diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c34a8c4..0e95e0f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -290,6 +290,22 @@ Select the “Installed” tab. Click the “Configure MCP Servers” button at
    }
    ```
 
+### 📂 Upload directory containment
+
+File-upload tools (app uploads, Test Management attachments) only read files inside the directory the MCP server was launched from (usually your project root). This is a security default: it stops a misbehaving agent from uploading arbitrary files on your machine.
+
+To upload files from elsewhere (e.g. `~/Downloads`), set `MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR` to the directory your files live in:
+
+   ```json
+   "env": {
+     "BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME": "<username>",
+     "BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY": "<access_key>",
+     "MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR": "/Users/you/Downloads"
+   }
+   ```
+
+If the server is launched with the filesystem root as its working directory (some MCP clients do this), uploads are rejected until `MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR` is set.
+
 ### 💡 List of BrowserStack MCP Tools
 
 As of now we support 44 tools.
diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index 18d3d85..0e56a92 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -49,6 +49,10 @@ const config = new Config(
   browserstackLocalOptions,
   process.env.USE_OWN_LOCAL_BINARY_PROCESS === "true",
   process.env.REMOTE_MCP === "true",
+  // Undefined when MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR is unset; validateUploadPath() then
+  // falls back to the process working directory (fail-closed containment).
+  // The default lives in the validator — the enforcement point — so it can
+  // distinguish a defaulted base dir from a configured one.
   process.env.MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR && process.env.MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR.length > 0
     ? process.env.MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR
     : undefined,
diff --git a/src/lib/upload-validator.ts b/src/lib/upload-validator.ts
index d516d12..980d8af 100644
--- a/src/lib/upload-validator.ts
+++ b/src/lib/upload-validator.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@ export interface UploadValidationOptions {
  *  - File extension is in `allowedExtensions` (case-insensitive)
  *  - No path segment is a hidden dir/file (starts with `.`); blocks ~/.ssh,
  *    ~/.aws, .env, etc. even after symlink resolution
- *  - If `allowedBaseDir` is set, the canonical path must live inside it
+ *  - The canonical path must live inside `allowedBaseDir` (defaults to the
+ *    process working directory when not provided — containment is fail-closed;
+ *    a defaulted base dir that is the filesystem root is rejected outright)
  */
 export function validateUploadPath(
   filePath: string,
@@ -71,23 +73,30 @@ export function validateUploadPath(
     );
   }
 
-  if (options.allowedBaseDir) {
-    let baseCanonical: string;
-    try {
-      baseCanonical = fs.realpathSync(path.resolve(options.allowedBaseDir));
-    } catch {
-      throw new Error(
-        `Upload rejected: configured MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR does not exist (${options.allowedBaseDir}).`,
-      );
-    }
-    const baseWithSep = baseCanonical.endsWith(path.sep)
-      ? baseCanonical
-      : baseCanonical + path.sep;
-    if (canonical !== baseCanonical && !canonical.startsWith(baseWithSep)) {
-      throw new Error(
-        `Upload rejected: file must be located inside ${baseCanonical}.`,
-      );
-    }
+  const usingDefaultBaseDir = options.allowedBaseDir === undefined;
+  const allowedBaseDir = options.allowedBaseDir ?? process.cwd();
+  let baseCanonical: string;
+  try {
+    baseCanonical = fs.realpathSync(path.resolve(allowedBaseDir));
+  } catch {
+    throw new Error(
+      usingDefaultBaseDir
+        ? `Upload rejected: the process working directory could not be resolved (${allowedBaseDir}). Set MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR to a valid directory.`
+        : `Upload rejected: configured MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR does not exist (${allowedBaseDir}).`,
+    );
+  }
+  if (usingDefaultBaseDir && path.parse(baseCanonical).root === baseCanonical) {
+    throw new Error(
+      "Upload rejected: the process working directory is the filesystem root, so upload containment cannot be enforced. Set MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR to the directory uploads may come from.",
+    );
+  }
+  const baseWithSep = baseCanonical.endsWith(path.sep)
+    ? baseCanonical
+    : baseCanonical + path.sep;
+  if (canonical !== baseCanonical && !canonical.startsWith(baseWithSep)) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Upload rejected: file must be located inside ${baseCanonical}. Set MCP_UPLOAD_BASE_DIR to allow uploads from a different directory.`,
+    );
   }
 
   return canonical;
diff --git a/tests/tools/upload-validator.test.ts b/tests/tools/upload-validator.test.ts
index 51eed47..965a0ec 100644
--- a/tests/tools/upload-validator.test.ts
+++ b/tests/tools/upload-validator.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import fs from "fs";
 import os from "os";
 import path from "path";
-import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import {
   validateUploadPath,
   APP_BINARY_EXTENSIONS,
@@ -32,10 +32,69 @@ describe("validateUploadPath", () => {
     const resolved = validateUploadPath(file, {
       allowedExtensions: APP_BINARY_EXTENSIONS,
       maxSizeBytes: MAX_APP_UPLOAD_BYTES,
+      allowedBaseDir: workDir,
     });
     expect(resolved).toBe(fs.realpathSync(file));
   });
 
+  it("defaults containment to the process working directory (fail-closed)", () => {
+    const otherDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "other-cwd-"));
+    const cwdSpy = vi.spyOn(process, "cwd").mockReturnValue(otherDir);
+    try {
+      const outside = write("app.apk");
+      expect(() =>
+        validateUploadPath(outside, {
+          allowedExtensions: APP_BINARY_EXTENSIONS,
+          maxSizeBytes: MAX_APP_UPLOAD_BYTES,
+        }),
+      ).toThrow(/must be located inside/);
+    } finally {
+      cwdSpy.mockRestore();
+      fs.rmSync(otherDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("rejects a defaulted base dir that is the filesystem root", () => {
+    const cwdSpy = vi
+      .spyOn(process, "cwd")
+      .mockReturnValue(path.parse(workDir).root);
+    try {
+      const file = write("app.apk");
+      expect(() =>
+        validateUploadPath(file, {
+          allowedExtensions: APP_BINARY_EXTENSIONS,
+          maxSizeBytes: MAX_APP_UPLOAD_BYTES,
+        }),
+      ).toThrow(/filesystem root/);
+    } finally {
+      cwdSpy.mockRestore();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("honors an explicitly configured filesystem-root base dir", () => {
+    const file = write("app.apk");
+    const resolved = validateUploadPath(file, {
+      allowedExtensions: APP_BINARY_EXTENSIONS,
+      maxSizeBytes: MAX_APP_UPLOAD_BYTES,
+      allowedBaseDir: path.parse(workDir).root,
+    });
+    expect(resolved).toBe(fs.realpathSync(file));
+  });
+
+  it("allows files inside the working directory when no base dir is set", () => {
+    const cwdSpy = vi.spyOn(process, "cwd").mockReturnValue(workDir);
+    try {
+      const file = write("app.apk");
+      const resolved = validateUploadPath(file, {
+        allowedExtensions: APP_BINARY_EXTENSIONS,
+        maxSizeBytes: MAX_APP_UPLOAD_BYTES,
+      });
+      expect(resolved).toBe(fs.realpathSync(file));
+    } finally {
+      cwdSpy.mockRestore();
+    }
+  });
+
   it("rejects an empty path", () => {
     expect(() =>
       validateUploadPath("   ", {
@@ -185,6 +244,7 @@ describe("validateUploadPath", () => {
     const resolved = validateUploadPath(file, {
       allowedExtensions: APP_BINARY_EXTENSIONS,
       maxSizeBytes: MAX_APP_UPLOAD_BYTES,
+      allowedBaseDir: workDir,
     });
     expect(resolved).toBe(fs.realpathSync(file));
   });