diff --git a/backend/app/api/routes/media.py b/backend/app/api/routes/media.py
index 324664d..ec2553f 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/routes/media.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/routes/media.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ raw-image uploads reuse the same endpoint.
 
 import re
 import uuid
+from pathlib import Path
 
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, UploadFile, status
 from fastapi.responses import FileResponse
@@ -40,6 +41,22 @@ MAX_BYTES = 10 * 1024 * 1024  # 10 MB
 _NAME_RE = re.compile(r"^[0-9a-f]{32}\.(png|jpg|webp)$")
 
 
+def _resolve_media_path(filename: str) -> Path:
+    """Resolve `filename` inside the media dir, rejecting anything that escapes it.
+
+    `filename` is validated against `_NAME_RE` (no separators, no `..`) and the
+    resolved path is confirmed to sit directly under the resolved media dir.
+    Raises 404 on any mismatch so we never leak whether a path exists elsewhere.
+    """
+    if not _NAME_RE.match(filename):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail="Not found")
+    base = settings.media_dir().resolve()
+    path = (base / filename).resolve()
+    if path.parent != base:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail="Not found")
+    return path
+
+
 @router.post("/upload")
 async def upload_media(file: UploadFile, _user: str = Depends(get_current_user)) -> dict[str, str]:
     ext = ALLOWED_TYPES.get(file.content_type or "")
@@ -72,9 +89,7 @@ async def upload_media(file: UploadFile, _user: str = Depends(get_current_user))
 
 @router.get("/{filename}")
 async def get_media(filename: str) -> FileResponse:
-    if not _NAME_RE.match(filename):
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail="Not found")
-    path = settings.media_dir() / filename
+    path = _resolve_media_path(filename)
     if not path.is_file():
         raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail="Not found")
     return FileResponse(path)
@@ -82,8 +97,6 @@ async def get_media(filename: str) -> FileResponse:
 
 @router.delete("/{filename}", status_code=status.HTTP_204_NO_CONTENT)
 async def delete_media(filename: str, _user: str = Depends(get_current_user)) -> None:
-    if not _NAME_RE.match(filename):
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail="Not found")
-    path = settings.media_dir() / filename
+    path = _resolve_media_path(filename)
     if path.is_file():
         path.unlink()
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_media.py b/backend/tests/test_media.py
index 3741eb9..f774e6d 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_media.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_media.py
@@ -79,6 +79,13 @@ async def test_get_rejects_bad_filename(client, media_dir):
     assert res.status_code == 404
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_delete_rejects_bad_filename(client, auth_headers, media_dir):
+    headers = await auth_headers()
+    res = await client.delete("/api/v1/media/..%2f..%2fetc%2fpasswd", headers=headers)
+    assert res.status_code == 404
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_delete_requires_auth_and_removes_file(client, auth_headers, media_dir):
     headers = await auth_headers()