diff --git a/pkg/os/os.go b/pkg/os/os.go
index 3c0f53d51a..62ad1a7ae4 100644
--- a/pkg/os/os.go
+++ b/pkg/os/os.go
@@ -98,9 +98,12 @@ func CopyFile(src, dst string) (err error) {
 	if info.IsDir() {
 		return errors.New("cannot read from directories")
 	}
+	if dstInfo, statErr := os.Stat(dst); statErr == nil && os.SameFile(info, dstInfo) {
+		return errors.New("source and destination are the same file")
+	}
 
-	// create new file, truncate if exists and apply same permissions as the original one
-	dstfile, err := os.OpenFile(dst, os.O_RDWR|os.O_CREATE|os.O_TRUNC, info.Mode().Perm()) //nolint:gosec
+	// Open without truncating so we can check the opened file's identity first.
+	dstfile, err := os.OpenFile(dst, os.O_RDWR|os.O_CREATE, info.Mode().Perm()) //nolint:gosec
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -114,6 +117,17 @@ func CopyFile(src, dst string) (err error) {
 		}
 	}()
 
+	dstInfo, err := dstfile.Stat()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if os.SameFile(info, dstInfo) {
+		return errors.New("source and destination are the same file")
+	}
+	if err := dstfile.Truncate(0); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	_, err = io.Copy(dstfile, srcfile)
 	return err
 }
diff --git a/pkg/os/os_test.go b/pkg/os/os_test.go
index 1c1a88b41b..9c926af63f 100644
--- a/pkg/os/os_test.go
+++ b/pkg/os/os_test.go
@@ -167,6 +167,39 @@ func TestMustReadFile(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestCopyFileRejectsSameFile(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, name := range []string{"same path", "hard link", "symbolic link"} {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			src := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "source")
+			content := []byte("must survive a failed copy")
+			if err := os.WriteFile(src, content, 0600); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			dst := src
+			if name != "same path" {
+				dst = src + ".link"
+				link := os.Link
+				if name == "symbolic link" {
+					link = os.Symlink
+				}
+				if err := link(src, dst); err != nil {
+					t.Skipf("link is unavailable: %v", err)
+				}
+			}
+			if err := CopyFile(src, dst); err == nil {
+				t.Fatal("expected copying a file onto itself to fail")
+			}
+			got, err := os.ReadFile(src)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			if string(got) != string(content) {
+				t.Fatalf("source content changed: got %q, want %q", got, content)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestMustWriteFile(t *testing.T) {
 	tempDir := t.TempDir()
 	testFile := filepath.Join(tempDir, "test.txt")