diff --git a/src/media/local-media-access.test.ts b/src/media/local-media-access.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..749ceefc58b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/media/local-media-access.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { resolveStateDir } from "../config/paths.js";
+import { assertLocalMediaAllowed } from "./local-media-access.js";
+
+describe("assertLocalMediaAllowed", () => {
+  it("allows managed inbound media paths before explicit root checks", async () => {
+    const stateDir = resolveStateDir();
+    const id = `managed-local-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2)}.png`;
+    const filePath = path.join(stateDir, "media", "inbound", id);
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(filePath), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(filePath, Buffer.from("png"));
+
+    try {
+      await expect(assertLocalMediaAllowed(filePath, [])).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+    } finally {
+      await fs.rm(filePath, { force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("does not allow nested inbound paths as managed media", async () => {
+    const stateDir = resolveStateDir();
+    const filePath = path.join(stateDir, "media", "inbound", "nested", "hidden.png");
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(filePath), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(filePath, Buffer.from("png"));
+
+    try {
+      await expect(assertLocalMediaAllowed(filePath, [])).rejects.toMatchObject({
+        code: "path-not-allowed",
+      });
+    } finally {
+      await fs.rm(path.dirname(filePath), { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/media/local-media-access.ts b/src/media/local-media-access.ts
index 2a1653e4b37..cc3f7ac7f2d 100644
--- a/src/media/local-media-access.ts
+++ b/src/media/local-media-access.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { assertNoWindowsNetworkPath } from "../infra/local-file-access.js";
 import { getDefaultMediaLocalRoots } from "./local-roots.js";
+import { resolveInboundMediaReference } from "./media-reference.js";
 
 export type LocalMediaAccessErrorCode =
   | "path-not-allowed"
@@ -34,6 +35,10 @@ export async function assertLocalMediaAllowed(
   if (localRoots === "any") {
     return;
   }
+  const inboundReference = await resolveInboundMediaReference(mediaPath).catch(() => null);
+  if (inboundReference) {
+    return;
+  }
   try {
     assertNoWindowsNetworkPath(mediaPath, "Local media path");
   } catch (err) {
diff --git a/src/media/media-reference.test.ts b/src/media/media-reference.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ddc4e9d2a99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/media/media-reference.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { resolveStateDir } from "../config/paths.js";
+import {
+  classifyMediaReferenceSource,
+  MediaReferenceError,
+  normalizeMediaReferenceSource,
+  resolveInboundMediaReference,
+  resolveMediaReferenceLocalPath,
+} from "./media-reference.js";
+
+describe("media reference helpers", () => {
+  it("normalizes outbound MEDIA tags without changing canonical media URIs", () => {
+    expect(normalizeMediaReferenceSource("  MEDIA: ./out.png")).toBe("./out.png");
+    expect(normalizeMediaReferenceSource("media://inbound/a.png")).toBe("media://inbound/a.png");
+  });
+
+  it("classifies supported and unsupported media reference schemes", () => {
+    expect(classifyMediaReferenceSource("media://inbound/a.png")).toMatchObject({
+      isMediaStoreUrl: true,
+      hasUnsupportedScheme: false,
+    });
+    expect(classifyMediaReferenceSource("data:image/png;base64,cG5n")).toMatchObject({
+      isDataUrl: true,
+      hasUnsupportedScheme: false,
+    });
+    expect(
+      classifyMediaReferenceSource("data:image/png;base64,cG5n", { allowDataUrl: false }),
+    ).toMatchObject({
+      isDataUrl: true,
+      hasUnsupportedScheme: true,
+    });
+    expect(classifyMediaReferenceSource("ftp://example.test/a.png")).toMatchObject({
+      hasUnsupportedScheme: true,
+    });
+    expect(classifyMediaReferenceSource("C:\\Users\\pete\\image.png")).toMatchObject({
+      looksLikeWindowsDrivePath: true,
+      hasUnsupportedScheme: false,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("resolves canonical inbound media URIs", async () => {
+    const stateDir = resolveStateDir();
+    const id = `ref-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2)}.png`;
+    const filePath = path.join(stateDir, "media", "inbound", id);
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(filePath), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(filePath, Buffer.from("png"));
+
+    try {
+      await expect(resolveInboundMediaReference(`media://inbound/${id}`)).resolves.toMatchObject({
+        id,
+        normalizedSource: `media://inbound/${id}`,
+        physicalPath: filePath,
+        sourceType: "uri",
+      });
+    } finally {
+      await fs.rm(filePath, { force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("maps canonical inbound media URIs to local paths for direct file readers", async () => {
+    const stateDir = resolveStateDir();
+    const id = `ref-local-path-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2)}.png`;
+    const filePath = path.join(stateDir, "media", "inbound", id);
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(filePath), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(filePath, Buffer.from("png"));
+
+    try {
+      await expect(resolveMediaReferenceLocalPath(`media://inbound/${id}`)).resolves.toBe(filePath);
+      await expect(resolveMediaReferenceLocalPath("  MEDIA: ./out.png")).resolves.toBe("./out.png");
+    } finally {
+      await fs.rm(filePath, { force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("resolves direct absolute paths only for first-level inbound media files", async () => {
+    const stateDir = resolveStateDir();
+    const id = `ref-path-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2)}.png`;
+    const filePath = path.join(stateDir, "media", "inbound", id);
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(filePath), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(filePath, Buffer.from("png"));
+
+    try {
+      await expect(resolveInboundMediaReference(filePath)).resolves.toMatchObject({
+        id,
+        physicalPath: filePath,
+        sourceType: "path",
+      });
+      await expect(
+        resolveInboundMediaReference(path.join(stateDir, "media", "inbound", "nested", id)),
+      ).resolves.toBeNull();
+      await expect(
+        resolveInboundMediaReference(path.join(stateDir, "media", "outbound", id)),
+      ).resolves.toBeNull();
+    } finally {
+      await fs.rm(filePath, { force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("rejects inbound media URIs with unsupported locations or unsafe ids", async () => {
+    await expect(resolveInboundMediaReference("media://outbound/a.png")).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      code: "path-not-allowed",
+    });
+    await expect(
+      resolveInboundMediaReference("media://inbound/nested%2Fa.png"),
+    ).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(MediaReferenceError);
+    await expect(
+      resolveInboundMediaReference("media://inbound/nested%2Fa.png"),
+    ).rejects.toMatchObject({ code: "invalid-path" });
+    await expect(resolveInboundMediaReference("media://inbound/")).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      code: "invalid-path",
+    });
+    await expect(resolveInboundMediaReference("media://inbound/%00.png")).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      code: "invalid-path",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("rejects symlinked inbound media files", async () => {
+    const stateDir = resolveStateDir();
+    const targetDir = path.join(stateDir, "media-reference-test-target");
+    const targetPath = path.join(targetDir, "target.png");
+    const id = `ref-link-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2)}.png`;
+    const linkPath = path.join(stateDir, "media", "inbound", id);
+    await fs.mkdir(targetDir, { recursive: true });
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(linkPath), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(targetPath, Buffer.from("png"));
+    await fs.symlink(targetPath, linkPath);
+
+    try {
+      await expect(resolveInboundMediaReference(`media://inbound/${id}`)).rejects.toMatchObject({
+        code: "invalid-path",
+      });
+      await expect(resolveInboundMediaReference(linkPath)).rejects.toMatchObject({
+        code: "invalid-path",
+      });
+    } finally {
+      await fs.rm(linkPath, { force: true });
+      await fs.rm(targetDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/media/media-reference.ts b/src/media/media-reference.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..20f8c2b495d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/media/media-reference.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+import path from "node:path";
+import { safeFileURLToPath } from "../infra/local-file-access.js";
+import { resolveUserPath } from "../utils.js";
+import { getMediaDir, resolveMediaBufferPath } from "./store.js";
+
+export type MediaReferenceErrorCode = "invalid-path" | "path-not-allowed";
+
+export class MediaReferenceError extends Error {
+  code: MediaReferenceErrorCode;
+
+  constructor(code: MediaReferenceErrorCode, message: string, options?: ErrorOptions) {
+    super(message, options);
+    this.code = code;
+    this.name = "MediaReferenceError";
+  }
+}
+
+export type InboundMediaReference = {
+  id: string;
+  normalizedSource: string;
+  physicalPath: string;
+  sourceType: "uri" | "path";
+};
+
+export function normalizeMediaReferenceSource(source: string): string {
+  const trimmed = source.trim();
+  if (/^media:\/\//i.test(trimmed)) {
+    return trimmed;
+  }
+  return trimmed.replace(/^\s*MEDIA\s*:\s*/i, "").trim();
+}
+
+export type MediaReferenceSourceInfo = {
+  hasScheme: boolean;
+  hasUnsupportedScheme: boolean;
+  isDataUrl: boolean;
+  isFileUrl: boolean;
+  isHttpUrl: boolean;
+  isMediaStoreUrl: boolean;
+  looksLikeWindowsDrivePath: boolean;
+};
+
+export function classifyMediaReferenceSource(
+  source: string,
+  options?: { allowDataUrl?: boolean },
+): MediaReferenceSourceInfo {
+  const allowDataUrl = options?.allowDataUrl ?? true;
+  const looksLikeWindowsDrivePath = /^[a-zA-Z]:[\\/]/.test(source);
+  const hasScheme = /^[a-z][a-z0-9+.-]*:/i.test(source);
+  const isFileUrl = /^file:/i.test(source);
+  const isHttpUrl = /^https?:\/\//i.test(source);
+  const isDataUrl = /^data:/i.test(source);
+  const isMediaStoreUrl = /^media:\/\//i.test(source);
+  const hasUnsupportedScheme =
+    hasScheme &&
+    !looksLikeWindowsDrivePath &&
+    !isFileUrl &&
+    !isHttpUrl &&
+    !isMediaStoreUrl &&
+    !(allowDataUrl && isDataUrl);
+  return {
+    hasScheme,
+    hasUnsupportedScheme,
+    isDataUrl,
+    isFileUrl,
+    isHttpUrl,
+    isMediaStoreUrl,
+    looksLikeWindowsDrivePath,
+  };
+}
+
+function maybeLocalPathFromSource(source: string): string | null {
+  if (/^file:/i.test(source)) {
+    try {
+      return safeFileURLToPath(source);
+    } catch {
+      return null;
+    }
+  }
+  if (source.startsWith("~")) {
+    return resolveUserPath(source);
+  }
+  if (path.isAbsolute(source)) {
+    return source;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+async function resolveInboundMediaUri(
+  normalizedSource: string,
+): Promise<InboundMediaReference | null> {
+  if (!/^media:\/\//i.test(normalizedSource)) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  let parsed: URL;
+  try {
+    parsed = new URL(normalizedSource);
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw new MediaReferenceError("invalid-path", `Invalid media URI: ${normalizedSource}`, {
+      cause: err,
+    });
+  }
+
+  if (parsed.hostname !== "inbound") {
+    throw new MediaReferenceError(
+      "path-not-allowed",
+      `Unsupported media URI location: ${parsed.hostname || "(missing)"}`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  let id: string;
+  try {
+    id = decodeURIComponent(parsed.pathname.replace(/^\/+/, ""));
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw new MediaReferenceError("invalid-path", `Invalid media URI: ${normalizedSource}`, {
+      cause: err,
+    });
+  }
+
+  if (!id || id.includes("/") || id.includes("\\")) {
+    throw new MediaReferenceError("invalid-path", `Invalid media URI: ${normalizedSource}`);
+  }
+
+  return {
+    id,
+    normalizedSource,
+    physicalPath: await resolveInboundMediaPath(id, normalizedSource),
+    sourceType: "uri",
+  };
+}
+
+export async function resolveInboundMediaReference(
+  source: string,
+): Promise<InboundMediaReference | null> {
+  const normalizedSource = normalizeMediaReferenceSource(source);
+  if (!normalizedSource) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const uriSource = await resolveInboundMediaUri(normalizedSource);
+  if (uriSource) {
+    return uriSource;
+  }
+
+  const localPath = maybeLocalPathFromSource(normalizedSource);
+  if (!localPath) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const inboundDir = path.resolve(getMediaDir(), "inbound");
+  const resolvedPath = path.resolve(localPath);
+  const rel = path.relative(inboundDir, resolvedPath);
+  if (!rel || rel.startsWith("..") || path.isAbsolute(rel) || rel.includes(path.sep)) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  return {
+    id: rel,
+    normalizedSource,
+    physicalPath: await resolveInboundMediaPath(rel, normalizedSource),
+    sourceType: "path",
+  };
+}
+
+export async function resolveMediaReferenceLocalPath(source: string): Promise<string> {
+  const normalizedSource = normalizeMediaReferenceSource(source);
+  return (await resolveInboundMediaReference(normalizedSource))?.physicalPath ?? normalizedSource;
+}
+
+async function resolveInboundMediaPath(id: string, source: string): Promise<string> {
+  try {
+    return await resolveMediaBufferPath(id, "inbound");
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw new MediaReferenceError(
+      "invalid-path",
+      err instanceof Error ? err.message : `Invalid media reference: ${source}`,
+      { cause: err },
+    );
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/media/web-media.test.ts b/src/media/web-media.test.ts
index d6bc60c5609..2a052d3a542 100644
--- a/src/media/web-media.test.ts
+++ b/src/media/web-media.test.ts
@@ -451,6 +451,26 @@ describe("loadWebMedia", () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it("allows managed inbound absolute paths before allowed-root checks", async () => {
+    const id = `signal-path-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2)}.png`;
+    const filePath = path.join(stateDir, "media", "inbound", id);
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(filePath), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(filePath, Buffer.from(TINY_PNG_BASE64, "base64"));
+
+    try {
+      const result = await loadWebMedia(filePath, {
+        maxBytes: 1024 * 1024,
+        localRoots: [],
+      });
+
+      expect(result.kind).toBe("image");
+      expect(result.buffer.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+      expect(result.fileName).toBe(id);
+    } finally {
+      await fs.rm(filePath, { force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
   it("rejects unsupported media store URI locations", async () => {
     await expect(loadWebMedia("media://outbound/tiny.png")).rejects.toMatchObject({
       code: "path-not-allowed",
diff --git a/src/media/web-media.ts b/src/media/web-media.ts
index 1691faefe5f..de84f3ee7b3 100644
--- a/src/media/web-media.ts
+++ b/src/media/web-media.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import {
   LocalMediaAccessError,
   type LocalMediaAccessErrorCode,
 } from "./local-media-access.js";
+import { MediaReferenceError, resolveInboundMediaReference } from "./media-reference.js";
 import {
   detectMime,
   extensionForMime,
@@ -27,7 +28,6 @@ import {
   mimeTypeFromFilePath,
   normalizeMimeType,
 } from "./mime.js";
-import { resolveMediaBufferPath } from "./store.js";
 
 export { getDefaultLocalRoots, LocalMediaAccessError };
 export type { LocalMediaAccessErrorCode };
@@ -58,42 +58,16 @@ type WebMediaOptions = {
 };
 
 async function resolveMediaStoreUriToPath(mediaUrl: string): Promise<string | null> {
-  if (!mediaUrl.startsWith("media://")) {
+  if (!/^media:\/\//i.test(mediaUrl)) {
     return null;
   }
-  let parsed: URL;
   try {
-    parsed = new URL(mediaUrl);
+    return (await resolveInboundMediaReference(mediaUrl))?.physicalPath ?? null;
   } catch (err) {
-    throw new LocalMediaAccessError("invalid-path", `Invalid media URI: ${mediaUrl}`, {
-      cause: err,
-    });
-  }
-  if (parsed.hostname !== "inbound") {
-    throw new LocalMediaAccessError(
-      "path-not-allowed",
-      `Unsupported media URI location: ${parsed.hostname || "(missing)"}`,
-    );
-  }
-  let id: string;
-  try {
-    id = decodeURIComponent(parsed.pathname.replace(/^\/+/, ""));
-  } catch (err) {
-    throw new LocalMediaAccessError("invalid-path", `Invalid media URI: ${mediaUrl}`, {
-      cause: err,
-    });
-  }
-  if (!id || id.includes("/")) {
-    throw new LocalMediaAccessError("invalid-path", `Invalid media URI: ${mediaUrl}`);
-  }
-  try {
-    return await resolveMediaBufferPath(id, "inbound");
-  } catch (err) {
-    throw new LocalMediaAccessError(
-      "invalid-path",
-      err instanceof Error ? err.message : `Invalid media URI: ${mediaUrl}`,
-      { cause: err },
-    );
+    if (err instanceof MediaReferenceError) {
+      throw new LocalMediaAccessError(err.code, err.message, { cause: err });
+    }
+    throw err;
   }
 }