diff --git a/src/client/usage.c b/src/client/usage.c
index 83f463b..ec4b0c4 100644
--- a/src/client/usage.c
+++ b/src/client/usage.c
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ void print_usage(void) {
   printf("                       wire formats)\n");
   printf("  --write-batch=FILE    Run the normal live transfer AND also emit a\n");
   printf("                       self-contained batch file of the whole source tree\n");
+  printf("                       (implies the single-threaded transfer path)\n");
   printf("  --only-write-batch=FILE\n");
   printf("                       Emit the batch file only (no destination, no server)\n");
   printf("  --read-batch=FILE     Apply the batch file to the destination (no source, no\n");
diff --git a/src/shared/batch.c b/src/shared/batch.c
index 32abaa8..4a2ee38 100644
--- a/src/shared/batch.c
+++ b/src/shared/batch.c
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ int batch_read_apply(int fd, const Config* config, const char* dest_root) {
       log_message(LOG_LEVEL_ERROR, "batch: could not allocate a %llu-byte record", length);
       return -1;
     }
-    if (!read_exact(fd, record, (size_t)length, &eof)) {
+    if (!read_exact(fd, record, (size_t)length, &eof) || eof) {
       log_message(LOG_LEVEL_ERROR, "batch: truncated chunk record");
       free(record);
       return -1;
diff --git a/src/shared/batch.h b/src/shared/batch.h
index d463ad1..41e8579 100644
--- a/src/shared/batch.h
+++ b/src/shared/batch.h
@@ -13,8 +13,12 @@
 #define BATCH_MAGIC "FSTRESBATCH"
 #define BATCH_MAGIC_LEN 11
 #define BATCH_FORMAT_VERSION 1
-/* A single deserialized record is bounded by the chunk codec's 64 MB cap
- * (the same per-file data cap chunk_deserialize enforces). */
+/* Max size of a single length-prefixed record (a whole serialized chunk,
+ * which can span several files).  A single source file near the 64 MB wire
+ * limit plus per-file headers can produce a record slightly over 64 MB, so a
+ * large file just under the wire cap may be refused by the batch writer; this
+ * is documented upstream and the failure is clean (the partial batch is
+ * unlinked), never a truncated/corrupt batch. */
 #define BATCH_MAX_RECORD (64ULL * 1024 * 1024)
 
 bool batch_write_header(int fd, const Config* config);
diff --git a/tests/test_batch.c b/tests/test_batch.c
index 7f2c4ae..a2d088e 100644
--- a/tests/test_batch.c
+++ b/tests/test_batch.c
@@ -179,10 +179,77 @@ static void test_batch_reject_oversized() {
   unlink("batch_big.bin");
 }
 
+/* A clean header followed by a length prefix with NO record bytes at all (clean
+ * EOF on the record-body read) must be rejected as truncated — it must not feed
+ * an uninitialized buffer to chunk_deserialize. Regression test for a
+ * confirmed uninitialized-read on the untrusted read side. */
+static void test_batch_reject_eof_after_prefix() {
+  Config* config = config_create();
+  EXPECT_NOT_NULL(config);
+  int fd = open("batch_eof.bin", O_WRONLY | O_CREAT | O_TRUNC, 0644);
+  EXPECT_TRUE(fd >= 0);
+  EXPECT_TRUE(batch_write_header(fd, config));
+  unsigned long long length = 32;
+  EXPECT_EQ_INT(write(fd, &length, sizeof(length)), (ssize_t)sizeof(length));
+  EXPECT_EQ_INT(close(fd), 0);
+  fd = open("batch_eof.bin", O_RDONLY);
+  EXPECT_TRUE(fd >= 0);
+  EXPECT_EQ_INT(batch_read_apply(fd, config, "batch_dest"), -1);
+  EXPECT_EQ_INT(close(fd), 0);
+  config_delete(config);
+  unlink("batch_eof.bin");
+}
+
+/* A malicious batch record whose chunk carries a path-traversal wire path must
+ * be refused by the apply path — never applied outside the destination root.
+ * We craft a chunk whose wire path is `../escape.txt` (the local source file
+ * is a benign temp file; only the transmitted path is hostile) and assert the
+ * apply refuses it and nothing is created outside the root. */
+static void test_batch_reject_traversal_path() {
+  const char* content = "hostile traversal image\n";
+  size_t content_len = strlen(content);
+  file_write_to_disk("batch_trav_src.txt", content, content_len, false, false);
+
+  struct stat st;
+  EXPECT_EQ_INT(stat("batch_trav_src.txt", &st), 0);
+  File* f = file_create("batch_trav_src.txt");
+  EXPECT_NOT_NULL(f);
+  f->data->size = (unsigned long long)st.st_size;
+  EXPECT_TRUE(file_load_data(f));
+  f->send_path = str_dup("../escape.txt");
+  EXPECT_NOT_NULL(f->send_path);
+  File* files[1] = {f};
+  Chunk* chunk = chunk_create(files, 1);
+  EXPECT_NOT_NULL(chunk);
+
+  Config* config = config_create();
+  EXPECT_NOT_NULL(config);
+
+  int wfd = open("batch_trav.bin", O_WRONLY | O_CREAT | O_TRUNC, 0644);
+  EXPECT_TRUE(wfd >= 0);
+  EXPECT_TRUE(batch_write_header(wfd, config));
+  EXPECT_TRUE(batch_write_chunk(wfd, chunk));
+  EXPECT_EQ_INT(close(wfd), 0);
+  chunk_destroy(chunk); /* frees f and f->send_path */
+
+  int rfd = open("batch_trav.bin", O_RDONLY);
+  EXPECT_TRUE(rfd >= 0);
+  EXPECT_EQ_INT(batch_read_apply(rfd, config, "batch_dest"), -1);
+  EXPECT_EQ_INT(close(rfd), 0);
+  unlink("../escape.txt"); /* clear any stale file so the probe below is clean */
+  EXPECT_TRUE(access("../escape.txt", F_OK) != 0);
+
+  config_delete(config);
+  unlink("batch_trav.bin");
+  unlink("batch_trav_src.txt");
+}
+
 void test_batch() {
   test_batch_roundtrip();
   test_batch_roundtrip_metadata();
   test_batch_reject_bad_magic();
   test_batch_reject_truncated();
   test_batch_reject_oversized();
+  test_batch_reject_eof_after_prefix();
+  test_batch_reject_traversal_path();
 }
\ No newline at end of file