diff --git a/docs/FORMAT.md b/docs/FORMAT.md
index 6758f88..d571a97 100644
--- a/docs/FORMAT.md
+++ b/docs/FORMAT.md
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ All `path` values must satisfy these invariants:
 - **Forward slashes**: use `/` as the path separator (never `\`)
 - **Relative only**: no leading `/`
 - **No parent traversal**: no `..` path segments
+- **No current-directory segments**: no `.` path segments
 - **No empty segments**: no `//` sequences
 - **No trailing slash**: paths refer to files, not directories
 - **Listed once**: each path appears at most once in a manifest, compared byte
diff --git a/internal/cli/fetch_test.go b/internal/cli/fetch_test.go
index 98b5bdc..e57a1b6 100644
--- a/internal/cli/fetch_test.go
+++ b/internal/cli/fetch_test.go
@@ -1243,10 +1243,10 @@ func TestFetchRequireSignature(t *testing.T) {
 
 // TestFetchRefusesListedManifestName fetches manifests that list, at the
 // top of the tree, the name fetch saves the manifest under or that name's
-// temp file: as a file, as a directory, in capitals, and with a leading
-// "./". Saving the manifest would replace or remove what is listed there,
-// so fetch must refuse the manifest before it creates the destination or
-// requests any file.
+// temp file: as a file, as a directory and in capitals. Saving the
+// manifest would replace or remove what is listed there, so fetch must
+// refuse the manifest before it creates the destination or requests any
+// file.
 func TestFetchRefusesListedManifestName(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
@@ -1255,7 +1255,6 @@ func TestFetchRefusesListedManifestName(t *testing.T) {
 		tempPathFor(defaultManifestName),
 		defaultManifestName + "/" + testFileTxt,
 		"INDEX.MF",
-		"./" + defaultManifestName,
 	} {
 		t.Run(listed, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()
@@ -1331,9 +1330,9 @@ func TestFetchRefusesListedTempName(t *testing.T) {
 // directory, one of them under a spelling the manifest does not list,
 // and check reports that file as not in the manifest. So fetch must
 // refuse each on every filesystem before it creates the destination or
-// requests any file. A file and a directory with the same name, and a
-// file listed twice, are refused the same way. A manifest whose names
-// differ in more than letter case is fetched in full.
+// requests any file. A file and a directory with the same name are
+// refused the same way. A manifest whose names differ in more than
+// letter case is fetched in full.
 func TestFetchRefusesNamesEqualIgnoringCase(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
@@ -1343,7 +1342,6 @@ func TestFetchRefusesNamesEqualIgnoringCase(t *testing.T) {
 		{"Dir", "dir/x", "dir/x (the file Dir)"},
 		{"Dir/a.txt", "dir/b.txt", "dir/b.txt (the directory Dir)"},
 		{"dir", "dir/x", "dir/x (the file dir)"},
-		{"./x.txt", "x.txt", "x.txt (the file ./x.txt)"},
 	} {
 		t.Run(tc.first+" and "+tc.second, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()
@@ -1573,8 +1571,7 @@ func manifestWithMode(t *testing.T, path string, content []byte, mode uint32) []
 }
 
 // builtManifest returns a manifest of files, built directly rather than
-// scanned, since a scan lists no hidden files and never a path starting
-// with "./".
+// scanned, since a scan lists no hidden files.
 func builtManifest(t *testing.T, files map[string][]byte) []byte {
 	t.Helper()
 
diff --git a/mfer/builder.go b/mfer/builder.go
index a6a0d84..33cfd39 100644
--- a/mfer/builder.go
+++ b/mfer/builder.go
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ var (
 	errPathAbsolute     = errors.New("is absolute; must be relative")
 	errPathEmptySegment = errors.New("contains empty segment")
 	errPathDotDot       = errors.New("contains '..' segment")
+	errPathDot          = errors.New("contains '.' segment")
 	errSizeMismatch     = errors.New("size mismatch")
 	errNegativeSize     = errors.New("size cannot be negative")
 	errHashNotMultihash = errors.New("hash is not a valid multihash")
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ var (
 //   - Must use forward slashes only (no backslashes)
 //   - Must be relative (no leading /)
 //   - Must not contain ".." segments
+//   - Must not contain "." segments
 //   - Must not contain empty segments (no "//")
 //   - Must not be empty
 func ValidatePath(p string) error {
@@ -73,6 +75,10 @@ func ValidatePath(p string) error {
 		if seg == ".." {
 			return fmt.Errorf("path %q %w", p, errPathDotDot)
 		}
+
+		if seg == "." {
+			return fmt.Errorf("path %q %w", p, errPathDot)
+		}
 	}
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/mfer/builder_test.go b/mfer/builder_test.go
index db4f5ce..ae4bff0 100644
--- a/mfer/builder_test.go
+++ b/mfer/builder_test.go
@@ -286,6 +286,9 @@ func TestValidatePath(t *testing.T) {
 		{"has/../traversal", "dot-dot segment"},
 		{"has//double", "empty segment"},
 		{"..", "just dot-dot"},
+		{"./a.txt", "leading dot segment"},
+		{"dir/./a.txt", "interior dot segment"},
+		{".", "just dot"},
 		{string([]byte{0xff, 0xfe}), "invalid UTF-8"},
 	}
 	for _, tt := range invalid {
diff --git a/mfer/deserialize_path_test.go b/mfer/deserialize_path_test.go
index b722f15..cbaadea 100644
--- a/mfer/deserialize_path_test.go
+++ b/mfer/deserialize_path_test.go
@@ -80,6 +80,8 @@ func TestDeserializeRejectsInvalidEntryPaths(t *testing.T) {
 	}{
 		{"parent traversal", "../escape"},
 		{"interior traversal", "a/../../escape"},
+		{"leading dot segment", "./a.txt"},
+		{"interior dot segment", "dir/./a.txt"},
 		{"absolute path", "/etc/passwd"},
 		{"backslash path", `a\b`},
 		{"double slash", "a//b"},
diff --git a/mfer/errmsg_test.go b/mfer/errmsg_test.go
index 1f2d3c9..1e51c03 100644
--- a/mfer/errmsg_test.go
+++ b/mfer/errmsg_test.go
@@ -62,6 +62,12 @@ func TestValidatePathMessagesVerbatim(t *testing.T) {
 			want: `path "a/../b" contains '..' segment`,
 			is:   errPathDotDot,
 		},
+		{
+			name: "dot segment",
+			path: "dir/./a.txt",
+			want: `path "dir/./a.txt" contains '.' segment`,
+			is:   errPathDot,
+		},
 	} {
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()