diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4262231..54882a4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- Refuse to save pending Discord messages through symbolic-link destinations.
 - Protect legacy and source-backed user/server memory reads and writes from symbolic links, junctions, and path swaps.
 - Require a text response for `!ask` commands even when their prompt is phrased without a question mark.
 - Remove malformed `[REACT:]` directives from legacy Claude responses instead of sending them as Discord text.
diff --git a/src/storage/pending.ts b/src/storage/pending.ts
index 2c76dcb..42ac58f 100644
--- a/src/storage/pending.ts
+++ b/src/storage/pending.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import fs from "fs";
 import path from "path";
 import { TextChannel, Message } from "discord.js";
-import { PENDING_DIR } from "../config.js";
+import { MESSAGES_DIR, PENDING_DIR } from "../config.js";
+import { writeVerifiedUtf8File } from "./safeRead.js";
 
 export function savePending(msg: Message) {
     const filename = `${msg.id}.txt`;
@@ -13,7 +14,15 @@ export function savePending(msg: Message) {
         `---`,
         msg.content,
     ].join("\n");
-    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(PENDING_DIR, filename), content, "utf-8");
+    const saved = writeVerifiedUtf8File(
+        path.join(PENDING_DIR, filename),
+        content,
+        MESSAGES_DIR,
+        PENDING_DIR,
+    );
+    if (!saved) {
+        throw new Error("Could not safely save pending message");
+    }
 }
 
 export function removePending(msgId: string) {
diff --git a/tests/pendingSafety.test.mjs b/tests/pendingSafety.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..28860dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/pendingSafety.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import test from "node:test";
+
+test("pending writes do not follow symbolic-link destinations", async (t) => {
+    const testDir = fs.mkdtempSync(
+        path.join(os.tmpdir(), "claudify-pending-symlink-"),
+    );
+    t.after(() => fs.rmSync(testDir, { recursive: true, force: true }));
+
+    const messagesDir = path.join(testDir, "messages");
+    process.env.MESSAGES_DIR = messagesDir;
+    const { savePending } = await import("../build/storage/pending.js");
+
+    const outsideFile = path.join(testDir, "outside.txt");
+    const pendingPath = path.join(
+        messagesDir,
+        "pending",
+        "222222222222222222.txt",
+    );
+    fs.writeFileSync(outsideFile, "must not be overwritten", "utf8");
+    try {
+        fs.symlinkSync(outsideFile, pendingPath);
+    } catch (error) {
+        if (error.code !== "EPERM" && error.code !== "EACCES") throw error;
+        t.skip("symbolic-link assertions require host permission");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    assert.throws(
+        () => savePending({
+            id: "222222222222222222",
+            author: { tag: "user#0001" },
+            channel: { name: "general" },
+            channelId: "111111111111111111",
+            createdAt: new Date("2026-08-31T12:30:00.000Z"),
+            content: "pending entry",
+        }),
+        /safely save pending message/u,
+    );
+    assert.equal(fs.readFileSync(outsideFile, "utf8"), "must not be overwritten");
+});