TEST(ws_every_verdict_has_a_reason);
+    RUN_TEST(ws_home_dir_is_resolved);
+    RUN_TEST(ws_linked_home_classified_as_home);
 }