diff --git a/src/azure-cli/azure/cli/command_modules/acs/custom.py b/src/azure-cli/azure/cli/command_modules/acs/custom.py
index 9854f9620de..3700a77786a 100644
--- a/src/azure-cli/azure/cli/command_modules/acs/custom.py
+++ b/src/azure-cli/azure/cli/command_modules/acs/custom.py
@@ -2050,11 +2050,32 @@ def merge_kubernetes_configurations(existing_file, addition_file, replace, conte
                 existing_file_perms,
             )
 
+    # Refuse to write through a symlink
+    if os.path.islink(existing_file):
+        raise CLIError(
+            'Kubeconfig path "{}" is a symbolic link. '
+            'Refusing to write to prevent symlink-following attacks.'.format(existing_file)
+        )
+
+    # Atomic write: write to a temp file in the same directory, then replace
+    parent_dir = os.path.dirname(existing_file) or '.'
+    tmp_fd, tmp_path = tempfile.mkstemp(dir=parent_dir)
     try:
-        with open(existing_file, 'w+') as stream:
+        with os.fdopen(tmp_fd, 'w') as stream:
             yaml.safe_dump(existing, stream, default_flow_style=False)
-    except OSError as ex:
-        if getattr(ex, 'errno', 0) in (errno.EACCES, errno.EPERM, errno.EROFS):
+        # Preserve existing file permissions if available, otherwise default to 0600
+        if os.path.exists(existing_file):
+            existing_mode = stat.S_IMODE(os.stat(existing_file).st_mode)
+            os.chmod(tmp_path, existing_mode)
+        else:
+            os.chmod(tmp_path, 0o600)
+        os.replace(tmp_path, existing_file)
+    except Exception as ex:  # pylint: disable=broad-except
+        try:
+            os.unlink(tmp_path)
+        except OSError:
+            pass
+        if isinstance(ex, OSError) and getattr(ex, 'errno', 0) in (errno.EACCES, errno.EPERM, errno.EROFS):
             raise FileOperationError(
                 'Permission denied when trying to write to {}. '
                 'Please ensure you have write access to this file, or specify a different file path '
diff --git a/src/azure-cli/azure/cli/command_modules/acs/tests/latest/test_custom.py b/src/azure-cli/azure/cli/command_modules/acs/tests/latest/test_custom.py
index 4844bb7ca3c..fe40396e062 100644
--- a/src/azure-cli/azure/cli/command_modules/acs/tests/latest/test_custom.py
+++ b/src/azure-cli/azure/cli/command_modules/acs/tests/latest/test_custom.py
@@ -484,6 +484,41 @@ def test_merge_credentials_already_present(self):
         self.assertEqual(merged['users'], expected_users)
         self.assertEqual(merged['current-context'], obj2['current-context'])
 
+    @unittest.skipIf(os.name == 'nt', 'Symlink test not applicable on Windows')
+    def test_merge_credentials_rejects_symlink(self):
+        # Create a real kubeconfig file and a symlink pointing to it
+        target = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False, suffix='.kubeconfig')
+        target.close()
+        with open(target.name, 'w') as f:
+            yaml.safe_dump({'clusters': [], 'contexts': [], 'users': [],
+                            'current-context': '', 'kind': 'Config'}, f)
+        self.addCleanup(os.remove, target.name)
+
+        symlink_path = target.name + '.link'
+        os.symlink(target.name, symlink_path)
+        self.addCleanup(lambda: os.remove(symlink_path) if os.path.islink(symlink_path) else None)
+
+        addition = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False)
+        addition.close()
+        obj = {
+            'clusters': [{'cluster': {'server': 'https://test'}, 'name': 'c1'}],
+            'contexts': [{'context': {'cluster': 'c1', 'user': 'u1'}, 'name': 'ctx1'}],
+            'users': [{'name': 'u1', 'user': {'token': 'tok'}}],
+            'current-context': 'ctx1',
+        }
+        with open(addition.name, 'w') as f:
+            yaml.safe_dump(obj, f)
+        self.addCleanup(os.remove, addition.name)
+
+        # Should raise CLIError when existing_file is a symlink
+        with self.assertRaises(CLIError):
+            merge_kubernetes_configurations(symlink_path, addition.name, False)
+
+        # Verify the symlink target was not modified
+        with open(target.name, 'r') as f:
+            content = yaml.safe_load(f)
+        self.assertEqual(content['clusters'], [])
+
     @mock.patch('azure.cli.command_modules.acs.addonconfiguration.get_rg_location', return_value='eastus')
     @mock.patch('azure.cli.command_modules.acs.addonconfiguration.get_resource_groups_client', autospec=True)
     @mock.patch('azure.cli.command_modules.acs.addonconfiguration.get_resources_client', autospec=True)