diff --git a/tests/tools/test_image_source.py b/tests/tools/test_image_source.py
index 2db9f9952e..f7e5f3d351 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_image_source.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_image_source.py
@@ -15,8 +15,14 @@ from unittest.mock import patch
 import pytest
 
 
-PNG = b"\x89PNG\r\n\x1a\n" + b"\x00" * 64
+# Minimal valid 1x1 PNG bytes. Resolver validation requires a decodable fixture.
+PNG = base64.b64decode(
+    b"iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII="
+)
 JPEG = b"\xff\xd8\xff" + b"\x00" * 64
+CORRUPT_PNG = base64.b64decode(
+    b"iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAIAAAACUFjqAAAAFElEQVR4nGP8z8Dwn4EIwESJ5gAAVQ4CH1evYJQAAAAASUVORK5CYII="
+)
 
 
 def _reload(monkeypatch, hermes_home: Path):
@@ -57,6 +63,16 @@ class TestDataUrl:
             await isrc.resolve_image_source(
                 f"data:text/plain;base64,{b64}", isrc.ResolveContext())
 
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_corrupt_png_rejected_at_resolver_boundary(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        """A PNG-shaped but undecodable payload never becomes a resolved image."""
+        isrc = _reload(monkeypatch, tmp_path / "hermes")
+        monkeypatch.setenv("TERMINAL_ENV", "local")
+        img = tmp_path / "corrupt.png"
+        img.write_bytes(CORRUPT_PNG)
+        with pytest.raises(isrc.NotAnImage):
+            await isrc.resolve_image_source(str(img), isrc.ResolveContext())
+
 
 class TestLocalBackend:
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_vision_native_fast_path.py b/tests/tools/test_vision_native_fast_path.py
index f0d436df94..673a795c42 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_vision_native_fast_path.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_vision_native_fast_path.py
@@ -28,6 +28,11 @@ _TINY_PNG = base64.b64decode(
     b"iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII="
 )
 
+# PNG-shaped but undecodable; resolver/native fast path must reject it.
+_CORRUPT_PNG = base64.b64decode(
+    b"iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAIAAAACUFjqAAAAFElEQVR4nGP8z8Dwn4EIwESJ5gAAVQ4CH1evYJQAAAAASUVORK5CYII="
+)
+
 
 def _animated_gif_bytes(colors, *, size=(4, 4)):
     from PIL import Image
@@ -261,6 +266,19 @@ class TestVisionAnalyzeNative:
         assert isinstance(result, dict)
         assert result.get("_multimodal") is True
 
+    def test_corrupt_png_rejected_before_native_embed(self, tmp_path):
+        """Header-only PNG bytes must not enter conversation history."""
+        img = tmp_path / "bad.png"
+        img.write_bytes(_CORRUPT_PNG)
+        result = asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(
+            _vision_analyze_native(str(img), "what is this?")
+        )
+        assert isinstance(result, str)
+        parsed = json.loads(result)
+        assert parsed.get("success") is False
+        assert "multimodal" not in parsed
+        assert "recognized image" in parsed.get("error", "")
+
     def test_oversized_image_resized_under_embed_cap(self, tmp_path):
         """Regression for the wedged-session incident (May 2026).
 
diff --git a/tools/vision_tools.py b/tools/vision_tools.py
index f77d4a5eae..d1d34c4d8f 100644
--- a/tools/vision_tools.py
+++ b/tools/vision_tools.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import contextlib
 import asyncio
 import json
 from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
+from io import BytesIO
 import logging
 import os
 import uuid
@@ -251,6 +252,15 @@ def _detect_image_mime_type_from_bytes(data: bytes) -> Optional[str]:
     """
     header = data[:64]
     if header.startswith(b"\x89PNG\r\n\x1a\n"):
+        # Magic bytes alone are insufficient: native vision history is
+        # immutable, so reject corrupt PNGs before they can be embedded.
+        try:
+            from PIL import Image
+
+            with Image.open(BytesIO(data)) as image:
+                image.verify()
+        except Exception:
+            return None
         return "image/png"
     if header.startswith(b"\xff\xd8\xff"):
         return "image/jpeg"