diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7e85dd71..abb50a3e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -24,6 +24,15 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Fixed
 
+* **On Windows, `yarn` classic installs in a project under your user profile
+  even when you have a `~/.yarnrc` or `~/.npmrc`.** yarn reads those files from
+  every directory between the project and the drive root. The sandbox does not
+  let a contained process read the ones in your real home, and yarn stopped on
+  the refusal with `EPERM: operation not permitted, open 'C:\Users\you\.yarnrc'`.
+  The contained process now sees those files as absent, which is what the
+  sandbox intends. Nothing new becomes readable. Other refused reads still
+  report `EPERM`.
+
 * **On macOS, a contained install can no longer read the rest of your home
   directory.** The sandbox allowed every read outside the credential stores, so
   a package could read other projects in the home directory, nvx's own settings
diff --git a/internal/nvx/sandbox_walkup_rcfile_windows_test.go b/internal/nvx/sandbox_walkup_rcfile_windows_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..eaf1bfb5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/nvx/sandbox_walkup_rcfile_windows_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,202 @@
+//go:build windows
+
+package nvx
+
+// yarn classic reads .yarnrc and .npmrc from every directory between the
+// project and the drive root. Under the user's profile that includes the real
+// home, whose files the sandbox refuses to open, and yarn treats the resulting
+// EPERM as fatal. The walk-up preload reports ENOENT for such a read, and only
+// for such a read. This evaluates that in node, outside a container, by making
+// the underlying fs calls refuse everything, so the test sees exactly which
+// refusals the preload rewrites and which it leaves alone.
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestWalkUpShimHidesRefusedRcFilesOnlyInCoveredAncestors(t *testing.T) {
+	node := realNodeForTest(t)
+	guestHome := tempDir(t)
+	workDir := tempDir(t)
+	shim, err := writeWalkupShim(guestHome)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	workParent := filepath.Dir(workDir)
+	homeParent := filepath.Dir(guestHome)
+	grandParent := filepath.Dir(workParent)
+	if grandParent == workParent {
+		t.Skip("temp directories are laid out so the cases below would overlap")
+	}
+
+	// Refused reads that must become ENOENT: an rc file directly inside an
+	// ancestor of the working directory or of the home.
+	hidden := []string{
+		filepath.Join(workParent, ".npmrc"),
+		filepath.Join(workParent, ".yarnrc"),
+		filepath.Join(homeParent, ".yarnrc.yml"),
+		filepath.Join(workParent, ".NPMRC"),
+	}
+	// Refused reads that must stay EPERM: another name in an ancestor, an rc
+	// file in the chain endpoints and in unrelated places, and one nested a
+	// level below an ancestor.
+	refused := []string{
+		filepath.Join(workParent, "secrets.txt"),
+		filepath.Join(workParent, "npmrc"),
+		filepath.Join(workParent, ".npmrc.bak"),
+		filepath.Join(workDir, ".yarnrc"),
+		filepath.Join(guestHome, ".npmrc"),
+		filepath.Join(workParent, "sibling", ".npmrc"),
+		`C:\Windows\System32\.yarnrc`,
+	}
+	// A hidden rc file the process can open: it exists, and must keep saying so.
+	readable := filepath.Join(grandParent, ".yarnrc.yml")
+
+	probe := filepath.Join(workDir, "rcfile.js")
+	script := `
+const fs = require('fs');
+const fsp = fs.promises;
+const readable = process.argv[3];
+const eperm = (p) => Object.assign(
+  new Error("EPERM: operation not permitted, open '" + p + "'"),
+  { code: 'EPERM', syscall: 'open', path: p });
+const probed = new Set(JSON.parse(process.argv[4]));
+// The sandbox's refusal, as the fs functions deliver it, for the probed paths
+// only. Installed before the preload loads, so the preload wraps these.
+const readFileSync = fs.readFileSync;
+const readFile = fs.readFile;
+const readFilePromise = fsp.readFile;
+const existsSync = fs.existsSync;
+const exists = fs.exists;
+const openSync = fs.openSync;
+const closeSync = fs.closeSync;
+fs.readFileSync = (p, ...r) => { if (probed.has(p)) throw eperm(p); return readFileSync(p, ...r); };
+fs.readFile = (p, ...r) => {
+  if (!probed.has(p)) return readFile(p, ...r);
+  const cb = r.pop();
+  process.nextTick(() => cb(eperm(p)));
+};
+fsp.readFile = async (p, ...r) => { if (probed.has(p)) throw eperm(p); return readFilePromise(p, ...r); };
+fs.existsSync = (p) => probed.has(p) || existsSync(p);
+fs.exists = (p, cb) => (probed.has(p) ? process.nextTick(() => cb(true)) : exists(p, cb));
+fs.openSync = (p, ...r) => {
+  if (!probed.has(p)) return openSync(p, ...r);
+  if (p === readable) return -1;
+  throw eperm(p);
+};
+fs.closeSync = (fd) => (fd === -1 ? undefined : closeSync(fd));
+require(process.argv[2]);
+
+(async () => {
+  const answer = {};
+  for (const p of JSON.parse(process.argv[4])) {
+    const a = {};
+    try { fs.readFileSync(p); a.sync = 'ok'; } catch (e) { a.sync = e.code; }
+    a.cb = await new Promise((res) => fs.readFile(p, 'utf8', (e) => res(e ? e.code : 'ok')));
+    a.promise = await fsp.readFile(p).then(() => 'ok', (e) => e.code);
+    a.existsSync = fs.existsSync(p);
+    a.existsCb = await new Promise((res) => fs.exists(p, res));
+    answer[p] = a;
+  }
+  console.log('RESULT ' + JSON.stringify(answer));
+})();
+`
+	if err := os.WriteFile(probe, []byte(script), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	all := append(append(append([]string{}, hidden...), refused...), readable)
+	encoded, _ := json.Marshal(all)
+	cmd := exec.Command(node, probe, shim, readable, string(encoded))
+	cmd.Dir = workDir
+	cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "USERPROFILE="+guestHome, "HOME="+guestHome, "NODE_OPTIONS=")
+	out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("evaluating the preload failed: %v\n%s", err, out)
+	}
+	line := strings.TrimSpace(string(out))
+	if i := strings.LastIndex(line, "RESULT "); i >= 0 {
+		line = line[i+len("RESULT "):]
+	}
+	type answer struct {
+		Sync, Cb, Promise    string
+		ExistsSync, ExistsCb bool
+	}
+	raw := map[string]map[string]any{}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(line), &raw); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("could not read the preload's answers: %v\n%s", err, out)
+	}
+	read := func(p string) answer {
+		m := raw[p]
+		s := func(k string) string { v, _ := m[k].(string); return v }
+		b := func(k string) bool { v, _ := m[k].(bool); return v }
+		return answer{s("sync"), s("cb"), s("promise"), b("existsSync"), b("existsCb")}
+	}
+
+	for _, p := range hidden {
+		a := read(p)
+		if a.Sync != "ENOENT" || a.Cb != "ENOENT" || a.Promise != "ENOENT" {
+			t.Errorf("a refused read of %s should report ENOENT, got sync=%s callback=%s promise=%s "+
+				"(yarn stops on the EPERM)", p, a.Sync, a.Cb, a.Promise)
+		}
+		if a.ExistsSync || a.ExistsCb {
+			t.Errorf("%s cannot be opened, so it should not be reported as existing "+
+				"(yarn checks fs.exists before it reads ~/.npmrc): existsSync=%v exists=%v",
+				p, a.ExistsSync, a.ExistsCb)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, p := range refused {
+		a := read(p)
+		if a.Sync != "EPERM" || a.Cb != "EPERM" || a.Promise != "EPERM" {
+			t.Errorf("a refused read of %s must stay EPERM, got sync=%s callback=%s promise=%s. "+
+				"The preload would be hiding a refusal outside the one place yarn looks.",
+				p, a.Sync, a.Cb, a.Promise)
+		}
+		if !a.ExistsSync || !a.ExistsCb {
+			t.Errorf("exists for %s changed: existsSync=%v exists=%v", p, a.ExistsSync, a.ExistsCb)
+		}
+	}
+	a := read(readable)
+	if !a.ExistsSync || !a.ExistsCb {
+		t.Errorf("%s can be opened, so it must still be reported as existing: existsSync=%v exists=%v",
+			readable, a.ExistsSync, a.ExistsCb)
+	}
+}
+
+// Opt-in verification (NVX_PROBE=1): a .yarnrc in an ancestor of the working
+// directory is refused with EPERM inside an AppContainer, as yarn meets the
+// one in the real home, and the preload turns that into ENOENT. The file is
+// created in the temp directory, which is an ancestor of the probe's working
+// directory, and removed afterwards.
+func TestWalkUpShimHidesRefusedRcFileInContainer(t *testing.T) {
+	run := walkupProbe(t, "nvx.sandbox.rcfile.probe", `
+const fs = require('fs');
+const path = require('path');
+const rc = path.join(path.dirname(process.cwd()), '.yarnrc');
+let out;
+try { fs.readFileSync(rc); out = 'ok'; } catch (e) { out = e.code; }
+fs.writeFileSync(process.argv[2], out);
+`)
+	rc := filepath.Join(os.TempDir(), ".yarnrc")
+	if _, err := os.Stat(rc); err == nil {
+		t.Skipf("%s already exists and is not this test's to remove", rc)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(rc, []byte("# nvx probe\n"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { os.Remove(rc) })
+
+	without := run(false)
+	if without != "EPERM" {
+		t.Skipf("premise not met: the read of %s gave %q without the preload, so there is no refusal to rewrite", rc, without)
+	}
+	if with := run(true); with != "ENOENT" {
+		t.Fatalf("with the preload, the refused read of %s gave %q, and yarn stops on anything but ENOENT", rc, with)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/nvx/sandbox_walkup_shim.js b/internal/nvx/sandbox_walkup_shim.js
index f7b6fc05..86cc8b15 100644
--- a/internal/nvx/sandbox_walkup_shim.js
+++ b/internal/nvx/sandbox_walkup_shim.js
@@ -30,6 +30,11 @@
 // to the original function if anything at all goes wrong, because this file is
 // injected into every node process in the sandbox and must never be the reason
 // one fails.
+//
+// The same ancestors hold one more thing a tool walks up to read: yarn classic
+// reads a .yarnrc from every directory between the project and the drive root,
+// and the sandbox refuses the one in the real home on purpose. See
+// isHiddenRcFile.
 
 try {
   const fs = require('fs');
@@ -59,6 +64,38 @@ try {
     return !!e && (e.code === 'EPERM' || e.code === 'EACCES');
   }
 
+  // yarn classic reads .yarnrc and .npmrc (and their .yml forms) from every
+  // directory between the project and the drive root. Under the user's profile
+  // that includes the real home, which the sandbox does not let a contained
+  // process read, and yarn treats EPERM there as fatal where ENOENT means "no
+  // file":
+  //
+  //   Error: EPERM: operation not permitted, open 'C:\Users\<name>\.yarnrc'
+  //
+  // Measured 2026-10-06 with yarn 1.22.22 under Node 22.23.3: the stack ends in
+  // parseRcPaths, which skips ENOENT and EISDIR and rethrows everything else.
+  // The same failure follows for ~/.npmrc once ~/.yarnrc is answered.
+  // The sandbox hides those files on purpose, so to the contained process they
+  // do not exist. A refused read of one therefore reports ENOENT. Nothing
+  // becomes readable, only the error code changes. The rule covers only these
+  // rc names directly inside an ancestor of the working directory or home,
+  // the one place yarn looks that the sandbox hides. Any other refused read, of
+  // any other name or place, keeps its EPERM.
+  function isHiddenRcFile(p) {
+    if (typeof p !== 'string') return false;
+    if (!/^\.(yarn|npm)rc(\.yml)?$/i.test(path.basename(p))) return false;
+    return isCoveredAncestor(path.dirname(p));
+  }
+
+  function enoentFor(p) {
+    const err = new Error("ENOENT: no such file or directory, open '" + p + "'");
+    err.errno = -4058;
+    err.code = 'ENOENT';
+    err.syscall = 'open';
+    err.path = p;
+    return err;
+  }
+
   // Exported so the narrowness this file claims can be asserted rather than
   // merely stated. Loading via `--require` ignores module.exports; a test
   // requires the file directly and checks the two predicates against paths that
@@ -68,6 +105,7 @@ try {
   if (typeof module === 'object' && module.exports) {
     module.exports.isCoveredAncestor = isCoveredAncestor;
     module.exports.isPermissionError = isPermissionError;
+    module.exports.isHiddenRcFile = isHiddenRcFile;
   }
 
   // A real directory's Stats, borrowed from one the sandbox can read, so the
@@ -228,6 +266,73 @@ try {
       });
     }
   };
+
+  // Reads of a hidden rc file report ENOENT. See isHiddenRcFile.
+  const readFileSyncOrig = fs.readFileSync;
+  fs.readFileSync = function (p, ...rest) {
+    try {
+      return readFileSyncOrig.call(this, p, ...rest);
+    } catch (e) {
+      if (isPermissionError(e) && isHiddenRcFile(p)) throw enoentFor(p);
+      throw e;
+    }
+  };
+
+  const readFileOrig = fs.readFile;
+  fs.readFile = function (p, ...rest) {
+    const cb = typeof rest[rest.length - 1] === 'function' ? rest.pop() : null;
+    if (!cb) return readFileOrig.call(this, p, ...rest);
+    return readFileOrig.call(this, p, ...rest, (err, data) => {
+      if (isPermissionError(err) && isHiddenRcFile(p)) return cb(enoentFor(p));
+      cb(err, data);
+    });
+  };
+
+  const readFilePromiseOrig = fsp.readFile;
+  fsp.readFile = async function (p, ...rest) {
+    try {
+      return await readFilePromiseOrig.call(this, p, ...rest);
+    } catch (e) {
+      if (isPermissionError(e) && isHiddenRcFile(p)) throw enoentFor(p);
+      throw e;
+    }
+  };
+
+  // yarn asks fs.exists before it reads ~/.npmrc, and the sandbox answers true
+  // for a file it then refuses to open (measured 2026-10-06: stat, access and
+  // exists succeed on the real home's .npmrc and .yarnrc, the read gives EPERM).
+  // A file reported present and then missing would fail yarn the same way, so
+  // the existence check agrees with the read: a hidden rc file that cannot be
+  // opened does not exist. One that can be opened still does.
+  function isReadRefused(p) {
+    try {
+      fs.closeSync(fs.openSync(p, 'r'));
+      return false;
+    } catch (e) {
+      return isPermissionError(e);
+    }
+  }
+
+  const existsSyncOrig = fs.existsSync;
+  fs.existsSync = function (p) {
+    const found = existsSyncOrig.call(this, p);
+    return found && isHiddenRcFile(p) && isReadRefused(p) ? false : found;
+  };
+
+  const existsOrig = fs.exists;
+  if (typeof existsOrig === 'function') {
+    const exists = function (p, cb) {
+      if (typeof cb !== 'function') return existsOrig.call(this, p, cb);
+      return existsOrig.call(this, p, (found) => {
+        cb(found && isHiddenRcFile(p) && isReadRefused(p) ? false : found);
+      });
+    };
+    // util.promisify(fs.exists) resolves with the boolean through this hook.
+    if (existsOrig[require('util').promisify.custom]) {
+      exists[require('util').promisify.custom] = (p) => new Promise((resolve) => exists(p, resolve));
+    }
+    fs.exists = exists;
+  }
 } catch (e) {
   // Never the reason a contained process fails.
 }