diff --git a/loading/loading.go b/loading/loading.go
index 0b38ac1..b06450c 100644
--- a/loading/loading.go
+++ b/loading/loading.go
@@ -84,7 +84,9 @@ func LoadStrategy(pth string, local, remote func(string) ([]byte, error), opts .
 
 			if isFSBacked {
 				// other fs.FS (e.g. os.DirFS) and os.Root loaders also use "/" on every platform.
-				// Escaping paths (absolute, "..", escaping symlinks) are rejected by the loader, not rewritten here.
+				// Path confinement is enforced by the loader, not here: the os.Root loader rebases
+				// absolute in-root paths and rejects escaping paths ("..", out-of-root absolute,
+				// escaping symlinks); an fs.FS loader rejects what its file system does not allow.
 				return local(filepath.ToSlash(cpth))
 			}
 
diff --git a/loading/options.go b/loading/options.go
index 2c12823..2bd60a1 100644
--- a/loading/options.go
+++ b/loading/options.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"io/fs"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"time"
 )
 
@@ -39,13 +40,21 @@ func (fo fileOptions) ReadFileFunc() func(string) ([]byte, error) {
 		root := fo.root
 
 		return func(name string) ([]byte, error) {
+			// os.Root only accepts paths relative to the root, but callers (and this package's
+			// own file:// handling) routinely produce absolute paths. Rebase an absolute path
+			// onto the root before handing it to os.Root.
+			rel, err := rootRelative(root, name)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, errors.Join(err, ErrLoader)
+			}
+
 			r, err := os.OpenRoot(root)
 			if err != nil {
 				return nil, errors.Join(err, ErrLoader)
 			}
 			defer func() { _ = r.Close() }()
 
-			return r.ReadFile(name)
+			return r.ReadFile(rel)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -56,6 +65,30 @@ func (fo fileOptions) ReadFileFunc() func(string) ([]byte, error) {
 	return fo.fs.ReadFile
 }
 
+// rootRelative expresses name as a path relative to root, so that it can be resolved by os.Root.
+//
+// A relative name is returned unchanged: os.Root confines it directly (including "../" traversal
+// and symlink escapes, which it rejects at open time).
+//
+// An absolute name is rebased onto root. If it cannot be expressed relative to root — for
+// example because it lives on a different volume on Windows — filepath.Rel returns an error,
+// which is propagated so the read is rejected rather than silently escaping the root. An
+// absolute path that lexically escapes root yields a "../" prefix here and is then rejected by
+// os.Root.
+func rootRelative(root, name string) (string, error) {
+	osName := filepath.FromSlash(name)
+	if !filepath.IsAbs(osName) {
+		return name, nil
+	}
+
+	absRoot, err := filepath.Abs(filepath.FromSlash(root))
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	return filepath.Rel(absRoot, osName)
+}
+
 // WithTimeout sets a timeout for the remote file loader.
 //
 // The default timeout is 30s.
@@ -123,10 +156,12 @@ func WithFS(filesystem fs.FS) Option {
 
 // WithRoot confines local file loading to dir.
 //
-// Every requested path is resolved relative to dir, and any path that would escape dir —
-// whether through an absolute path, ".." traversal, or a symlink pointing outside dir — is
-// rejected. This is built on [os.Root] and is therefore resistant to the symlink escapes
-// that a plain [os.DirFS] does not prevent.
+// Every requested path is resolved within dir. A relative path is resolved against dir; an
+// absolute path is rebased onto dir (so a caller that normalizes references to absolute paths,
+// such as github.com/go-openapi/spec, still resolves correctly). Any path that would escape dir
+// — through ".." traversal, an absolute path pointing outside dir, or a symlink pointing outside
+// dir — is rejected. This is built on [os.Root] and is therefore resistant to the symlink
+// escapes that a plain [os.DirFS] does not prevent.
 //
 // WithRoot is the recommended option when loading specs from a location derived from
 // untrusted input. It applies to local loading only and has no effect on remote
diff --git a/loading/withroot_test.go b/loading/withroot_test.go
index 232786d..cabf4ab 100644
--- a/loading/withroot_test.go
+++ b/loading/withroot_test.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"io/fs"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"testing/fstest"
 
@@ -53,6 +54,29 @@ func TestWithRoot(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	})
 
+	t.Run("should load absolute paths confined to the root", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Callers such as go-openapi/spec normalize $ref targets to absolute paths before
+		// loading. These must resolve when they point within the root (they are rebased onto it),
+		// not be rejected merely for being absolute.
+		abs := filepath.Join(root, "api.yaml")
+		for _, pth := range []string{
+			abs,                               // absolute path within the root
+			"file://" + filepath.ToSlash(abs), // absolute path within the root, via a file:// URI
+		} {
+			t.Run(pth, func(t *testing.T) {
+				b, err := LoadFromFileOrHTTP(pth, WithRoot(root))
+				require.NoError(t, err)
+				assert.EqualT(t, inside, string(b))
+			})
+		}
+
+		t.Run("nested absolute path", func(t *testing.T) {
+			b, err := LoadFromFileOrHTTP(filepath.Join(root, "sub", "api.yaml"), WithRoot(root))
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.EqualT(t, nested, string(b))
+		})
+	})
+
 	t.Run("should reject paths escaping the root", func(t *testing.T) {
 		for _, pth := range []string{
 			"file:///etc/passwd",                // absolute via file:// URI
@@ -112,3 +136,29 @@ func TestWithRoot(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.EqualT(t, secret, string(b))
 	})
 }
+
+func TestRootRelative(t *testing.T) {
+	root := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "root")
+
+	t.Run("relative names are returned unchanged", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// os.Root confines relative names directly, so they are passed through verbatim.
+		for _, name := range []string{"api.yaml", "sub/api.yaml", "sub/../api.yaml", "../escape.yaml"} {
+			got, err := rootRelative(root, name)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.EqualT(t, name, got)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("absolute in-root names are rebased onto the root", func(t *testing.T) {
+		got, err := rootRelative(root, filepath.Join(root, "sub", "api.yaml"))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.EqualT(t, filepath.Join("sub", "api.yaml"), got)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("absolute escaping names yield a traversal path (rejected later by os.Root)", func(t *testing.T) {
+		got, err := rootRelative(root, filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(root), "secret.txt"))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.TrueT(t, strings.HasPrefix(got, ".."+string(filepath.Separator)),
+			"expected a traversal path, got %q", got)
+	})
+}
diff --git a/loading/withroot_windows_test.go b/loading/withroot_windows_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..89cfe10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/loading/withroot_windows_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright 2015-2025 go-swagger maintainers
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+//go:build windows
+
+package loading
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/go-openapi/testify/v2/require"
+)
+
+func TestRootRelativeVolumeMismatch(t *testing.T) {
+	// A path on a different volume cannot be expressed relative to the root. filepath.Rel
+	// returns an error, which rootRelative must propagate so the read is rejected rather than
+	// silently escaping the root.
+	_, err := rootRelative(`C:\root`, `D:\secret.txt`)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+}