diff --git a/haystack/components/converters/image/image_utils.py b/haystack/components/converters/image/image_utils.py
index 1775ae2aa53..742b08a9ce5 100644
--- a/haystack/components/converters/image/image_utils.py
+++ b/haystack/components/converters/image/image_utils.py
@@ -248,6 +248,18 @@ def _extract_image_sources_info(
             )
 
         resolved_file_path = Path(root_path, file_path)
+
+        # When root_path is set, ensure the resolved path stays within it to block path-traversal
+        # payloads (e.g. "../../etc/passwd") coming from document metadata.
+        if root_path:
+            resolved_file_path = resolved_file_path.resolve()
+            resolved_root = Path(root_path).resolve()
+            if not resolved_file_path.is_relative_to(resolved_root):
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"Document with ID '{doc.id}' has a file path '{file_path}' that escapes the "
+                    f"configured root '{root_path}'. Resolved path: '{resolved_file_path}'."
+                )
+
         if not resolved_file_path.is_file():
             raise ValueError(
                 f"Document with ID '{doc.id}' has an invalid file path '{resolved_file_path}'. "
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/image_utils-path-traversal-guard-951e4271322a3bf5.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/image_utils-path-traversal-guard-951e4271322a3bf5.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..db829f8fa92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/image_utils-path-traversal-guard-951e4271322a3bf5.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+security:
+  - |
+    Fixed a path-traversal issue in ``DocumentToImageContent`` and ``LLMDocumentContentExtractor``.
+    When ``root_path`` is set, a ``file_path`` in document metadata that escapes the root (via
+    ``../`` or an absolute path) now raises a ``ValueError`` before any file is read, preventing
+    attacker-controlled metadata from reading arbitrary files on the host.
diff --git a/test/components/converters/image/test_image_utils.py b/test/components/converters/image/test_image_utils.py
index 6fb37c1edbc..ac455f16420 100644
--- a/test/components/converters/image/test_image_utils.py
+++ b/test/components/converters/image/test_image_utils.py
@@ -149,6 +149,31 @@ def test_extract_image_source_info_errors(self, test_files_path):
         with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="missing the 'page_number' key"):
             _extract_image_sources_info(documents=[document], file_path_meta_field="file_path", root_path="")
 
+    def test_extract_image_source_info_rejects_path_traversal(self, test_files_path):
+        # Attacker-controlled document metadata attempts to escape the configured root.
+        document = Document(content="test", meta={"file_path": "../../../../../../etc/passwd"})
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="escapes the configured root"):
+            _extract_image_sources_info(
+                documents=[document], file_path_meta_field="file_path", root_path=str(test_files_path / "images")
+            )
+
+    def test_extract_image_source_info_rejects_absolute_outside_root(self, test_files_path):
+        # Absolute path that lies outside the configured root must be rejected before any IO.
+        document = Document(content="test", meta={"file_path": "/etc/passwd"})
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="escapes the configured root"):
+            _extract_image_sources_info(
+                documents=[document], file_path_meta_field="file_path", root_path=str(test_files_path / "images")
+            )
+
+    def test_extract_image_source_info_accepts_path_inside_root(self, test_files_path):
+        # When the resolved path is inside the configured root, processing must succeed.
+        document = Document(content="test", meta={"file_path": "haystack-logo.png"})
+        images_source_info = _extract_image_sources_info(
+            documents=[document], file_path_meta_field="file_path", root_path=str(test_files_path / "images")
+        )
+        assert len(images_source_info) == 1
+        assert images_source_info[0]["mime_type"] == "image/png"
+
 
 class TestBatchConvertPdfPagesToImages:
     @patch("haystack.components.converters.image.image_utils._convert_pdf_to_images")