diff --git a/src/openvpn/plugin.c b/src/openvpn/plugin.c
index 377218662..2ad459cd3 100644
--- a/src/openvpn/plugin.c
+++ b/src/openvpn/plugin.c
@@ -277,11 +277,23 @@ plugin_init_item(struct plugin *p, const struct plugin_option *o)
 
 #else  /* ifndef _WIN32 */
 
-    rel = !platform_absolute_pathname(p->so_pathname);
-    p->module = LoadLibraryW(wide_string(p->so_pathname, &gc));
+    WCHAR *wpath = wide_string(p->so_pathname, &gc);
+    WCHAR normalized_plugin_path[MAX_PATH] = {0};
+    /* Normalize the plugin path, converting any relative paths to absolute paths. */
+    if (!GetFullPathNameW(wpath, MAX_PATH, normalized_plugin_path, NULL))
+    {
+        msg(M_ERR, "PLUGIN_INIT: could not load plugin DLL: %ls. Failed to normalize plugin path.", wpath);
+    }
+
+    if (!plugin_in_trusted_dir(normalized_plugin_path))
+    {
+        msg(M_FATAL, "PLUGIN_INIT: could not load plugin DLL: %ls. The DLL is not in a trusted directory.", normalized_plugin_path);
+    }
+
+    p->module = LoadLibraryW(normalized_plugin_path);
     if (!p->module)
     {
-        msg(M_ERR, "PLUGIN_INIT: could not load plugin DLL: %s", p->so_pathname);
+        msg(M_ERR, "PLUGIN_INIT: could not load plugin DLL: %ls", normalized_plugin_path);
     }
 
 #define PLUGIN_SYM(var, name, flags) dll_resolve_symbol(p->module, (void *)&p->var, name, p->so_pathname, flags)
diff --git a/src/openvpn/win32.c b/src/openvpn/win32.c
index a53cb3d89..d67d2bc4c 100644
--- a/src/openvpn/win32.c
+++ b/src/openvpn/win32.c
@@ -1525,27 +1525,24 @@ openvpn_swprintf(wchar_t *const str, const size_t size, const wchar_t *const for
     return (len >= 0 && len < size);
 }
 
-static BOOL
-get_install_path(WCHAR *path, DWORD size)
+bool
+get_openvpn_reg_value(const WCHAR *key, WCHAR *value, DWORD size)
 {
     WCHAR reg_path[256];
-    HKEY key;
-    BOOL res = FALSE;
+    HKEY hkey;
     openvpn_swprintf(reg_path, _countof(reg_path), L"SOFTWARE\\" PACKAGE_NAME);
 
-    LONG status = RegOpenKeyExW(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, reg_path, 0, KEY_READ, &key);
+    LONG status = RegOpenKeyExW(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, reg_path, 0, KEY_READ, &hkey);
     if (status != ERROR_SUCCESS)
     {
-        return res;
+        return false;
     }
 
-    /* The default value of REG_KEY is the install path */
-    status = RegGetValueW(key, NULL, NULL, RRF_RT_REG_SZ, NULL, (LPBYTE)path, &size);
-    res = status == ERROR_SUCCESS;
+    status = RegGetValueW(hkey, NULL, key, RRF_RT_REG_SZ, NULL, (LPBYTE)value, &size);
 
-    RegCloseKey(key);
+    RegCloseKey(hkey);
 
-    return res;
+    return status == ERROR_SUCCESS;
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1554,7 +1551,7 @@ set_openssl_env_vars()
     const WCHAR *ssl_fallback_dir = L"C:\\Windows\\System32";
 
     WCHAR install_path[MAX_PATH] = { 0 };
-    if (!get_install_path(install_path, _countof(install_path)))
+    if (!get_openvpn_reg_value(NULL, install_path, _countof(install_path)))
     {
         /* if we cannot find installation path from the registry,
          * use Windows directory as a fallback
@@ -1633,4 +1630,60 @@ win32_sleep(const int n)
         }
     }
 }
+
+bool
+plugin_in_trusted_dir(const WCHAR *plugin_path)
+{
+    /* UNC paths are not allowed */
+    if (wcsncmp(plugin_path, L"\\\\", 2) == 0)
+    {
+        msg(M_WARN, "UNC paths for plugins are not allowed.");
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    WCHAR plugin_dir[MAX_PATH] = { 0 };
+
+    /* Attempt to retrieve the trusted plugin directory path from the registry,
+     * using installation path as a fallback */
+    if (!get_openvpn_reg_value(L"plugin_dir", plugin_dir, _countof(plugin_dir))
+        && !get_openvpn_reg_value(NULL, plugin_dir, _countof(plugin_dir)))
+    {
+        msg(M_WARN, "Installation path could not be determined.");
+    }
+
+    /* Get the system directory */
+    WCHAR system_dir[MAX_PATH] = { 0 };
+    if (GetSystemDirectoryW(system_dir, _countof(system_dir)) == 0)
+    {
+        msg(M_NONFATAL | M_ERRNO, "Failed to get system directory.");
+    }
+
+    if ((wcslen(plugin_dir) == 0) && (wcslen(system_dir) == 0))
+    {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    WCHAR normalized_plugin_dir[MAX_PATH] = { 0 };
+
+    /* Normalize the plugin dir */
+    if (wcslen(plugin_dir) > 0)
+    {
+        if (!GetFullPathNameW(plugin_dir, MAX_PATH, normalized_plugin_dir, NULL))
+        {
+            msg(M_NONFATAL | M_ERRNO, "Failed to normalize plugin dir.");
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* Check if the plugin path resides within the plugin/install directory */
+    if ((wcslen(normalized_plugin_dir) > 0) && (wcsnicmp(normalized_plugin_dir,
+                                                         plugin_path, wcslen(normalized_plugin_dir)) == 0))
+    {
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    /* Fallback to the system directory */
+    return wcsnicmp(system_dir, plugin_path, wcslen(system_dir)) == 0;
+}
+
 #endif /* ifdef _WIN32 */
diff --git a/src/openvpn/win32.h b/src/openvpn/win32.h
index 83c3d0ae9..87d791767 100644
--- a/src/openvpn/win32.h
+++ b/src/openvpn/win32.h
@@ -333,5 +333,32 @@ openvpn_swprintf(wchar_t *const str, const size_t size, const wchar_t *const for
 /* Sleep that can be interrupted by signals and exit event */
 void win32_sleep(const int n);
 
+/**
+ * @brief Fetches a registry value for OpenVPN registry key.
+ *
+ * @param key Registry value name to fetch.
+ * @param value Buffer to store the fetched string value.
+ * @param size Size of `value` buffer in bytes.
+ * @return `true` if successful, `false` otherwise.
+ */
+bool
+get_openvpn_reg_value(const WCHAR *key, WCHAR *value, DWORD size);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Checks if a plugin is located in a trusted directory.
+ *
+ * Verifies the plugin's path against a trusted directory, which is:
+ *
+ * - "plugin_dir" registry value or installation path, if the registry key is missing
+ * - system directory
+ *
+ * UNC paths are explicitly disallowed.
+ *
+ * @param plugin_path Normalized path to the plugin.
+ * @return \c true if the plugin is in a trusted directory and not a UNC path; \c false otherwise.
+ */
+bool
+plugin_in_trusted_dir(const WCHAR *plugin_path);
+
 #endif /* ifndef OPENVPN_WIN32_H */
 #endif /* ifdef _WIN32 */