diff --git a/internal/handler/file.go b/internal/handler/file.go
index 5055eec..3292bc9 100644
--- a/internal/handler/file.go
+++ b/internal/handler/file.go
@@ -297,9 +297,9 @@ func (h *FileHandler) serveFromDisk(ctx *fasthttp.RequestCtx, absPath, urlPath s
 	// compressible and large enough to benefit from compression.
 	if h.cfg.Compression.Enabled && h.cfg.Compression.Precompressed &&
 		compress.IsCompressible(ct) && len(data) >= h.cfg.Compression.MinSize {
-		cached.GzipData = loadSidecar(absPath + ".gz")
-		cached.BrData = loadSidecar(absPath + ".br")
-		cached.ZstdData = loadSidecar(absPath + ".zst")
+		cached.GzipData = h.LoadSidecar(absPath + ".gz")
+		cached.BrData = h.LoadSidecar(absPath + ".br")
+		cached.ZstdData = h.LoadSidecar(absPath + ".zst")
 	}
 
 	// Generate on-the-fly gzip if no sidecar and content is compressible.
@@ -501,11 +501,72 @@ func detectContentType(path string, data []byte) string {
 	return "application/octet-stream"
 }
 
-// loadSidecar attempts to read a pre-compressed sidecar file.
-// Returns nil if the sidecar does not exist or cannot be read.
-func loadSidecar(path string) []byte {
-	data, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+// ValidateSidecarPath validates that a sidecar file path is within the root directory.
+// It uses filepath.Clean() to normalize the path (recognized by CodeQL as a sanitizer),
+// then verifies the canonical path remains within the root via symlink resolution and
+// prefix checking. Returns the validated path or an error if validation fails.
+// This function is designed to be recognized by static analyzers as a path sanitizer.
+func (h *FileHandler) ValidateSidecarPath(sidecarPath string) (string, error) {
+	// Step 1: Normalize the path using filepath.Clean().
+	// This removes ".." and "." components and is recognized by CodeQL as a sanitizer.
+	cleanPath := filepath.Clean(sidecarPath)
+
+	// Step 2: Ensure the path is absolute (relative to root).
+	// If it's relative, make it absolute relative to root.
+	var absPath string
+	if filepath.IsAbs(cleanPath) {
+		absPath = cleanPath
+	} else {
+		absPath = filepath.Join(h.absRoot, cleanPath)
+	}
+
+	// Step 3: Resolve symlinks to get the canonical path.
+	// This prevents symlink escape attacks where a sidecar could point outside root.
+	realPath, err := filepath.EvalSymlinks(absPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		// File doesn't exist or can't be resolved — return error.
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	// Step 4: Resolve the root directory to its canonical path for comparison.
+	// This is important on platforms like macOS where /tmp → /private/tmp.
+	realRoot := h.absRoot
+	if r, err := filepath.EvalSymlinks(h.absRoot); err == nil {
+		realRoot = r
+	}
+
+	// Step 5: Verify the resolved path is still within the root directory.
+	// Add a trailing separator to prevent prefix collisions like "/root" matching "/rootsuffix".
+	rootWithSep := realRoot
+	if !strings.HasSuffix(rootWithSep, string(filepath.Separator)) {
+		rootWithSep += string(filepath.Separator)
+	}
+
+	// Reject if the sidecar path escapes the root directory.
+	if realPath != realRoot && !strings.HasPrefix(realPath, rootWithSep) {
+		// Sidecar path escapes the root — reject it.
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("sidecar path escapes root directory")
+	}
+
+	return realPath, nil
+}
+
+// LoadSidecar attempts to read a pre-compressed sidecar file.
+// Returns nil if the sidecar does not exist, cannot be read, or fails validation.
+// The path parameter must be constructed from a validated absolute filesystem path
+// (e.g., absPath + ".gz") to ensure it remains within the root directory.
+func (h *FileHandler) LoadSidecar(path string) []byte {
+	// Validate the sidecar path to prevent path traversal attacks.
+	validatedPath, err := h.ValidateSidecarPath(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		// Validation failed (symlink escape, doesn't exist, etc.) — return nil.
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	// Path is validated and safe — read the file.
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(validatedPath)
 	if err != nil {
+		// File doesn't exist or can't be read — return nil.
 		return nil
 	}
 	return data
diff --git a/internal/handler/file_test.go b/internal/handler/file_test.go
index d0b99ab..260b191 100644
--- a/internal/handler/file_test.go
+++ b/internal/handler/file_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package handler_test
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	"io"
 	"log"
 	"os"
@@ -948,3 +949,187 @@ func BenchmarkHandler_CacheHitQuiet(b *testing.B) {
 		h(ctx)
 	}
 }
+
+// TestValidateSidecarPath tests the path validation logic for sidecar files.
+// This test ensures that CodeQL path-injection alerts are properly addressed
+// by verifying that filepath.Clean() + symlink resolution + prefix checking
+// prevents all known path traversal attacks.
+func TestValidateSidecarPath(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	cfg := &config.Config{}
+	cfg.Files.Root = root
+	cfg.Cache.Enabled = false
+	c := cache.NewCache(cfg.Cache.MaxBytes)
+	h := handler.NewFileHandler(cfg, c)
+
+	// Create test files
+	testFile := filepath.Join(root, "test.txt")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(testFile, []byte("test"), 0644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	// Create a subdirectory with a file
+	subdir := filepath.Join(root, "subdir")
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(subdir, 0755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	subFile := filepath.Join(subdir, "sub.txt")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(subFile, []byte("sub"), 0644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name    string
+		path    string
+		wantErr bool
+		desc    string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:    "valid absolute path",
+			path:    testFile,
+			wantErr: false,
+			desc:    "Should accept valid absolute path within root",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "valid relative path",
+			path:    "test.txt",
+			wantErr: false,
+			desc:    "Should accept valid relative path within root",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "valid subdirectory path",
+			path:    filepath.Join(root, "subdir", "sub.txt"),
+			wantErr: false,
+			desc:    "Should accept valid path in subdirectory",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "traversal with ..",
+			path:    filepath.Join(root, "..", "etc", "passwd"),
+			wantErr: true,
+			desc:    "Should reject path traversal with .. components",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "traversal with multiple ..",
+			path:    filepath.Join(root, "..", "..", "..", "etc", "passwd"),
+			wantErr: true,
+			desc:    "Should reject multiple .. traversal attempts",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "absolute path outside root",
+			path:    "/etc/passwd",
+			wantErr: true,
+			desc:    "Should reject absolute path outside root",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "nonexistent file",
+			path:    filepath.Join(root, "nonexistent.txt"),
+			wantErr: true,
+			desc:    "Should reject nonexistent files (EvalSymlinks fails)",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			result, err := h.ValidateSidecarPath(tt.path)
+			if (err != nil) != tt.wantErr {
+				t.Errorf("%s: got error=%v, wantErr=%v", tt.desc, err, tt.wantErr)
+			}
+			if !tt.wantErr && err == nil {
+				// Verify the result is within root
+				realRoot := root
+				if r, err := filepath.EvalSymlinks(root); err == nil {
+					realRoot = r
+				}
+				if !strings.HasPrefix(result, realRoot) && result != realRoot {
+					t.Errorf("%s: result %q is not within root %q", tt.desc, result, realRoot)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestLoadSidecar tests the sidecar file loading logic.
+// This test verifies that the CodeQL-compliant path validation
+// allows legitimate sidecar files to be loaded while rejecting attacks.
+func TestLoadSidecar(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	cfg := &config.Config{}
+	cfg.Files.Root = root
+	cfg.Cache.Enabled = false
+	c := cache.NewCache(cfg.Cache.MaxBytes)
+	h := handler.NewFileHandler(cfg, c)
+
+	// Create a test file and its sidecar
+	testFile := filepath.Join(root, "test.txt")
+	sidecarFile := filepath.Join(root, "test.txt.gz")
+	sidecarContent := []byte("compressed data")
+
+	if err := os.WriteFile(testFile, []byte("test"), 0644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(sidecarFile, sidecarContent, 0644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name    string
+		path    string
+		wantNil bool
+		desc    string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:    "valid sidecar",
+			path:    sidecarFile,
+			wantNil: false,
+			desc:    "Should load valid sidecar file",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "nonexistent sidecar",
+			path:    filepath.Join(root, "nonexistent.gz"),
+			wantNil: true,
+			desc:    "Should return nil for nonexistent sidecar",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "traversal attempt",
+			path:    filepath.Join(root, "..", "etc", "passwd"),
+			wantNil: true,
+			desc:    "Should return nil for traversal attempts",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			result := h.LoadSidecar(tt.path)
+			if (result == nil) != tt.wantNil {
+				t.Errorf("%s: got nil=%v, wantNil=%v", tt.desc, result == nil, tt.wantNil)
+			}
+			if !tt.wantNil && result != nil {
+				if !bytes.Equal(result, sidecarContent) {
+					t.Errorf("%s: got %q, want %q", tt.desc, result, sidecarContent)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// BenchmarkValidateSidecarPath benchmarks the path validation logic.
+func BenchmarkValidateSidecarPath(b *testing.B) {
+	root := b.TempDir()
+	cfg := &config.Config{}
+	cfg.Files.Root = root
+	cfg.Cache.Enabled = false
+	c := cache.NewCache(cfg.Cache.MaxBytes)
+	h := handler.NewFileHandler(cfg, c)
+
+	// Create a test file
+	testFile := filepath.Join(root, "test.txt")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(testFile, []byte("test"), 0644); err != nil {
+		b.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	b.ReportAllocs()
+	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+		_, _ = h.ValidateSidecarPath(testFile)
+	}
+}