diff --git a/docs/API.md b/docs/API.md
index 80143e83..7cc13b7d 100644
--- a/docs/API.md
+++ b/docs/API.md
@@ -463,6 +463,8 @@ using (var archive = ZipArchive.OpenArchive("file.zip"))
 
 `CheckCrc` validates archive-level payload checksums when the format stores reliable metadata, such as ZIP CRC32 values. Formats without payload checksums skip this validation. Decompressor integrity checks that are required to decode a stream may still fail even when `CheckCrc` is disabled.
 
+When using `SymbolicLinkHandler`, directory extraction rejects link targets outside the extraction root and never follows symbolic links or reparse points while extracting later entries. The handler itself remains trusted application code.
+
 ### Options matrix
 
 ```text
diff --git a/src/SharpCompress/Common/DirectoryManagement.cs b/src/SharpCompress/Common/DirectoryManagement.cs
index 4bd4585d..0bf1a013 100644
--- a/src/SharpCompress/Common/DirectoryManagement.cs
+++ b/src/SharpCompress/Common/DirectoryManagement.cs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+using System;
 using System.IO;
 
 namespace SharpCompress.Common;
@@ -8,6 +9,10 @@ internal static class DirectoryManagement
         "Entry is trying to create a directory outside of the destination directory.";
     internal const string WriteFileOutsideDestinationMessage =
         "Entry is trying to write a file outside of the destination directory.";
+    internal const string LinkTargetOutsideDestinationMessage =
+        "Entry is trying to create a symbolic link outside of the destination directory.";
+    internal const string ReparsePointInDestinationMessage =
+        "Entry is trying to extract through a symbolic link or reparse point.";
 
     internal static string GetFullDestinationDirectoryPath(string destinationDirectory)
     {
@@ -58,6 +63,114 @@ internal static class DirectoryManagement
         throw new ExtractionException(exceptionMessage);
     }
 
+    internal static void EnsureNoReparsePointInDestinationDirectory(
+        string destinationPath,
+        string fullDestinationDirectoryPath
+    )
+    {
+        var destinationDirectoryPath = TrimTrailingDirectorySeparators(
+            fullDestinationDirectoryPath
+        );
+        EnsurePathIsNotReparsePoint(destinationDirectoryPath);
+
+        if (string.Equals(destinationPath, destinationDirectoryPath, Utility.PathComparison))
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        var relativeDestinationPath = destinationPath.Substring(
+            fullDestinationDirectoryPath.Length
+        );
+        var path = destinationDirectoryPath;
+
+        foreach (
+            var pathPart in relativeDestinationPath.Split(
+                new[] { Path.DirectorySeparatorChar, Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar },
+                StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries
+            )
+        )
+        {
+            path = Path.Combine(path, pathPart);
+
+            if (!PathExistsAndIsNotReparsePoint(path))
+            {
+                return;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    internal static void CreateDirectory(
+        string destinationPath,
+        string fullDestinationDirectoryPath
+    )
+    {
+        EnsureNoReparsePointInDestinationDirectory(destinationPath, fullDestinationDirectoryPath);
+
+        if (!Directory.Exists(destinationPath))
+        {
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(destinationPath);
+        }
+
+        EnsureNoReparsePointInDestinationDirectory(destinationPath, fullDestinationDirectoryPath);
+    }
+
+    internal static void EnsureLinkTargetInDestinationDirectory(
+        string destinationFileName,
+        string linkTarget,
+        string fullDestinationDirectoryPath
+    )
+    {
+        var destinationDirectory = Path.GetDirectoryName(destinationFileName)
+            .NotNull("Destination directory is null");
+        var fullLinkTargetPath = Path.GetFullPath(Path.Combine(destinationDirectory, linkTarget));
+
+        EnsurePathInDestinationDirectory(
+            fullLinkTargetPath,
+            fullDestinationDirectoryPath,
+            LinkTargetOutsideDestinationMessage
+        );
+    }
+
+    internal static void EnsurePathIsNotReparsePoint(string path)
+    {
+        PathExistsAndIsNotReparsePoint(path);
+    }
+
+    private static bool PathExistsAndIsNotReparsePoint(string path)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            if ((File.GetAttributes(path) & FileAttributes.ReparsePoint) != 0)
+            {
+                throw new ExtractionException(ReparsePointInDestinationMessage);
+            }
+
+            return true;
+        }
+        catch (FileNotFoundException)
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+        catch (DirectoryNotFoundException)
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+        catch (UnauthorizedAccessException exception)
+        {
+            throw new ExtractionException(
+                "Unable to verify the extraction path for symbolic links or reparse points.",
+                exception
+            );
+        }
+        catch (IOException exception)
+        {
+            throw new ExtractionException(
+                "Unable to verify the extraction path for symbolic links or reparse points.",
+                exception
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
     private static bool IsDirectorySeparator(char value) =>
         value == Path.DirectorySeparatorChar || value == Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar;
 
diff --git a/src/SharpCompress/Common/ExtractionOptions.cs b/src/SharpCompress/Common/ExtractionOptions.cs
index 04b33416..ce58a529 100644
--- a/src/SharpCompress/Common/ExtractionOptions.cs
+++ b/src/SharpCompress/Common/ExtractionOptions.cs
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ public sealed record ExtractionOptions : IExtractionOptions
     /// <remarks>
     /// <b>Breaking change:</b> Changed from field to property in version 0.40.0.
     /// If no handler is provided, symbolic links are silently skipped during extraction.
+    /// Directory extraction rejects link targets outside the destination directory and does not
+    /// follow symbolic links or reparse points in later entry paths.
     /// </remarks>
     public Action<string, string>? SymbolicLinkHandler { get; set; }
 
diff --git a/src/SharpCompress/Common/IEntryExtensions.Async.cs b/src/SharpCompress/Common/IEntryExtensions.Async.cs
index 4ef697e0..eafddfcf 100644
--- a/src/SharpCompress/Common/IEntryExtensions.Async.cs
+++ b/src/SharpCompress/Common/IEntryExtensions.Async.cs
@@ -38,6 +38,11 @@ internal static partial class IEntryExtensions
             CancellationToken cancellationToken = default
         )
         {
+            if (entry.LinkTarget is not null && options.SymbolicLinkHandler is null)
+            {
+                return;
+            }
+
             var destinationFileName = GetEntryDestinationFileName(
                 entry,
                 fullDestinationDirectoryPath,
@@ -54,6 +59,20 @@ internal static partial class IEntryExtensions
                     DirectoryManagement.WriteFileOutsideDestinationMessage
                 );
 
+                DirectoryManagement.EnsureNoReparsePointInDestinationDirectory(
+                    destinationFileName,
+                    fullDestinationDirectoryPath
+                );
+
+                if (entry.LinkTarget is not null)
+                {
+                    DirectoryManagement.EnsureLinkTargetInDestinationDirectory(
+                        destinationFileName,
+                        entry.LinkTarget,
+                        fullDestinationDirectoryPath
+                    );
+                }
+
                 if (writeAsync != null)
                 {
                     await writeAsync(destinationFileName, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
@@ -69,10 +88,10 @@ internal static partial class IEntryExtensions
                     DirectoryManagement.CreateDirectoryOutsideDestinationMessage
                 );
 
-                if (!Directory.Exists(destinationFileName))
-                {
-                    Directory.CreateDirectory(destinationFileName);
-                }
+                DirectoryManagement.CreateDirectory(
+                    destinationFileName,
+                    fullDestinationDirectoryPath
+                );
             }
         }
 
@@ -90,6 +109,8 @@ internal static partial class IEntryExtensions
             }
             else
             {
+                DirectoryManagement.EnsurePathIsNotReparsePoint(destinationFileName);
+
                 var fm = FileMode.Create;
 
                 if (!options.Overwrite)
diff --git a/src/SharpCompress/Common/IEntryExtensions.cs b/src/SharpCompress/Common/IEntryExtensions.cs
index 492ad85d..d7e6f5cb 100644
--- a/src/SharpCompress/Common/IEntryExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/SharpCompress/Common/IEntryExtensions.cs
@@ -45,6 +45,11 @@ internal static partial class IEntryExtensions
             Action<string>? write
         )
         {
+            if (entry.LinkTarget is not null && options.SymbolicLinkHandler is null)
+            {
+                return;
+            }
+
             var destinationFileName = GetEntryDestinationFileName(
                 entry,
                 fullDestinationDirectoryPath,
@@ -60,6 +65,21 @@ internal static partial class IEntryExtensions
                     fullDestinationDirectoryPath,
                     DirectoryManagement.WriteFileOutsideDestinationMessage
                 );
+
+                DirectoryManagement.EnsureNoReparsePointInDestinationDirectory(
+                    destinationFileName,
+                    fullDestinationDirectoryPath
+                );
+
+                if (entry.LinkTarget is not null)
+                {
+                    DirectoryManagement.EnsureLinkTargetInDestinationDirectory(
+                        destinationFileName,
+                        entry.LinkTarget,
+                        fullDestinationDirectoryPath
+                    );
+                }
+
                 write?.Invoke(destinationFileName);
             }
             else if (options.ExtractFullPath)
@@ -72,10 +92,10 @@ internal static partial class IEntryExtensions
                     DirectoryManagement.CreateDirectoryOutsideDestinationMessage
                 );
 
-                if (!Directory.Exists(destinationFileName))
-                {
-                    Directory.CreateDirectory(destinationFileName);
-                }
+                DirectoryManagement.CreateDirectory(
+                    destinationFileName,
+                    fullDestinationDirectoryPath
+                );
             }
         }
 
@@ -102,10 +122,7 @@ internal static partial class IEntryExtensions
                         : DirectoryManagement.WriteFileOutsideDestinationMessage
                 );
 
-                if (!Directory.Exists(destdir))
-                {
-                    Directory.CreateDirectory(destdir);
-                }
+                DirectoryManagement.CreateDirectory(destdir, fullDestinationDirectoryPath);
 
                 return Path.Combine(destdir, file);
             }
@@ -126,6 +143,8 @@ internal static partial class IEntryExtensions
             }
             else
             {
+                DirectoryManagement.EnsurePathIsNotReparsePoint(destinationFileName);
+
                 var fm = FileMode.Create;
 
                 if (!options.Overwrite)
diff --git a/src/SharpCompress/Common/Options/IExtractionOptions.cs b/src/SharpCompress/Common/Options/IExtractionOptions.cs
index 767bfb93..a6379f91 100644
--- a/src/SharpCompress/Common/Options/IExtractionOptions.cs
+++ b/src/SharpCompress/Common/Options/IExtractionOptions.cs
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ public interface IExtractionOptions
     /// Delegate for writing symbolic links to disk.
     /// The first parameter is the source path (where the symlink is created).
     /// The second parameter is the target path (what the symlink refers to).
+    /// Directory extraction rejects link targets outside the destination directory and does not
+    /// follow symbolic links or reparse points in later entry paths.
     /// </summary>
     Action<string, string>? SymbolicLinkHandler { get; set; }
 }
diff --git a/tests/SharpCompress.Test/Security/SymbolicLinkExtractionTests.cs b/tests/SharpCompress.Test/Security/SymbolicLinkExtractionTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..96ae170c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/SharpCompress.Test/Security/SymbolicLinkExtractionTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,304 @@
+#if NET8_0_OR_GREATER
+using System;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using SharpCompress.Archives;
+using SharpCompress.Common;
+using SharpCompress.Readers;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace SharpCompress.Test.Security;
+
+public class SymbolicLinkExtractionTests : TestBase
+{
+    private const int TarBlockSize = 512;
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData("ReaderAll")]
+    [InlineData("ReaderEntry")]
+    [InlineData("Archive")]
+    [InlineData("ArchiveEntry")]
+    [InlineData("AsyncReaderAll")]
+    [InlineData("AsyncReaderEntry")]
+    [InlineData("AsyncArchive")]
+    [InlineData("AsyncArchiveEntry")]
+    public async Task SymbolicLinkTargetOutsideDestination_ShouldThrowBeforeInvokingHandler(
+        string api
+    )
+    {
+        var destinationDirectory = GetScratchPath("extract");
+        var outsideDirectory = GetScratchPath("outside");
+        var archivePath = GetScratch2Path("symbolic-link-outside.tar");
+        Directory.CreateDirectory(destinationDirectory);
+        Directory.CreateDirectory(outsideDirectory);
+        BuildTar(archivePath, "../outside");
+
+        var handlerCalls = 0;
+        var options = new ExtractionOptions { SymbolicLinkHandler = (_, _) => handlerCalls++ };
+
+        var exception = await ExtractAsync(api, archivePath, destinationDirectory, options);
+
+        var extractionException = Assert.IsType<ExtractionException>(exception);
+        Assert.Contains("symbolic link outside", extractionException.Message);
+        Assert.Equal(0, handlerCalls);
+        Assert.False(File.Exists(Path.Combine(outsideDirectory, "secret.txt")));
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData("ReaderAll")]
+    [InlineData("Archive")]
+    [InlineData("AsyncReaderAll")]
+    [InlineData("AsyncArchive")]
+    public async Task EntriesBeneathSymbolicLink_ShouldNotBeExtracted(string api)
+    {
+        var destinationDirectory = GetScratchPath("extract");
+        var targetDirectory = Path.Combine(destinationDirectory, "target");
+        var archivePath = GetScratch2Path("symbolic-link-inside.tar");
+        Directory.CreateDirectory(destinationDirectory);
+        Directory.CreateDirectory(targetDirectory);
+        BuildTar(archivePath, "target");
+
+        var handlerCalls = 0;
+        var options = new ExtractionOptions
+        {
+            SymbolicLinkHandler = (linkPath, linkTarget) =>
+            {
+                handlerCalls++;
+                Directory.CreateSymbolicLink(linkPath, linkTarget);
+            },
+        };
+
+        var exception = await ExtractAsync(api, archivePath, destinationDirectory, options);
+
+        var extractionException = Assert.IsType<ExtractionException>(exception);
+        Assert.Contains("symbolic link or reparse point", extractionException.Message);
+        Assert.Equal(1, handlerCalls);
+        Assert.False(File.Exists(Path.Combine(targetDirectory, "secret.txt")));
+    }
+
+    private static void BuildTar(string path, string linkTarget)
+    {
+        using var stream = File.Create(path);
+        WriteTarEntry(stream, "link", (byte)'2', linkTarget, Array.Empty<byte>());
+        WriteTarEntry(stream, "link/secret.txt", (byte)'0', null, Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("secret"));
+        stream.Write(new byte[TarBlockSize * 2]);
+    }
+
+    private static void WriteTarEntry(
+        Stream stream,
+        string name,
+        byte entryType,
+        string? linkTarget,
+        byte[] data
+    )
+    {
+        var header = new byte[TarBlockSize];
+        WriteString(header, 0, 100, name);
+        WriteOctal(header, 100, 8, 0b110_100_100);
+        WriteOctal(header, 108, 8, 0);
+        WriteOctal(header, 116, 8, 0);
+        WriteOctal(header, 124, 12, data.Length);
+        WriteOctal(header, 136, 12, 0);
+        Array.Fill(header, (byte)' ', 148, 8);
+        header[156] = entryType;
+        WriteString(header, 157, 100, linkTarget ?? string.Empty);
+        WriteString(header, 257, 6, "ustar");
+        WriteString(header, 263, 2, "00");
+
+        var checksum = header.Sum(value => value);
+        WriteString(header, 148, 6, Convert.ToString(checksum, 8).PadLeft(6, '0'));
+        header[154] = 0;
+        header[155] = (byte)' ';
+
+        stream.Write(header);
+        stream.Write(data);
+
+        var padding = (TarBlockSize - (data.Length % TarBlockSize)) % TarBlockSize;
+        if (padding > 0)
+        {
+            stream.Write(new byte[padding]);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static void WriteString(byte[] buffer, int offset, int length, string value)
+    {
+        var bytes = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(value);
+        Array.Copy(bytes, 0, buffer, offset, Math.Min(bytes.Length, length));
+    }
+
+    private static void WriteOctal(byte[] buffer, int offset, int length, long value)
+    {
+        WriteString(
+            buffer,
+            offset,
+            length - 1,
+            Convert.ToString(value, 8).PadLeft(length - 1, '0')
+        );
+        buffer[offset + length - 1] = 0;
+    }
+
+    private static Task<Exception?> ExtractAsync(
+        string api,
+        string archivePath,
+        string destinationDirectory,
+        ExtractionOptions options
+    ) =>
+        api switch
+        {
+            "ReaderAll" => Task.FromResult(
+                RecordException(() =>
+                    ExtractWithReaderAll(archivePath, destinationDirectory, options)
+                )
+            ),
+            "ReaderEntry" => Task.FromResult(
+                RecordException(() =>
+                    ExtractWithReaderEntry(archivePath, destinationDirectory, options)
+                )
+            ),
+            "Archive" => Task.FromResult(
+                RecordException(() =>
+                    ExtractWithArchive(archivePath, destinationDirectory, options)
+                )
+            ),
+            "ArchiveEntry" => Task.FromResult(
+                RecordException(() =>
+                    ExtractWithArchiveEntry(archivePath, destinationDirectory, options)
+                )
+            ),
+            "AsyncReaderAll" => RecordExceptionAsync(() =>
+                ExtractWithAsyncReaderAllAsync(archivePath, destinationDirectory, options)
+            ),
+            "AsyncReaderEntry" => RecordExceptionAsync(() =>
+                ExtractWithAsyncReaderEntryAsync(archivePath, destinationDirectory, options)
+            ),
+            "AsyncArchive" => RecordExceptionAsync(() =>
+                ExtractWithAsyncArchiveAsync(archivePath, destinationDirectory, options)
+            ),
+            "AsyncArchiveEntry" => RecordExceptionAsync(() =>
+                ExtractWithAsyncArchiveEntryAsync(archivePath, destinationDirectory, options)
+            ),
+            _ => throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(api), api, null),
+        };
+
+    private static Exception? RecordException(Action action)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            action();
+            return null;
+        }
+        catch (Exception exception)
+        {
+            return exception;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static async Task<Exception?> RecordExceptionAsync(Func<Task> action)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            await action();
+            return null;
+        }
+        catch (Exception exception)
+        {
+            return exception;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static void ExtractWithReaderAll(
+        string archivePath,
+        string destinationDirectory,
+        ExtractionOptions options
+    )
+    {
+        using var stream = File.OpenRead(archivePath);
+        using var reader = ReaderFactory.OpenReader(stream);
+        reader.WriteAllToDirectory(destinationDirectory, options);
+    }
+
+    private static void ExtractWithReaderEntry(
+        string archivePath,
+        string destinationDirectory,
+        ExtractionOptions options
+    )
+    {
+        using var stream = File.OpenRead(archivePath);
+        using var reader = ReaderFactory.OpenReader(stream);
+        Assert.True(reader.MoveToNextEntry());
+        reader.WriteEntryToDirectory(destinationDirectory, options);
+    }
+
+    private static void ExtractWithArchive(
+        string archivePath,
+        string destinationDirectory,
+        ExtractionOptions options
+    )
+    {
+        using var archive = ArchiveFactory.OpenArchive(archivePath);
+        archive.WriteToDirectory(destinationDirectory, options);
+    }
+
+    private static void ExtractWithArchiveEntry(
+        string archivePath,
+        string destinationDirectory,
+        ExtractionOptions options
+    )
+    {
+        using var archive = ArchiveFactory.OpenArchive(archivePath);
+        archive.Entries.First().WriteToDirectory(destinationDirectory, options);
+    }
+
+    private static async Task ExtractWithAsyncReaderAllAsync(
+        string archivePath,
+        string destinationDirectory,
+        ExtractionOptions options
+    )
+    {
+        using var stream = File.OpenRead(archivePath);
+        await using var reader = await ReaderFactory.OpenAsyncReader(stream);
+        await reader.WriteAllToDirectoryAsync(destinationDirectory, options);
+    }
+
+    private static async Task ExtractWithAsyncReaderEntryAsync(
+        string archivePath,
+        string destinationDirectory,
+        ExtractionOptions options
+    )
+    {
+        using var stream = File.OpenRead(archivePath);
+        await using var reader = await ReaderFactory.OpenAsyncReader(stream);
+        Assert.True(await reader.MoveToNextEntryAsync());
+        await reader.WriteEntryToDirectoryAsync(destinationDirectory, options);
+    }
+
+    private static async Task ExtractWithAsyncArchiveAsync(
+        string archivePath,
+        string destinationDirectory,
+        ExtractionOptions options
+    )
+    {
+        await using var archive = await ArchiveFactory.OpenAsyncArchive(archivePath);
+        await archive.WriteToDirectoryAsync(destinationDirectory, options);
+    }
+
+    private static async Task ExtractWithAsyncArchiveEntryAsync(
+        string archivePath,
+        string destinationDirectory,
+        ExtractionOptions options
+    )
+    {
+        await using var archive = await ArchiveFactory.OpenAsyncArchive(archivePath);
+
+        await foreach (var entry in archive.EntriesAsync)
+        {
+            await entry.WriteToDirectoryAsync(destinationDirectory, options);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        throw new InvalidOperationException("Archive did not contain an entry.");
+    }
+}
+#endif