diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5c05a177d..358aab0e0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 - Native/macOS: honor the `system_crash_reporter_enabled` option. ([#1743](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-native/pull/1743))
 - Cap rate-limit retry-after values at 24 hours to prevent a MITM-provided response from disabling event delivery for the process lifetime. ([#1744](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-native/pull/1744))
 - Native: validate ELF header entry sizes. ([#1746](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-native/pull/1746))
+- Prevent database cleanup from following symlinks in run and cache directories. ([#1751](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-native/pull/1751))
 - Structured logs: respect printf argument widths when extracting log parameters to avoid stack-data disclosure and corrupted attributes on 32-bit platforms. ([#1752](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-native/pull/1752))
 
 ## 0.14.2
diff --git a/src/path/sentry_path.c b/src/path/sentry_path.c
index 2ec8631d4..2f47e550c 100644
--- a/src/path/sentry_path.c
+++ b/src/path/sentry_path.c
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ sentry__path_eq(const sentry_path_t *path_a, const sentry_path_t *path_b)
 int
 sentry__path_remove_all(const sentry_path_t *path)
 {
-    if (sentry__path_is_dir(path)) {
+    if (sentry__path_is_dir(path) && !sentry__path_is_symlink(path)) {
         sentry_pathiter_t *piter = sentry__path_iter_directory(path);
         if (piter) {
             const sentry_path_t *p;
diff --git a/src/path/sentry_path_unix.c b/src/path/sentry_path_unix.c
index 752025bf1..e6442d8f1 100644
--- a/src/path/sentry_path_unix.c
+++ b/src/path/sentry_path_unix.c
@@ -229,6 +229,18 @@ sentry__path_is_file(const sentry_path_t *path)
     return stat(path->path, &buf) == 0 && S_ISREG(buf.st_mode);
 }
 
+bool
+sentry__path_is_symlink(const sentry_path_t *path)
+{
+#if defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_NX) || defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_PS)
+    (void)path;
+    return false;
+#else
+    struct stat buf;
+    return lstat(path->path, &buf) == 0 && S_ISLNK(buf.st_mode);
+#endif
+}
+
 size_t
 sentry__path_get_size(const sentry_path_t *path)
 {
@@ -309,7 +321,7 @@ int
 sentry__path_remove(const sentry_path_t *path)
 {
     int status;
-    if (!sentry__path_is_dir(path)) {
+    if (!sentry__path_is_dir(path) || sentry__path_is_symlink(path)) {
         EINTR_RETRY(unlink(path->path), &status);
         if (status == 0) {
             return 0;
diff --git a/src/path/sentry_path_windows.c b/src/path/sentry_path_windows.c
index 5ccda3301..5d62b3b46 100644
--- a/src/path/sentry_path_windows.c
+++ b/src/path/sentry_path_windows.c
@@ -351,6 +351,18 @@ sentry__path_is_file(const sentry_path_t *path)
     return _wstat(path_w, &buf) == 0 && S_ISREG(buf.st_mode);
 }
 
+bool
+sentry__path_is_symlink(const sentry_path_t *path)
+{
+    wchar_t *path_w = path->path_w;
+    if (!path_w) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    const DWORD attributes = GetFileAttributesW(path_w);
+    return attributes != INVALID_FILE_ATTRIBUTES
+        && (attributes & FILE_ATTRIBUTE_REPARSE_POINT) != 0;
+}
+
 size_t
 sentry__path_get_size(const sentry_path_t *path)
 {
diff --git a/src/sentry_database.c b/src/sentry_database.c
index ced802ebf..278fa7013 100644
--- a/src/sentry_database.c
+++ b/src/sentry_database.c
@@ -609,7 +609,7 @@ sentry__process_old_runs(const sentry_options_t *options, uint64_t last_crash)
     while ((run_dir = sentry__pathiter_next(db_iter)) != NULL) {
         // skip over other files such as the saved consent or the last_crash
         // timestamp
-        if (!sentry__path_is_dir(run_dir)) {
+        if (!sentry__path_is_dir(run_dir) || sentry__path_is_symlink(run_dir)) {
             continue;
         }
 
diff --git a/src/sentry_path.h b/src/sentry_path.h
index f8140cd1e..f21d7c66f 100644
--- a/src/sentry_path.h
+++ b/src/sentry_path.h
@@ -148,6 +148,11 @@ bool sentry__path_ends_with(const sentry_path_t *path, const char *suffix);
  */
 bool sentry__path_is_dir(const sentry_path_t *path);
 
+/**
+ * Return whether the path refers to a symlink.
+ */
+bool sentry__path_is_symlink(const sentry_path_t *path);
+
 /**
  * Return whether the path refers to a regular file.
  */
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_cache.c b/tests/unit/test_cache.c
index 265e6c133..8d078a5b0 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_cache.c
+++ b/tests/unit/test_cache.c
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #ifdef SENTRY_PLATFORM_WINDOWS
 #    include <windows.h>
 #elif !defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_NX) && !defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_PS)
+#    include <unistd.h>
 #    include <utime.h>
 #endif
 
@@ -439,6 +440,57 @@ SENTRY_TEST(cache_prune_siblings)
     sentry_close();
 }
 
+SENTRY_TEST(cache_symlink_run)
+{
+#if !defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_UNIX) || defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_NX)              \
+    || defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_PS)
+    SKIP_TEST();
+#else
+    SENTRY_TEST_OPTIONS_NEW(options);
+    sentry_options_set_dsn(options, "https://foo@sentry.invalid/42");
+    sentry_init(options);
+
+    sentry_path_t *target_dir
+        = sentry__path_from_str(SENTRY_TEST_PATH_PREFIX ".old-run-target");
+    TEST_ASSERT(!!target_dir);
+    sentry_path_t *target_file = sentry__path_join_str(target_dir, "important");
+    TEST_ASSERT(!!target_file);
+    sentry_path_t *linked_run_dir
+        = sentry__path_join_str(options->database_path, "malicious.run");
+    TEST_ASSERT(!!linked_run_dir);
+    sentry_path_t *linked_run_lock
+        = sentry__path_append_str(linked_run_dir, ".lock");
+    TEST_ASSERT(!!linked_run_lock);
+
+    // Model an old run entry like:
+    //   <database>/malicious.run -> <cwd>/.old-run-target
+    // The target stays outside the database so following the link would remove
+    // files outside SDK-owned cache directories.
+    sentry__path_remove(linked_run_dir);
+    sentry__path_remove(linked_run_lock);
+    TEST_ASSERT(sentry__path_remove_all(target_dir) == 0);
+    TEST_ASSERT(sentry__path_create_dir_all(target_dir) == 0);
+    TEST_ASSERT(sentry__path_write_buffer(target_file, "keep", 4) == 0);
+    sentry_path_t *target_dir_abs = sentry__path_absolute(target_dir);
+    TEST_ASSERT(!!target_dir_abs);
+    TEST_ASSERT(symlink(target_dir_abs->path, linked_run_dir->path) == 0);
+
+    sentry__process_old_runs(options, 0);
+
+    TEST_CHECK(sentry__path_is_file(target_file));
+
+    sentry__path_remove(linked_run_dir);
+    sentry__path_remove(linked_run_lock);
+    sentry__path_remove_all(target_dir);
+    sentry__path_free(linked_run_lock);
+    sentry__path_free(linked_run_dir);
+    sentry__path_free(target_dir_abs);
+    sentry__path_free(target_file);
+    sentry__path_free(target_dir);
+    sentry_close();
+#endif
+}
+
 SENTRY_TEST(cache_consent_revoked)
 {
 #if defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_NX) || defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_PS)
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_path.c b/tests/unit/test_path.c
index 2f0ff06df..6b782e828 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_path.c
+++ b/tests/unit/test_path.c
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 #include "sentry_string.h"
 #include "sentry_testsupport.h"
 
+#if defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_UNIX) && !defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_NX)              \
+    && !defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_PS)
+#    include <unistd.h>
+#endif
+
 SENTRY_TEST(recursive_paths)
 {
     sentry_path_t *base = sentry__path_from_str(SENTRY_TEST_PATH_PREFIX ".foo");
@@ -247,6 +252,47 @@ SENTRY_TEST(path_directory)
     sentry__path_free(path_2);
 }
 
+SENTRY_TEST(path_remove_all_symlink)
+{
+#if !defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_UNIX) || defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_NX)              \
+    || defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_PS)
+    SKIP_TEST();
+#else
+    sentry_path_t *base
+        = sentry__path_from_str(SENTRY_TEST_PATH_PREFIX ".remove-all");
+    TEST_ASSERT(!!base);
+    sentry_path_t *target = sentry__path_join_str(base, "target");
+    TEST_ASSERT(!!target);
+    sentry_path_t *target_file = sentry__path_join_str(target, "important");
+    TEST_ASSERT(!!target_file);
+    sentry_path_t *link = sentry__path_join_str(base, "link");
+    TEST_ASSERT(!!link);
+
+    // Model a recursive deletion target like:
+    //   .remove-all/link -> .remove-all/target
+    // Removing the link must not recurse into the target directory.
+    TEST_ASSERT(sentry__path_remove_all(base) == 0);
+    TEST_ASSERT(sentry__path_create_dir_all(target) == 0);
+    TEST_ASSERT(sentry__path_write_buffer(target_file, "keep", 4) == 0);
+    sentry_path_t *target_abs = sentry__path_absolute(target);
+    TEST_ASSERT(!!target_abs);
+    TEST_ASSERT(symlink(target_abs->path, link->path) == 0);
+    TEST_CHECK(sentry__path_is_symlink(link));
+
+    TEST_ASSERT(sentry__path_remove_all(link) == 0);
+
+    TEST_CHECK(sentry__path_is_file(target_file));
+    TEST_CHECK(!sentry__path_is_dir(link));
+
+    sentry__path_remove_all(base);
+    sentry__path_free(link);
+    sentry__path_free(target_file);
+    sentry__path_free(target_abs);
+    sentry__path_free(target);
+    sentry__path_free(base);
+#endif
+}
+
 SENTRY_TEST(path_mtime)
 {
 #if defined(SENTRY_PLATFORM_NX)
diff --git a/tests/unit/tests.inc b/tests/unit/tests.inc
index 3529c6845..d81b04467 100644
--- a/tests/unit/tests.inc
+++ b/tests/unit/tests.inc
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ XX(cache_max_size)
 XX(cache_max_size_and_age)
 XX(cache_prune_siblings)
 XX(cache_remove_siblings)
+XX(cache_symlink_run)
 XX(cache_write_minidump)
 XX(cache_write_raw_with_minidump)
 XX(capture_minidump_basic)
@@ -227,6 +228,7 @@ XX(path_joining_unix)
 XX(path_joining_windows)
 XX(path_mtime)
 XX(path_relative_filename)
+XX(path_remove_all_symlink)
 XX(path_rename)
 XX(path_unique)
 XX(percent_decode_basic)