diff --git a/cmd/atelet/oci.go b/cmd/atelet/oci.go
index 3936862e..3bf7503f 100644
--- a/cmd/atelet/oci.go
+++ b/cmd/atelet/oci.go
@@ -227,6 +227,19 @@ func untar(ctx context.Context, tarData io.Reader, rootPath string) error {
 
 		switch hdr.Typeflag {
 		case tar.TypeReg: // Regular file
+			// Same "later entry wins" handling: if any entry exists at the target path,
+			// remove it first. This ensures that:
+			// 1. If it's a symlink, we don't write through it (security vulnerability / incorrectness).
+			// 2. If it's a hardlink, we unlink it instead of truncating the shared inode.
+			// 3. If it's a directory, we recursively remove it so we can write the file.
+			if _, err := root.Lstat(name); err == nil {
+				if err := root.RemoveAll(name); err != nil {
+					return fmt.Errorf("while replacing existing path at %q before regular file: %w", name, err)
+				}
+			} else if !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+				return fmt.Errorf("while checking existing path at %q before regular file: %w", name, err)
+			}
+
 			// Stream directly from tarReader to target file to avoid buffering in memory.
 			outFile, err := root.OpenFile(name, os.O_CREATE|os.O_RDWR|os.O_TRUNC, mode)
 			if err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/atelet/oci_test.go b/cmd/atelet/oci_test.go
index 5e9f4ea8..4fbaf6a5 100644
--- a/cmd/atelet/oci_test.go
+++ b/cmd/atelet/oci_test.go
@@ -240,6 +240,96 @@ func TestUntar_LaterEntryWins(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Errorf("symlink target = %q, want %q", got, "x")
 		}
 	})
+
+	t.Run("symlink overwritten by file", func(t *testing.T) {
+		entries := []tarEntry{
+			{name: "etc/", typeflag: tar.TypeDir},
+			{name: "etc/x", typeflag: tar.TypeReg, body: "original"},
+			{name: "etc/link", typeflag: tar.TypeSymlink, linkname: "x"},
+			{name: "etc/link", typeflag: tar.TypeReg, body: "replacement"},
+		}
+		dir, err := runUntar(t, entries)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("untar: %v", err)
+		}
+		fi, err := os.Lstat(filepath.Join(dir, "etc/link"))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("lstat etc/link: %v", err)
+		}
+		if fi.Mode().IsRegular() {
+			got, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(dir, "etc/link"))
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("read etc/link: %v", err)
+			}
+			if string(got) != "replacement" {
+				t.Errorf("etc/link content = %q, want %q", got, "replacement")
+			}
+		} else {
+			t.Errorf("etc/link mode is not regular file: %v", fi.Mode())
+		}
+		// Also verify etc/x was NOT overwritten
+		gotX, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(dir, "etc/x"))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("read etc/x: %v", err)
+		}
+		if string(gotX) != "original" {
+			t.Errorf("etc/x content was overwritten to %q", gotX)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("file overwritten by symlink", func(t *testing.T) {
+		entries := []tarEntry{
+			{name: "etc/", typeflag: tar.TypeDir},
+			{name: "etc/link", typeflag: tar.TypeReg, body: "original-file"},
+			{name: "etc/link", typeflag: tar.TypeSymlink, linkname: "target-doesnt-exist"},
+		}
+		dir, err := runUntar(t, entries)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("untar: %v", err)
+		}
+		fi, err := os.Lstat(filepath.Join(dir, "etc/link"))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("lstat etc/link: %v", err)
+		}
+		if fi.Mode()&os.ModeSymlink == 0 {
+			t.Errorf("etc/link mode is not a symlink: %v", fi.Mode())
+		}
+		got, err := os.Readlink(filepath.Join(dir, "etc/link"))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("readlink etc/link: %v", err)
+		}
+		if got != "target-doesnt-exist" {
+			t.Errorf("etc/link target = %q, want %q", got, "target-doesnt-exist")
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("hardlink overwritten by file", func(t *testing.T) {
+		entries := []tarEntry{
+			{name: "bin/", typeflag: tar.TypeDir},
+			{name: "bin/sh", typeflag: tar.TypeReg, body: "sh-original"},
+			{name: "bin/bash", typeflag: tar.TypeLink, linkname: "bin/sh"},
+			{name: "bin/bash", typeflag: tar.TypeReg, body: "bash-new"},
+		}
+		dir, err := runUntar(t, entries)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("untar: %v", err)
+		}
+		gotBash, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(dir, "bin/bash"))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("read bin/bash: %v", err)
+		}
+		if string(gotBash) != "bash-new" {
+			t.Errorf("bin/bash content = %q, want %q", gotBash, "bash-new")
+		}
+		// Verify bin/sh was NOT modified!
+		gotSh, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(dir, "bin/sh"))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("read bin/sh: %v", err)
+		}
+		if string(gotSh) != "sh-original" {
+			t.Errorf("bin/sh content was overwritten to %q (hardlink was not unlinked)", gotSh)
+		}
+	})
 }
 
 func TestUntar_PathTraversal(t *testing.T) {