diff --git a/packages/cli/install.ps1 b/packages/cli/install.ps1
index 10100ca920..9aeadb8f42 100644
--- a/packages/cli/install.ps1
+++ b/packages/cli/install.ps1
@@ -178,9 +178,13 @@ function Configure-UserPath {
     }
 
     $newPath = "$binPath;$userPath"
-    [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $newPath, "User")
-    $env:Path = "$binPath;$env:Path"
-    return "true"
+    try {
+        [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $newPath, "User")
+        $env:Path = "$binPath;$env:Path"
+        return "true"
+    } catch {
+        Write-Error-Exit "Cannot update user PATH. Please check your system permissions and re-run the installer."
+    }
 }
 
 # Run vp env setup --refresh, showing output only on failure
diff --git a/packages/cli/install.sh b/packages/cli/install.sh
index 3f7b056254..aaa6227ca2 100644
--- a/packages/cli/install.sh
+++ b/packages/cli/install.sh
@@ -325,6 +325,10 @@ add_bin_to_path() {
   ref_pattern=$(printf '%s' "$INSTALL_DIR_REF" | sed 's/[.[\*^$()+?{|]/\\&/g')
 
   if [ -f "$shell_config" ]; then
+    if [ ! -w "$shell_config" ]; then
+      warn "Cannot write to $shell_config (permission denied), skipping."
+      return 1
+    fi
     if grep -q "${abs_pattern}/env" "$shell_config" 2>/dev/null || \
        grep -q "${ref_pattern}/env" "$shell_config" 2>/dev/null; then
       return 2