diff --git a/docs/ghidra-provider.md b/docs/ghidra-provider.md
index febb264655..8c6ad61a62 100644
--- a/docs/ghidra-provider.md
+++ b/docs/ghidra-provider.md
@@ -15,7 +15,11 @@ snapshot parser and a separate optional annotation extension. Check the
 [release boundary](installation.md#released-package-and-main) when using npm.
 
 See [import language and analysis seeds](installation.md#ghidra-import-language-and-analysis-seeds)
-to override the header-detected language or seed analysis.
+to override the header-detected language or seed analysis. An inaccessible language
+catalog remains a read failure; it does not prove that a configured language is
+undefined. Installation `application.properties` has a fixed 1 MiB read allowance
+with no runtime override. The failure retains that allowance and directs recovery
+at the selected installation metadata.
 
 Provider selection and profile identity follow
 [MCP contracts](mcp-contracts.md#identity-and-discovery). One deep
diff --git a/src/ghidra/GhidraInstallationProperties.ts b/src/ghidra/GhidraInstallationProperties.ts
index 10d42d19e9..3c93ceef13 100644
--- a/src/ghidra/GhidraInstallationProperties.ts
+++ b/src/ghidra/GhidraInstallationProperties.ts
@@ -2,11 +2,15 @@ import { createHash } from "node:crypto";
 import type { RetainedResourceScope } from "../application/AnalysisProvider.js";
 import {
   artifactFileCompletion,
+  mapArtifactFileFailure,
   ArtifactFileCleanupFailure,
   artifactFilePrimaryFailure,
   withArtifactRegularFile,
 } from "../artifacts/ArtifactFileOperation.js";
 import { jsonValueSchema } from "../domain/jsonValue.js";
+import { RegularFileCapacityError } from "../filesystem/readStableFileBytes.js";
+import { AnalysisResourceConstraintError } from "../domain/analysisErrorCore.js";
+import { fixedProducerInputAllowance } from "../domain/fixedAllowanceRemediation.js";
 import { NonRegularFileReadError } from "../filesystem/RegularFile.js";
 import { readStableFileBytes } from "../filesystem/readStableFileBytes.js";
 import { ghidraApplicationProperties } from "./GhidraInstallationPolicy.js";
@@ -85,6 +89,27 @@ export const readGhidraInstallationProperties = async (
             },
           }),
     };
-    throw ghidraFileFailure(cause, "ghidra:installation", diagnostics);
+    const qualified = mapArtifactFileFailure(cause, (primary) =>
+      primary instanceof RegularFileCapacityError
+        ? new AnalysisResourceConstraintError(
+            "ghidra:installation",
+            "file-size",
+            primary.message,
+            {
+              maximum_bytes: primary.maximumBytes,
+              observed_bytes: primary.observedBytes.toString(),
+            },
+            {
+              cause: primary,
+              diagnostics,
+              ...fixedProducerInputAllowance(
+                MAX_GHIDRA_INSTALLATION_PROPERTIES_BYTES,
+                "The Ghidra installation-properties read allowance",
+              ),
+            },
+          )
+        : primary,
+    );
+    throw ghidraFileFailure(qualified, "ghidra:installation", diagnostics);
   }
 };
diff --git a/src/ghidra/GhidraLanguageCatalog.ts b/src/ghidra/GhidraLanguageCatalog.ts
index d6f28e21df..27b6319bd2 100644
--- a/src/ghidra/GhidraLanguageCatalog.ts
+++ b/src/ghidra/GhidraLanguageCatalog.ts
@@ -58,8 +58,10 @@ const languageDirectories = async (installDir: string): Promise<string[]> => {
     let modules: string[];
     try {
       modules = await readdir(join(installDir, root));
-    } catch {
-      continue;
+    } catch (cause: unknown) {
+      if (cause instanceof Error && "code" in cause && cause.code === "ENOENT")
+        continue;
+      throw cause;
     }
     for (const module of modules.sort())
       directories.push(join(installDir, root, module, "data", "languages"));
@@ -111,8 +113,15 @@ export const readGhidraLanguageCatalog = (
       let entries: string[];
       try {
         entries = await readdir(directory);
-      } catch {
-        continue;
+      } catch (cause: unknown) {
+        // A module may contain no language directory; inability to read one is not absence.
+        if (
+          cause instanceof Error &&
+          "code" in cause &&
+          (cause.code === "ENOENT" || cause.code === "ENOTDIR")
+        )
+          continue;
+        throw cause;
       }
       for (const entry of entries.sort()) {
         if (!entry.endsWith(".ldefs")) continue;
diff --git a/src/ghidra/GhidraLanguageOverride.test.ts b/src/ghidra/GhidraLanguageOverride.test.ts
index 28ef19e05e..29b46b7c62 100644
--- a/src/ghidra/GhidraLanguageOverride.test.ts
+++ b/src/ghidra/GhidraLanguageOverride.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,11 @@
-import { mkdir, mkdtemp, rm, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import {
+  chmod,
+  mkdir,
+  mkdtemp,
+  readdir,
+  rm,
+  writeFile,
+} from "node:fs/promises";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join, parse, relative } from "node:path";
 import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
@@ -402,3 +409,35 @@ describe("Ghidra language override profile", () => {
     ).toBe(false);
   });
 });
+
+it
+  .skipIf(process.platform === "win32" || process.getuid?.() === 0)
+  .each(["Ghidra/Processors", "Ghidra/Processors/x86/data/languages"])(
+  "preserves a physical refusal reading the language catalog directory %s",
+  async (relativePath) => {
+    const root = await createTestTempDirectory(
+      "rea-ghidra-catalog-permission-",
+    );
+    const languages = join(root, "Ghidra/Processors/x86/data/languages");
+    await mkdir(languages, { recursive: true });
+    await writeFile(join(languages, "x86.ldefs"), X86_LDEFS);
+    const resources = new ArtifactResourceScope();
+    const blocked = join(root, relativePath);
+    try {
+      const original = await readGhidraLanguageCatalog(root, resources);
+      expect(original.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+      await chmod(blocked, 0);
+      await expect(readdir(blocked)).rejects.toMatchObject({ code: "EACCES" });
+      await expect(
+        readGhidraLanguageCatalog(root, resources),
+      ).rejects.toMatchObject({ code: "EACCES", path: blocked });
+      await chmod(blocked, 0o755);
+      expect(await readGhidraLanguageCatalog(root, resources)).toEqual(
+        original,
+      );
+    } finally {
+      await chmod(blocked, 0o755);
+      await resources.close();
+    }
+  },
+);
diff --git a/tests/boundary/filesystem/ghidraInstallationProperties.test.ts b/tests/boundary/filesystem/ghidraInstallationProperties.test.ts
index 7cf0f4777a..97cf2a61da 100644
--- a/tests/boundary/filesystem/ghidraInstallationProperties.test.ts
+++ b/tests/boundary/filesystem/ghidraInstallationProperties.test.ts
@@ -153,11 +153,15 @@ it("refuses an oversized descriptor before reading file bytes", async () => {
   };
   const resources = createInspectionResources();
   try {
-    await expect(
-      readGhidraInstallationProperties(path, {
-        resourceOwner: resources.owner,
-      }),
-    ).rejects.toMatchObject({
+    const failure = await readGhidraInstallationProperties(path, {
+      resourceOwner: resources.owner,
+    }).then(
+      () => {
+        throw new Error("Oversized properties accepted");
+      },
+      (cause) => cause as AnalysisError,
+    );
+    expect(failure).toMatchObject({
       _tag: "AnalysisResourceConstraintError",
       resource: "file-size",
       retryable: false,
@@ -167,6 +171,18 @@ it("refuses an oversized descriptor before reading file bytes", async () => {
       },
       diagnostics: { path, stage: "installation_properties" },
     });
+    expect(projectAnalysisError(failure)).toMatchObject({
+      code: "resource_constraint",
+      retryable: false,
+      remediation: {
+        action: expect.stringContaining(
+          "Ghidra installation-properties read allowance of 1048576 bytes (this release has no runtime override)",
+        ),
+      },
+    });
+    expect(projectAnalysisError(failure).remediation.action).toContain(
+      "Increasing an evidence-reply file-size allowance does not admit this input",
+    );
     expect(reads).toBe(0);
   } finally {
     await resources.close();