diff --git a/scripts/install.sh b/scripts/install.sh
index 18e661bddfbc..4b03681d7d0e 100755
--- a/scripts/install.sh
+++ b/scripts/install.sh
@@ -1217,7 +1217,21 @@ clone_repo() {
             git remote set-branches origin "$BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || true
             git fetch origin "$BRANCH"
             git checkout "$BRANCH"
-            git pull --ff-only origin "$BRANCH"
+            # Managed installs should follow origin/$BRANCH exactly. If both
+            # the local clone and the fetched remote advanced, fast-forwarding
+            # is impossible; mirror `hermes update` and reset to the fetched
+            # remote so the installer can recover instead of aborting.
+            local rev_counts local_ahead local_behind
+            rev_counts="$(git rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...origin/$BRANCH 2>/dev/null || true)"
+            set -- $rev_counts
+            local_ahead="${1:-0}"
+            local_behind="${2:-0}"
+            if [ "$local_ahead" -gt 0 ] && [ "$local_behind" -gt 0 ]; then
+                log_warn "History diverged from origin/$BRANCH; resetting managed install to the remote branch..."
+                git reset --hard "origin/$BRANCH"
+            else
+                git pull --ff-only origin "$BRANCH"
+            fi
 
             if [ -n "$autostash_ref" ]; then
                 local restore_now="yes"
diff --git a/tests/test_install_sh_diverged_update.py b/tests/test_install_sh_diverged_update.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..05f1e064d9f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_install_sh_diverged_update.py
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+"""Regression tests for install.sh updates from a diverged managed clone.
+
+Issue #53257 showed ``scripts/install.sh`` aborting during updates when the
+managed checkout had both local-only and remote-only commits. ``git pull
+--ff-only`` cannot resolve that state, so the installer must detect the
+divergence after ``git fetch`` and hard-reset the managed clone to
+``origin/$BRANCH`` instead of exiting with Git's fast-forward error.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import re
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+INSTALL_SH = REPO_ROOT / "scripts" / "install.sh"
+
+
+def _extract_clone_repo_update_block() -> str:
+    text = INSTALL_SH.read_text()
+    match = re.search(
+        r"(?P<block>git remote set-branches origin \"\$BRANCH\".*?git pull --ff-only origin \"\$BRANCH\".*?fi)",
+        text,
+        re.DOTALL,
+    )
+    assert match is not None, (
+        "Could not locate the managed-install update block in scripts/install.sh"
+    )
+    return match["block"]
+
+
+def test_install_script_detects_diverged_history_before_pull() -> None:
+    block = _extract_clone_repo_update_block()
+
+    assert 'git rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...origin/$BRANCH' in block
+    assert 'if [ "$local_ahead" -gt 0 ] && [ "$local_behind" -gt 0 ]; then' in block
+    assert 'git reset --hard "origin/$BRANCH"' in block
+
+
+def test_install_script_resets_diverged_clone_instead_of_aborting() -> None:
+    block = _extract_clone_repo_update_block()
+
+    rev_idx = block.find('git rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...origin/$BRANCH')
+    reset_idx = block.find('git reset --hard "origin/$BRANCH"')
+    pull_idx = block.find('git pull --ff-only origin "$BRANCH"')
+
+    assert rev_idx != -1, "expected divergence probe in clone_repo()"
+    assert reset_idx != -1, "expected reset fallback in clone_repo()"
+    assert pull_idx != -1, "expected ff-only pull path in clone_repo()"
+    assert rev_idx < reset_idx, "divergence probe must run before the reset fallback"
+    assert rev_idx < pull_idx, "divergence probe must run before the ff-only pull"