diff --git a/builtin/clean.c b/builtin/clean.c
index 98a2860..3ff02bb 100644
--- a/builtin/clean.c
+++ b/builtin/clean.c
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@ static const char *msg_skip_git_dir = N_("Skipping repository %s\n");
 static const char *msg_would_skip_git_dir = N_("Would skip repository %s\n");
 static const char *msg_warn_remove_failed = N_("failed to remove %s");
 static const char *msg_warn_lstat_failed = N_("could not lstat %s\n");
+static const char *msg_skip_cwd = N_("Refusing to remove current working directory\n");
+static const char *msg_would_skip_cwd = N_("Would refuse to remove current working directory\n");
 
 enum color_clean {
 	CLEAN_COLOR_RESET = 0,
@@ -153,6 +155,8 @@ static int remove_dirs(struct strbuf *path, const char *prefix, int force_flag,
 {
 	DIR *dir;
 	struct strbuf quoted = STRBUF_INIT;
+	struct strbuf realpath = STRBUF_INIT;
+	struct strbuf real_ocwd = STRBUF_INIT;
 	struct dirent *e;
 	int res = 0, ret = 0, gone = 1, original_len = path->len, len;
 	struct string_list dels = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
@@ -231,16 +235,36 @@ static int remove_dirs(struct strbuf *path, const char *prefix, int force_flag,
 	strbuf_setlen(path, original_len);
 
 	if (*dir_gone) {
-		res = dry_run ? 0 : rmdir(path->buf);
-		if (!res)
-			*dir_gone = 1;
-		else {
-			int saved_errno = errno;
-			quote_path(path->buf, prefix, &quoted, 0);
-			errno = saved_errno;
-			warning_errno(_(msg_warn_remove_failed), quoted.buf);
+		/*
+		 * Normalize path components in path->buf, e.g. change '\' to
+		 * '/' on Windows.
+		 */
+		strbuf_realpath(&realpath, path->buf, 1);
+
+		/*
+		 * path and realpath are absolute; for comparison, we would
+		 * like to transform startup_info->original_cwd to an absolute
+		 * path too.
+		 */
+		 if (startup_info->original_cwd)
+			 strbuf_realpath(&real_ocwd,
+					 startup_info->original_cwd, 1);
+
+		if (!strbuf_cmp(&realpath, &real_ocwd)) {
+			printf("%s", dry_run ? _(msg_would_skip_cwd) : _(msg_skip_cwd));
 			*dir_gone = 0;
-			ret = 1;
+		} else {
+			res = dry_run ? 0 : rmdir(path->buf);
+			if (!res)
+				*dir_gone = 1;
+			else {
+				int saved_errno = errno;
+				quote_path(path->buf, prefix, &quoted, 0);
+				errno = saved_errno;
+				warning_errno(_(msg_warn_remove_failed), quoted.buf);
+				*dir_gone = 0;
+				ret = 1;
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -250,6 +274,8 @@ static int remove_dirs(struct strbuf *path, const char *prefix, int force_flag,
 			printf(dry_run ?  _(msg_would_remove) : _(msg_remove), dels.items[i].string);
 	}
 out:
+	strbuf_release(&realpath);
+	strbuf_release(&real_ocwd);
 	strbuf_release(&quoted);
 	string_list_clear(&dels, 0);
 	return ret;
diff --git a/builtin/rm.c b/builtin/rm.c
index 3d0967c..b4132e5 100644
--- a/builtin/rm.c
+++ b/builtin/rm.c
@@ -399,12 +399,13 @@ int cmd_rm(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (!index_only) {
 		int removed = 0, gitmodules_modified = 0;
 		struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
+		int flag = force ? REMOVE_DIR_PURGE_ORIGINAL_CWD : 0;
 		for (i = 0; i < list.nr; i++) {
 			const char *path = list.entry[i].name;
 			if (list.entry[i].is_submodule) {
 				strbuf_reset(&buf);
 				strbuf_addstr(&buf, path);
-				if (remove_dir_recursively(&buf, 0))
+				if (remove_dir_recursively(&buf, flag))
 					die(_("could not remove '%s'"), path);
 
 				removed = 1;
diff --git a/builtin/stash.c b/builtin/stash.c
index 18c812b..fb1e466 100644
--- a/builtin/stash.c
+++ b/builtin/stash.c
@@ -1538,8 +1538,10 @@ static int do_push_stash(const struct pathspec *ps, const char *stash_msg, int q
 			struct child_process cp = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
 
 			cp.git_cmd = 1;
+			if (startup_info->original_cwd)
+				cp.dir = startup_info->original_cwd;
 			strvec_pushl(&cp.args, "clean", "--force",
-				     "--quiet", "-d", NULL);
+				     "--quiet", "-d", ":/", NULL);
 			if (include_untracked == INCLUDE_ALL_FILES)
 				strvec_push(&cp.args, "-x");
 			if (run_command(&cp)) {
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index cfba463..5d7463e 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -1846,8 +1846,10 @@ void overlay_tree_on_index(struct index_state *istate,
 struct startup_info {
 	int have_repository;
 	const char *prefix;
+	const char *original_cwd;
 };
 extern struct startup_info *startup_info;
+extern const char *tmp_original_cwd;
 
 /* merge.c */
 struct commit_list;
diff --git a/common-main.c b/common-main.c
index eafc707..29fb745 100644
--- a/common-main.c
+++ b/common-main.c
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ static void restore_sigpipe_to_default(void)
 int main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int result;
+	struct strbuf tmp = STRBUF_INIT;
 
 	trace2_initialize_clock();
 
@@ -49,6 +50,9 @@ int main(int argc, const char **argv)
 	trace2_cmd_start(argv);
 	trace2_collect_process_info(TRACE2_PROCESS_INFO_STARTUP);
 
+	if (!strbuf_getcwd(&tmp))
+		tmp_original_cwd = strbuf_detach(&tmp, NULL);
+
 	result = cmd_main(argc, argv);
 
 	/*
diff --git a/dir.c b/dir.c
index 5aa6fba..c332fd0 100644
--- a/dir.c
+++ b/dir.c
@@ -3160,6 +3160,7 @@ static int remove_dir_recurse(struct strbuf *path, int flag, int *kept_up)
 	int ret = 0, original_len = path->len, len, kept_down = 0;
 	int only_empty = (flag & REMOVE_DIR_EMPTY_ONLY);
 	int keep_toplevel = (flag & REMOVE_DIR_KEEP_TOPLEVEL);
+	int purge_original_cwd = (flag & REMOVE_DIR_PURGE_ORIGINAL_CWD);
 	struct object_id submodule_head;
 
 	if ((flag & REMOVE_DIR_KEEP_NESTED_GIT) &&
@@ -3215,9 +3216,14 @@ static int remove_dir_recurse(struct strbuf *path, int flag, int *kept_up)
 	closedir(dir);
 
 	strbuf_setlen(path, original_len);
-	if (!ret && !keep_toplevel && !kept_down)
-		ret = (!rmdir(path->buf) || errno == ENOENT) ? 0 : -1;
-	else if (kept_up)
+	if (!ret && !keep_toplevel && !kept_down) {
+		if (!purge_original_cwd &&
+		    startup_info->original_cwd &&
+		    !strcmp(startup_info->original_cwd, path->buf))
+			ret = -1; /* Do not remove current working directory */
+		else
+			ret = (!rmdir(path->buf) || errno == ENOENT) ? 0 : -1;
+	} else if (kept_up)
 		/*
 		 * report the uplevel that it is not an error that we
 		 * did not rmdir() our directory.
@@ -3283,6 +3289,9 @@ int remove_path(const char *name)
 		slash = dirs + (slash - name);
 		do {
 			*slash = '\0';
+			if (startup_info->original_cwd &&
+			    !strcmp(startup_info->original_cwd, dirs))
+				break;
 		} while (rmdir(dirs) == 0 && (slash = strrchr(dirs, '/')));
 		free(dirs);
 	}
diff --git a/dir.h b/dir.h
index 83f46c0..8e02dfb 100644
--- a/dir.h
+++ b/dir.h
@@ -495,6 +495,9 @@ int get_sparse_checkout_patterns(struct pattern_list *pl);
 /* Remove the contents of path, but leave path itself. */
 #define REMOVE_DIR_KEEP_TOPLEVEL 04
 
+/* Remove the_original_cwd too */
+#define REMOVE_DIR_PURGE_ORIGINAL_CWD 0x08
+
 /*
  * Remove path and its contents, recursively. flags is a combination
  * of the above REMOVE_DIR_* constants. Return 0 on success.
@@ -504,7 +507,11 @@ int get_sparse_checkout_patterns(struct pattern_list *pl);
  */
 int remove_dir_recursively(struct strbuf *path, int flag);
 
-/* tries to remove the path with empty directories along it, ignores ENOENT */
+/*
+ * Tries to remove the path, along with leading empty directories so long as
+ * those empty directories are not startup_info->original_cwd.  Ignores
+ * ENOENT.
+ */
 int remove_path(const char *path);
 
 int fspathcmp(const char *a, const char *b);
diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
index e314af4..6abd721 100644
--- a/sequencer.c
+++ b/sequencer.c
@@ -4223,6 +4223,8 @@ static int run_git_checkout(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
 
 	cmd.git_cmd = 1;
 
+	if (startup_info->original_cwd)
+		cmd.dir = startup_info->original_cwd;
 	strvec_push(&cmd.args, "checkout");
 	strvec_push(&cmd.args, commit);
 	strvec_pushf(&cmd.env_array, GIT_REFLOG_ACTION "=%s", action);
diff --git a/setup.c b/setup.c
index 347d718..af3b8c0 100644
--- a/setup.c
+++ b/setup.c
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ static int work_tree_config_is_bogus;
 
 static struct startup_info the_startup_info;
 struct startup_info *startup_info = &the_startup_info;
+const char *tmp_original_cwd;
 
 /*
  * The input parameter must contain an absolute path, and it must already be
@@ -432,6 +433,69 @@ void setup_work_tree(void)
 	initialized = 1;
 }
 
+static void setup_original_cwd(void)
+{
+	struct strbuf tmp = STRBUF_INIT;
+	const char *worktree = NULL;
+	int offset = -1;
+
+	if (!tmp_original_cwd)
+		return;
+
+	/*
+	 * startup_info->original_cwd points to the current working
+	 * directory we inherited from our parent process, which is a
+	 * directory we want to avoid removing.
+	 *
+	 * For convience, we would like to have the path relative to the
+	 * worktree instead of an absolute path.
+	 *
+	 * Yes, startup_info->original_cwd is usually the same as 'prefix',
+	 * but differs in two ways:
+	 *   - prefix has a trailing '/'
+	 *   - if the user passes '-C' to git, that modifies the prefix but
+	 *     not startup_info->original_cwd.
+	 */
+
+	/* Normalize the directory */
+	strbuf_realpath(&tmp, tmp_original_cwd, 1);
+	free((char*)tmp_original_cwd);
+	tmp_original_cwd = NULL;
+	startup_info->original_cwd = strbuf_detach(&tmp, NULL);
+
+	/*
+	 * Get our worktree; we only protect the current working directory
+	 * if it's in the worktree.
+	 */
+	worktree = get_git_work_tree();
+	if (!worktree)
+		goto no_prevention_needed;
+
+	offset = dir_inside_of(startup_info->original_cwd, worktree);
+	if (offset >= 0) {
+		/*
+		 * If startup_info->original_cwd == worktree, that is already
+		 * protected and we don't need original_cwd as a secondary
+		 * protection measure.
+		 */
+		if (!*(startup_info->original_cwd + offset))
+			goto no_prevention_needed;
+
+		/*
+		 * original_cwd was inside worktree; precompose it just as
+		 * we do prefix so that built up paths will match
+		 */
+		startup_info->original_cwd = \
+			precompose_string_if_needed(startup_info->original_cwd
+						    + offset);
+		return;
+	}
+
+no_prevention_needed:
+	free((char*)startup_info->original_cwd);
+	startup_info->original_cwd = NULL;
+}
+
 static int read_worktree_config(const char *var, const char *value, void *vdata)
 {
 	struct repository_format *data = vdata;
@@ -1330,6 +1394,7 @@ const char *setup_git_directory_gently(int *nongit_ok)
 		setenv(GIT_PREFIX_ENVIRONMENT, "", 1);
 	}
 
+	setup_original_cwd();
 
 	strbuf_release(&dir);
 	strbuf_release(&gitdir);
diff --git a/symlinks.c b/symlinks.c
index 5232d02..c667baa 100644
--- a/symlinks.c
+++ b/symlinks.c
@@ -279,7 +279,9 @@ static void do_remove_scheduled_dirs(int new_len)
 {
 	while (removal.len > new_len) {
 		removal.buf[removal.len] = '\0';
-		if (rmdir(removal.buf))
+		if ((startup_info->original_cwd &&
+		     !strcmp(removal.buf, startup_info->original_cwd)) ||
+		    rmdir(removal.buf))
 			break;
 		do {
 			removal.len--;
@@ -293,6 +295,10 @@ void schedule_dir_for_removal(const char *name, int len)
 {
 	int match_len, last_slash, i, previous_slash;
 
+	if (startup_info->original_cwd &&
+	    !strcmp(name, startup_info->original_cwd))
+		return;	/* Do not remove the current working directory */
+
 	match_len = last_slash = i =
 		longest_path_match(name, len, removal.buf, removal.len,
 				   &previous_slash);
diff --git a/t/t2501-cwd-empty.sh b/t/t2501-cwd-empty.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..f6d8d7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t2501-cwd-empty.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,277 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='Test handling of the current working directory becoming empty'
+
+. ./test-lib.sh
+
+test_expect_success setup '
+	test_commit init &&
+
+	git branch fd_conflict &&
+
+	mkdir -p foo/bar &&
+	test_commit foo/bar/baz &&
+
+	git revert HEAD &&
+	git tag reverted &&
+
+	git checkout fd_conflict &&
+	mkdir dirORfile &&
+	test_commit dirORfile/foo &&
+
+	git rm -r dirORfile &&
+	echo not-a-directory >dirORfile &&
+	git add dirORfile &&
+	git commit -m dirORfile &&
+
+	git switch -c df_conflict HEAD~1 &&
+	test_commit random_file &&
+
+	git switch -c undo_fd_conflict fd_conflict &&
+	git revert HEAD
+'
+
+test_incidental_dir_removal () {
+	test_when_finished "git reset --hard" &&
+
+	git checkout foo/bar/baz^{commit} &&
+	test_path_is_dir foo/bar &&
+
+	(
+		cd foo &&
+		"$@" &&
+
+		# Make sure foo still exists, and commands needing it work
+		test-tool getcwd &&
+		git status --porcelain
+	) &&
+	test_path_is_missing foo/bar/baz &&
+	test_path_is_missing foo/bar &&
+
+	test_path_is_dir foo
+}
+
+test_required_dir_removal () {
+	git checkout df_conflict^{commit} &&
+	test_when_finished "git clean -fdx" &&
+
+	(
+		cd dirORfile &&
+
+		# Ensure command refuses to run
+		test_must_fail "$@" 2>../error &&
+		grep "Refusing to remove.*current working directory" ../error &&
+
+		# ...and that the index and working tree are left clean
+		git diff --exit-code HEAD &&
+
+		# Ensure that getcwd and git status do not error out (which
+		# they might if the current working directory had been removed)
+		test-tool getcwd &&
+		git status --porcelain
+	) &&
+
+	test_path_is_dir dirORfile
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'checkout does not clean cwd incidentally' '
+	test_incidental_dir_removal git checkout init
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'checkout fails if cwd needs to be removed' '
+	test_required_dir_removal git checkout fd_conflict
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'reset --hard does not clean cwd incidentally' '
+	test_incidental_dir_removal git reset --hard init
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'reset --hard fails if cwd needs to be removed' '
+	test_required_dir_removal git reset --hard fd_conflict
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'merge does not clean cwd incidentally' '
+	test_incidental_dir_removal git merge reverted
+'
+
+# This file uses some simple merges where
+#   Base: 'dirORfile/' exists
+#   Side1: random other file changed
+#   Side2: 'dirORfile/' removed, 'dirORfile' added
+# this should resolve cleanly, but merge-recursive throws merge conflicts
+# because it's dumb.  Add a special test for checking merge-recursive (and
+# merge-ort), then after this just hard require ort for all remaining tests.
+#
+test_expect_success 'merge fails if cwd needs to be removed; recursive friendly' '
+	git checkout foo/bar/baz &&
+	test_when_finished "git clean -fdx" &&
+
+	mkdir dirORfile &&
+	(
+		cd dirORfile &&
+
+		test_must_fail git merge fd_conflict 2>../error
+	) &&
+
+	test_path_is_dir dirORfile &&
+	grep "Refusing to remove the current working directory" error
+'
+
+GIT_TEST_MERGE_ALGORITHM=ort
+
+test_expect_success 'merge fails if cwd needs to be removed' '
+	test_required_dir_removal git merge fd_conflict
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'cherry-pick does not clean cwd incidentally' '
+	test_incidental_dir_removal git cherry-pick reverted
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'cherry-pick fails if cwd needs to be removed' '
+	test_required_dir_removal git cherry-pick fd_conflict
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase does not clean cwd incidentally' '
+	test_incidental_dir_removal git rebase reverted
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase fails if cwd needs to be removed' '
+	test_required_dir_removal git rebase fd_conflict
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'revert does not clean cwd incidentally' '
+	test_incidental_dir_removal git revert HEAD
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'revert fails if cwd needs to be removed' '
+	test_required_dir_removal git revert undo_fd_conflict
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rm does not clean cwd incidentally' '
+	test_incidental_dir_removal git rm bar/baz.t
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'apply does not remove cwd incidentally' '
+	git diff HEAD HEAD~1 >patch &&
+	test_incidental_dir_removal git apply ../patch
+'
+
+test_incidental_untracked_dir_removal () {
+	test_when_finished "git reset --hard" &&
+
+	git checkout foo/bar/baz^{commit} &&
+	mkdir -p untracked &&
+	mkdir empty
+	>untracked/random &&
+
+	(
+		cd untracked &&
+		"$@" &&
+
+		# Make sure untracked still exists, and commands needing it work
+		test-tool getcwd &&
+		git status --porcelain
+	) &&
+	test_path_is_missing empty &&
+	test_path_is_missing untracked/random &&
+
+	test_path_is_dir untracked
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'clean does not remove cwd incidentally' '
+	test_incidental_untracked_dir_removal \
+		git -C .. clean -fd -e warnings . >warnings &&
+	grep "Refusing to remove current working directory" warnings
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'stash does not remove cwd incidentally' '
+	test_incidental_untracked_dir_removal \
+		git stash --include-untracked
+'
+
+test_expect_success '`rm -rf dir` only removes a subset of dir' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf a/" &&
+
+	mkdir -p a/b/c &&
+	>a/b/c/untracked &&
+	>a/b/c/tracked &&
+	git add a/b/c/tracked &&
+
+	(
+		cd a/b &&
+		git rm -rf ../b
+	) &&
+
+	test_path_is_dir a/b &&
+	test_path_is_missing a/b/c/tracked &&
+	test_path_is_file a/b/c/untracked
+'
+
+test_expect_success '`rm -rf dir` even with only tracked files will remove something else' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf a/" &&
+
+	mkdir -p a/b/c &&
+	>a/b/c/tracked &&
+	git add a/b/c/tracked &&
+
+	(
+		cd a/b &&
+		git rm -rf ../b
+	) &&
+
+	test_path_is_missing a/b/c/tracked &&
+	test_path_is_missing a/b/c &&
+	test_path_is_dir a/b
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'git version continues working from a deleted dir' '
+	mkdir tmp &&
+	(
+		cd tmp &&
+		rm -rf ../tmp &&
+		git version
+	)
+'
+
+test_submodule_removal () {
+	path_status=$1 &&
+	shift &&
+
+	test_status=
+	test "$path_status" = dir && test_status=test_must_fail
+
+	test_when_finished "git reset --hard HEAD~1" &&
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf .git/modules/my_submodule" &&
+
+	git checkout foo/bar/baz &&
+
+	git init my_submodule &&
+	touch my_submodule/file &&
+	git -C my_submodule add file &&
+	git -C my_submodule commit -m "initial commit" &&
+	git submodule add ./my_submodule &&
+	git commit -m "Add the submodule" &&
+
+	(
+		cd my_submodule &&
+		$test_status "$@"
+	) &&
+
+	test_path_is_${path_status} my_submodule
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'rm -r with -C leaves submodule if cwd inside' '
+	test_submodule_removal dir git -C .. rm -r my_submodule/
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rm -r leaves submodule if cwd inside' '
+	test_submodule_removal dir \
+		git --git-dir=../.git --work-tree=.. rm -r ../my_submodule/
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rm -rf removes submodule even if cwd inside' '
+	test_submodule_removal missing \
+		git --git-dir=../.git --work-tree=.. rm -rf ../my_submodule/
+'
+
+test_done
diff --git a/unpack-trees.c b/unpack-trees.c
index 98e2f2e..360844b 100644
--- a/unpack-trees.c
+++ b/unpack-trees.c
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ static const char *unpack_plumbing_errors[NB_UNPACK_TREES_WARNING_TYPES] = {
 	/* ERROR_NOT_UPTODATE_DIR */
 	"Updating '%s' would lose untracked files in it",
 
+	/* ERROR_CWD_IN_THE_WAY */
+	"Refusing to remove '%s' since it is the current working directory.",
+
 	/* ERROR_WOULD_LOSE_UNTRACKED_OVERWRITTEN */
 	"Untracked working tree file '%s' would be overwritten by merge.",
 
@@ -131,6 +134,9 @@ void setup_unpack_trees_porcelain(struct unpack_trees_options *opts,
 	msgs[ERROR_NOT_UPTODATE_DIR] =
 		_("Updating the following directories would lose untracked files in them:\n%s");
 
+	msgs[ERROR_CWD_IN_THE_WAY] =
+		_("Refusing to remove the current working directory:\n%s");
+
 	if (!strcmp(cmd, "checkout"))
 		msg = advice_enabled(ADVICE_COMMIT_BEFORE_MERGE)
 		      ? _("The following untracked working tree files would be removed by checkout:\n%%s"
@@ -2159,10 +2165,7 @@ static int verify_clean_subdirectory(const struct cache_entry *ce,
 		cnt++;
 	}
 
-	/*
-	 * Then we need to make sure that we do not lose a locally
-	 * present file that is not ignored.
-	 */
+	/* Do not lose a locally present file that is not ignored. */
 	pathbuf = xstrfmt("%.*s/", namelen, ce->name);
 
 	memset(&d, 0, sizeof(d));
@@ -2173,6 +2176,12 @@ static int verify_clean_subdirectory(const struct cache_entry *ce,
 	free(pathbuf);
 	if (i)
 		return add_rejected_path(o, ERROR_NOT_UPTODATE_DIR, ce->name);
+
+	/* Do not lose startup_info->original_cwd */
+	if (startup_info->original_cwd &&
+	    !strcmp(startup_info->original_cwd, ce->name))
+		return add_rejected_path(o, ERROR_CWD_IN_THE_WAY, ce->name);
+
 	return cnt;
 }
 
@@ -2265,10 +2274,19 @@ static int verify_absent_1(const struct cache_entry *ce,
 	int len;
 	struct stat st;
 
-	if (o->index_only || !o->update ||
-	    o->reset == UNPACK_RESET_OVERWRITE_UNTRACKED)
+	if (o->index_only || !o->update)
 		return 0;
 
+	if (o->reset == UNPACK_RESET_OVERWRITE_UNTRACKED) {
+		/* Avoid nuking startup_info->original_cwd... */
+		if (startup_info->original_cwd &&
+		    !strcmp(startup_info->original_cwd, ce->name))
+			return add_rejected_path(o, ERROR_CWD_IN_THE_WAY,
+						 ce->name);
+		/* ...but nuke anything else. */
+		return 0;
+	}
+
 	len = check_leading_path(ce->name, ce_namelen(ce), 0);
 	if (!len)
 		return 0;
diff --git a/unpack-trees.h b/unpack-trees.h
index 71ffb7e..efb9edf 100644
--- a/unpack-trees.h
+++ b/unpack-trees.h
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ enum unpack_trees_error_types {
 	ERROR_WOULD_OVERWRITE = 0,
 	ERROR_NOT_UPTODATE_FILE,
 	ERROR_NOT_UPTODATE_DIR,
+	ERROR_CWD_IN_THE_WAY,
 	ERROR_WOULD_LOSE_UNTRACKED_OVERWRITTEN,
 	ERROR_WOULD_LOSE_UNTRACKED_REMOVED,
 	ERROR_BIND_OVERLAP,