diff --git a/src/uu/install/locales/en-US.ftl b/src/uu/install/locales/en-US.ftl
index 76265a2b1ff..05905a3e7df 100644
--- a/src/uu/install/locales/en-US.ftl
+++ b/src/uu/install/locales/en-US.ftl
@@ -48,7 +48,9 @@ install-error-mutually-exclusive-compare-preserve = Options --compare and --pres
 install-error-mutually-exclusive-compare-strip = Options --compare and --strip are mutually exclusive
 install-error-missing-file-operand = missing file operand
 install-error-missing-destination-operand = missing destination file operand after { $path }
-install-error-failed-to-remove = Failed to remove existing file { $path }. Error: { $error }
+install-error-failed-to-access = failed to access { $path }
+install-error-failed-to-remove = cannot remove { $path }
+install-error-cannot-create-file = cannot create regular file { $path }
 
 # Warning messages
 install-warning-compare-ignored = the --compare (-C) option is ignored when you specify a mode with non-permission bits
diff --git a/src/uu/install/locales/fr-FR.ftl b/src/uu/install/locales/fr-FR.ftl
index 330ceb7b477..29077e0e984 100644
--- a/src/uu/install/locales/fr-FR.ftl
+++ b/src/uu/install/locales/fr-FR.ftl
@@ -48,7 +48,9 @@ install-error-mutually-exclusive-compare-preserve = Les options --compare et --p
 install-error-mutually-exclusive-compare-strip = Les options --compare et --strip sont mutuellement exclusives
 install-error-missing-file-operand = opérande de fichier manquant
 install-error-missing-destination-operand = opérande de fichier de destination manquant après { $path }
-install-error-failed-to-remove = Échec de la suppression du fichier existant { $path }. Erreur : { $error }
+install-error-failed-to-access = impossible d'accéder à { $path }
+install-error-failed-to-remove = impossible de supprimer { $path }
+install-error-cannot-create-file = impossible de créer le fichier { $path }
 
 # Messages d'avertissement
 install-warning-compare-ignored = l'option --compare (-C) est ignorée quand un mode est indiqué avec des bits non liés à des droits
diff --git a/src/uu/install/src/install.rs b/src/uu/install/src/install.rs
index 84eefdcc870..93b634031c3 100644
--- a/src/uu/install/src/install.rs
+++ b/src/uu/install/src/install.rs
@@ -678,7 +678,7 @@ fn standard(mut paths: Vec<OsString>, b: &Behavior) -> UResult<()> {
             return copy_files_into_dir(sources, &target, b);
         }
 
-        if target.is_file() || is_new_file_path(&target) {
+        if (target.exists() && !target.is_dir()) || is_new_file_path(&target) {
             copy(source, &target, b)
         } else {
             Err(InstallError::InvalidTarget(target).into())
@@ -820,6 +820,12 @@ fn copy_file(from: &Path, to: &Path) -> UResult<()> {
         }
     }
 
+    if let Err(e) = to.try_exists() {
+        return Err(e.map_err_context(
+            || translate!("install-error-failed-to-access", "path" => to.quote()),
+        ));
+    }
+
     if to.is_dir() && !from.is_dir() {
         return Err(InstallError::OverrideDirectoryFailed(
             to.to_path_buf().clone(),
@@ -833,10 +839,9 @@ fn copy_file(from: &Path, to: &Path) -> UResult<()> {
     // appears at this path between the remove and create, it will fail safely
     if let Err(e) = fs::remove_file(to) {
         if e.kind() != std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound {
-            show_error!(
-                "{}",
-                translate!("install-error-failed-to-remove", "path" => to.quote(), "error" => format!("{e:?}"))
-            );
+            return Err(e.map_err_context(
+                || translate!("install-error-failed-to-remove", "path" => to.quote()),
+            ));
         }
     }
 
@@ -846,7 +851,8 @@ fn copy_file(from: &Path, to: &Path) -> UResult<()> {
         .write(true)
         .create_new(true)
         .mode(0o600)
-        .open(to)?;
+        .open(to)
+        .map_err_context(|| translate!("install-error-cannot-create-file", "path" => to.quote()))?;
 
     copy_stream(&mut handle, &mut dest).map_err(|err| {
         InstallError::InstallFailed(from.to_path_buf(), to.to_path_buf(), err.to_string())
diff --git a/tests/by-util/test_install.rs b/tests/by-util/test_install.rs
index 32cdbee8ca0..96501b76f11 100644
--- a/tests/by-util/test_install.rs
+++ b/tests/by-util/test_install.rs
@@ -119,6 +119,30 @@ fn test_install_ancestors_mode_directories() {
     assert_eq!(0o40_200_u32, at.metadata(target_dir).permissions().mode());
 }
 
+#[test]
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+fn test_install_cannot_remove_destination() {
+    if geteuid() == 0 {
+        return;
+    }
+    new_ucmd!()
+        .args(&["/dev/null", "/dev/full"])
+        .fails()
+        .stderr_only("install: cannot remove '/dev/full': Permission denied\n");
+}
+
+#[test]
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+fn test_install_cannot_create_destination() {
+    if geteuid() == 0 {
+        return;
+    }
+    new_ucmd!()
+        .args(&["/dev/null", "/root/file"])
+        .fails()
+        .stderr_only("install: cannot create regular file '/root/file': Permission denied\n");
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn test_install_ancestors_mode_directories_with_file() {
     let (at, mut ucmd) = at_and_ucmd!();