diff --git a/src/domain/apple/machoLoadCommands.ts b/src/domain/apple/machoLoadCommands.ts
index b31dadeb67..f8889e32f2 100644
--- a/src/domain/apple/machoLoadCommands.ts
+++ b/src/domain/apple/machoLoadCommands.ts
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ export interface MachoLoadCommandTableHeader {
   readonly commandBytes: number;
 }
 
-/** Read only the thin header's load-command framing; other formats return null. */
-export const readMachoLoadCommandTableHeader = (
+/** Decode thin-header declarations without admitting their table extent. */
+export const readMachoLoadCommandDeclarations = (
   bytes: Uint8Array,
   fileSize: number,
 ): Result<MachoLoadCommandTableHeader | null, string> => {
@@ -28,10 +28,6 @@ export const readMachoLoadCommandTableHeader = (
     );
   const littleEndian = magic === 0xcefaedfe || magic === 0xcffaedfe;
   const commandBytes = view.getUint32(20, littleEndian);
-  if (commandBytes > fileSize - headerSize)
-    return err(
-      `truncated Mach-O load commands: the header declares ${commandBytes} bytes after its ${headerSize}-byte header; the file has ${fileSize}`,
-    );
   return ok({
     headerSize,
     wide,
@@ -41,6 +37,21 @@ export const readMachoLoadCommandTableHeader = (
   });
 };
 
+/** Admit the declared command table within the complete file's extent. */
+export const readMachoLoadCommandTableHeader = (
+  bytes: Uint8Array,
+  fileSize: number,
+): Result<MachoLoadCommandTableHeader | null, string> => {
+  const parsed = readMachoLoadCommandDeclarations(bytes, fileSize);
+  if (!parsed.ok || parsed.value === null) return parsed;
+  const { commandBytes, headerSize } = parsed.value;
+  if (commandBytes > fileSize - headerSize)
+    return err(
+      `truncated Mach-O load commands: the header declares ${commandBytes} bytes after its ${headerSize}-byte header; the file has ${fileSize}`,
+    );
+  return parsed;
+};
+
 /** One owner's count, alignment and extent proof for a sequential command walk. */
 export class MachoLoadCommandCursor {
   #index = 0;
diff --git a/src/native/metadata/MachoImage.ts b/src/native/metadata/MachoImage.ts
index 62408057bf..9a41228db2 100644
--- a/src/native/metadata/MachoImage.ts
+++ b/src/native/metadata/MachoImage.ts
@@ -8,18 +8,21 @@ import {
   type LoadRegion,
   type ZeroFillMapping,
 } from "./BinaryContainer.js";
-import { MachoLoadCommandCursor } from "../../domain/apple/machoLoadCommands.js";
+import {
+  MachoLoadCommandCursor,
+  readMachoLoadCommandDeclarations,
+} from "../../domain/apple/machoLoadCommands.js";
 
 /** Read thin Mach-O images, retaining the slice's exact file-backed mappings. */
 export const readMachoImage = (bytes: Buffer): BinaryContainer => {
-  const magic = bytes.readUInt32BE(0);
-  const little = magic === 0xcefaedfe || magic === 0xcffaedfe;
-  const bits = magic === 0xfeedfacf || magic === 0xcffaedfe ? 64 : 32;
+  const parsed = readMachoLoadCommandDeclarations(bytes, bytes.length);
+  if (!parsed.ok) throw new BinaryFormatFailure("malformed", parsed.error);
+  if (parsed.value === null)
+    throw new BinaryFormatFailure("malformed", "Unrecognized Mach-O header");
+  const table = parsed.value;
+  const { headerSize, commandBytes, littleEndian: little } = table;
+  const bits = table.wide ? 64 : 32;
   const reader = new BinaryReader(bytes, little);
-  const headerSize = bits === 64 ? 32 : 28;
-  reader.range(0, headerSize, "Mach-O header");
-  const count = reader.u32(16);
-  const commandBytes = reader.u32(20);
   const commandStart = reader.table(
     BigInt(headerSize),
     commandBytes,
@@ -32,12 +35,7 @@ export const readMachoImage = (bytes: Buffer): BinaryContainer => {
   const zeroFills: ZeroFillMapping[] = [];
   const sections: ImageSection[] = [];
   let chainedFixups = false;
-  const commands = new MachoLoadCommandCursor({
-    wide: bits === 64,
-    littleEndian: little,
-    commandCount: count,
-    commandBytes,
-  });
+  const commands = new MachoLoadCommandCursor(table);
   while (commands.nextOffset !== null) {
     const offset = commandStart + commands.nextOffset;
     const frame = commands.read(bytes.subarray(offset, offset + 8));
diff --git a/tests/boundary/filesystem/machoCommandAdmission.test.ts b/tests/boundary/filesystem/machoCommandAdmission.test.ts
index 9edd6d5320..64d0abe735 100644
--- a/tests/boundary/filesystem/machoCommandAdmission.test.ts
+++ b/tests/boundary/filesystem/machoCommandAdmission.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@ import { writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 import { expect, it } from "vitest";
 
+import { BinaryResourceFailure } from "../../../src/native/metadata/BinaryContainer.js";
+import { readMachoLoadCommandTableHeader } from "../../../src/domain/apple/machoLoadCommands.js";
+import { readBinaryContainer } from "../../../src/native/metadata/readBinaryContainer.js";
 import { parseBinaryTarget } from "../../../src/application/BinaryTargetResolver.js";
 import { thinMach } from "../../../src/domain/binaryTarget.fixture.js";
 import { parseExecutableHeader } from "../../../src/domain/binaryTarget.js";
@@ -46,6 +49,7 @@ it.each([
   { label: "undersized", field: 36, value: 4 },
   { label: "unaligned", field: 36, value: 12 },
   { label: "outside table", field: 36, value: 0xffffffff },
+  { label: "truncated declared table", field: 20, value: 24 },
   { label: "too many commands", field: 16, value: 2 },
   { label: "unclaimed table bytes", field: 16, value: 0 },
   { label: "trailing table bytes", field: 36, value: 8 },
@@ -60,6 +64,7 @@ it.each([
     );
     await writeFile(path, bytes);
     expect(parseExecutableHeader(bytes, "arm64").ok).toBe(false);
+    expect(() => readBinaryContainer(bytes)).toThrow(/load command/iu);
     const resolved = await parseBinaryTarget(path);
     expect(resolved.ok).toBe(false);
     if (resolved.ok || !(resolved.error instanceof BinaryTargetError))
@@ -86,6 +91,11 @@ it.each([
       "image",
     );
     await writeFile(path, bytes);
+    expect(readBinaryContainer(bytes)).toMatchObject({
+      format: "macho",
+      bits: wide ? 64 : 32,
+      byte_order: littleEndian ? "little" : "big",
+    });
     expect(await parseBinaryTarget(path)).toMatchObject({
       ok: true,
       value: { format: "mach-o", architecture: wide ? "arm64" : "x86" },
@@ -150,3 +160,14 @@ it.each([null, 0, 1])(
       });
   },
 );
+
+it("preserves native capacity priority when the command table also exceeds the file", () => {
+  const bytes = commandImage(true, true, [16]);
+  bytes.writeUInt32LE(16 * 1024 * 1024 + 1, 20);
+  expect(() => readBinaryContainer(bytes)).toThrow(BinaryResourceFailure);
+  const bounded = readMachoLoadCommandTableHeader(bytes, bytes.length);
+  expect(bounded).toMatchObject({
+    ok: false,
+    error: expect.stringContaining("truncated Mach-O load commands"),
+  });
+});