diff --git a/crates/bashkit/src/fs/realfs.rs b/crates/bashkit/src/fs/realfs.rs
index 95553e2a..997c2c90 100644
--- a/crates/bashkit/src/fs/realfs.rs
+++ b/crates/bashkit/src/fs/realfs.rs
@@ -369,23 +369,16 @@ impl FsBackend for RealFs {
         Ok(())
     }
 
-    async fn symlink(&self, target: &Path, link: &Path) -> Result<()> {
-        self.check_writable()?;
-        let real_link = self.resolve(link)?;
-        // Store the target as-is (virtual path) - symlinks are stored but
-        // not followed per security policy (TM-ESC-002)
-        #[cfg(unix)]
-        tokio::fs::symlink(target, &real_link).await?;
-        #[cfg(not(unix))]
-        {
-            let _ = (target, &real_link);
-            return Err(IoError::new(
-                ErrorKind::Unsupported,
-                "symlinks not supported on this platform",
-            )
-            .into());
-        }
-        Ok(())
+    /// THREAT[TM-ESC-003]: Symlink creation is blocked in RealFs to prevent
+    /// sandbox escape. Even though bashkit itself doesn't follow symlinks
+    /// (TM-ESC-002), any external process sharing the directory tree would
+    /// follow them, enabling reads/writes to arbitrary host paths.
+    async fn symlink(&self, _target: &Path, _link: &Path) -> Result<()> {
+        Err(IoError::new(
+            ErrorKind::PermissionDenied,
+            "symlink creation is not allowed in RealFs (sandbox security)",
+        )
+        .into())
     }
 
     async fn read_link(&self, path: &Path) -> Result<PathBuf> {
diff --git a/crates/bashkit/tests/realfs_tests.rs b/crates/bashkit/tests/realfs_tests.rs
index d65ba2cd..6a6b8c85 100644
--- a/crates/bashkit/tests/realfs_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/bashkit/tests/realfs_tests.rs
@@ -297,3 +297,48 @@ async fn direct_fs_api_exists() {
     assert!(fs.exists(Path::new("/mnt/data/hello.txt")).await.unwrap());
     assert!(!fs.exists(Path::new("/mnt/data/nope.txt")).await.unwrap());
 }
+
+// ==================== Symlink sandbox escape prevention (Issue #979) ====================
+
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn realfs_symlink_absolute_escape_blocked() {
+    let dir = setup_host_dir();
+    let mut bash = Bash::builder()
+        .mount_real_readwrite_at(dir.path(), "/mnt/workspace")
+        .build();
+
+    // Attempt to create a symlink pointing to /etc/passwd
+    let r = bash
+        .exec("ln -s /etc/passwd /mnt/workspace/escape 2>&1; echo $?")
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    // Should fail with non-zero exit code
+    assert!(
+        r.stdout.trim().ends_with('1')
+            || r.stdout.contains("not allowed")
+            || r.stdout.contains("Permission denied"),
+        "Symlink creation should be blocked, got: {}",
+        r.stdout
+    );
+}
+
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn realfs_symlink_relative_escape_blocked() {
+    let dir = setup_host_dir();
+    let mut bash = Bash::builder()
+        .mount_real_readwrite_at(dir.path(), "/mnt/workspace")
+        .build();
+
+    // Attempt relative path traversal via symlink
+    let r = bash
+        .exec("ln -s ../../../../etc/passwd /mnt/workspace/escape 2>&1; echo $?")
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        r.stdout.trim().ends_with('1')
+            || r.stdout.contains("not allowed")
+            || r.stdout.contains("Permission denied"),
+        "Relative symlink escape should be blocked, got: {}",
+        r.stdout
+    );
+}