diff --git a/src/application/ClientRegistrationStatus.ts b/src/application/ClientRegistrationStatus.ts
index b8c041105d..5c9e4e218f 100644
--- a/src/application/ClientRegistrationStatus.ts
+++ b/src/application/ClientRegistrationStatus.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ import {
   effectiveClientServer,
   type ClientConfigurationDocument,
 } from "./ClientConfigurationDocument.js";
-import { access } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { lstat } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { err, ok, type Result } from "../domain/result.js";
 import { isAbsolute } from "node:path";
 
 import { z } from "zod";
@@ -146,7 +147,18 @@ export const readClientRegistrationInspections = async (
       });
       continue;
     }
-    if (!(await clientEvidencePresent(client))) continue;
+    const presence = await clientEvidencePresent(client);
+    if (!presence.ok) {
+      record({
+        client: client.name,
+        config_path: presence.error.path,
+        command: [],
+        state: "invalid",
+        remediation: presence.error.detail,
+      });
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (!presence.value) continue;
     const manualRemediation = manualRegistrationRemediation(client.name);
     if (client.format === "unsupported") {
       if (manualRemediation !== undefined)
@@ -559,22 +571,28 @@ const unavailableStatus = (
   remediation: remediation(client),
 });
 
-const clientEvidencePresent = async (client: SetupClient): Promise<boolean> => {
-  for (const path of clientEvidencePaths(client))
-    if (await exists(path)) return true;
-  return false;
-};
-
-const exists = async (path: string | undefined): Promise<boolean> => {
-  if (path === undefined) return false;
-  try {
-    await access(path);
-    return true;
-  } catch (cause: unknown) {
-    // best-effort cleanup: optional registration probing; absence means unregistered.
-    void cause;
-    return false;
+/** Entry presence is independent of whether its target can currently be read. */
+const clientEvidencePresent = async (
+  client: SetupClient,
+): Promise<
+  Result<boolean, { readonly path: string; readonly detail: string }>
+> => {
+  let unavailable:
+    | { readonly path: string; readonly detail: string }
+    | undefined;
+  for (const path of clientEvidencePaths(client)) {
+    try {
+      await lstat(path);
+      return ok(true);
+    } catch (cause: unknown) {
+      if (!isMissing(cause))
+        unavailable ??= {
+          path,
+          detail: `Client configuration evidence at ${path} could not be inspected: ${cause instanceof Error ? cause.message : String(cause)}. Check file permissions and rerun rea doctor.`,
+        };
+    }
   }
+  return unavailable === undefined ? ok(false) : err(unavailable);
 };
 
 const isMissing = (cause: unknown): boolean =>
diff --git a/tests/acceptance/setup/clientConfigurationDiagnosticsCli.test.ts b/tests/acceptance/setup/clientConfigurationDiagnosticsCli.test.ts
index 425e0e610f..e5bba24ee2 100644
--- a/tests/acceptance/setup/clientConfigurationDiagnosticsCli.test.ts
+++ b/tests/acceptance/setup/clientConfigurationDiagnosticsCli.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,11 @@
-import { mkdir, readFile, readdir, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import {
+  chmod,
+  mkdir,
+  readFile,
+  readdir,
+  symlink,
+  writeFile,
+} from "node:fs/promises";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
 import { expect } from "vitest";
 
@@ -165,3 +172,56 @@ for (const scenario of cases)
       ]);
     },
   );
+
+cliTest.skipIf(process.platform === "win32" || process.getuid?.() === 0)(
+  "doctor reports an unreadable configuration symlink without changing it",
+  async ({ cli }) => {
+    const home = await createTestTempDirectory(
+      "rea-doctor-denied-registration-",
+    );
+    const locked = join(home, "owned-denied");
+    const target = join(locked, "client.json");
+    await mkdir(locked);
+    const original =
+      '{"mcpServers":{"rea":{"command":"rea","args":["mcp"]}}}\n';
+    await writeFile(target, original);
+    const config = join(home, ".claude.json");
+    await symlink(target, config);
+    await chmod(locked, 0);
+    try {
+      const result = await cli.run({
+        arguments: [
+          "doctor",
+          "--client",
+          "claude_code",
+          "--skill=false",
+          "--json",
+        ],
+        cwd: home,
+        environment: {
+          HOME: home,
+          USERPROFILE: home,
+          XDG_CONFIG_HOME: join(home, ".config"),
+        },
+      });
+      expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+      expect(result.json).toMatchObject({
+        healthy: false,
+        identity: {
+          registrations: [
+            expect.objectContaining({
+              client: "claude_code",
+              config_path: config,
+              state: "invalid",
+              command: [],
+            }),
+          ],
+        },
+      });
+    } finally {
+      await chmod(locked, 0o700);
+    }
+    expect(await readFile(target, "utf8")).toBe(original);
+    expect(await readdir(home)).toEqual([".claude.json", "owned-denied"]);
+  },
+);
diff --git a/tests/boundary/filesystem/clientRegistrationStatus.test.ts b/tests/boundary/filesystem/clientRegistrationStatus.test.ts
index c713851f5c..83c7fc1852 100644
--- a/tests/boundary/filesystem/clientRegistrationStatus.test.ts
+++ b/tests/boundary/filesystem/clientRegistrationStatus.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { mkdir, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { chmod, mkdir, symlink, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
 import { join, relative, resolve } from "node:path";
 
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { createTestTempDirectory } from "../../fixtures/temporaryDirectory.js";
 import { clearClientLocationEnvironment } from "../../fixtures/clientEnvironment.js";
 
 import { readClientRegistrationStatuses } from "../../../src/application/ClientRegistrationStatus.js";
+import { existingMaintenanceScope } from "../../../src/application/UpdateMaintenance.js";
 import { PRODUCT_IDENTITY } from "../../../src/identity.js";
 
 beforeEach(clearClientLocationEnvironment);
@@ -439,3 +440,86 @@ describe("Node-wrapped registration policy", () => {
     },
   );
 });
+
+it.skipIf(process.platform === "win32" || process.getuid?.() === 0)(
+  "reports an inaccessible configuration target instead of omitting its registration",
+  async () => {
+    const home = await createTestTempDirectory(
+      "rea-registration-denied-target-",
+    );
+    const locked = join(home, "owned-denied");
+    await mkdir(locked);
+    const target = join(locked, "client.json");
+    await writeFile(
+      target,
+      JSON.stringify({
+        mcpServers: { rea: { command: "rea", args: ["mcp"] } },
+      }),
+    );
+    const path = join(home, ".claude.json");
+    await symlink(target, path);
+    await chmod(locked, 0);
+    try {
+      const statuses = await readClientRegistrationStatuses(
+        home,
+        "/current/rea",
+      );
+      expect(
+        statuses.find((status) => status.client === "claude_code"),
+      ).toMatchObject({
+        config_path: path,
+        state: "invalid",
+        command: [],
+        remediation: expect.any(String),
+      });
+      expect(
+        (await existingMaintenanceScope(home, "/current/rea", process.env))
+          .clients,
+      ).not.toContain("claude_code");
+    } finally {
+      await chmod(locked, 0o700);
+    }
+  },
+);
+
+it.skipIf(process.platform === "win32" || process.getuid?.() === 0)(
+  "reports an unresolved configuration location when metadata lookup is denied",
+  async () => {
+    const home = await createTestTempDirectory(
+      "rea-registration-denied-metadata-",
+    );
+    const locked = join(home, "owned-denied");
+    const directory = join(locked, "claude");
+    await mkdir(directory, { recursive: true });
+    vi.stubEnv("CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR", directory);
+    await chmod(locked, 0);
+    try {
+      const statuses = await readClientRegistrationStatuses(
+        home,
+        "/current/rea",
+      );
+      expect(
+        statuses.find((status) => status.client === "claude_code"),
+      ).toMatchObject({
+        state: "invalid",
+        command: [],
+        remediation: expect.stringContaining("EACCES"),
+      });
+    } finally {
+      await chmod(locked, 0o700);
+    }
+  },
+);
+
+it("reports a dangling configuration entry as missing without losing the detected client", async () => {
+  const home = await createTestTempDirectory(
+    "rea-registration-dangling-config-",
+  );
+  const path = join(home, ".claude.json");
+  await symlink(join(home, "absent.json"), path);
+  expect(
+    (await readClientRegistrationStatuses(home)).find(
+      (status) => status.client === "claude_code",
+    ),
+  ).toMatchObject({ config_path: path, state: "missing", command: [] });
+});