diff --git a/.changeset/unify-image-sniff-fallback.md b/.changeset/unify-image-sniff-fallback.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9c25666e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/unify-image-sniff-fallback.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@moonshot-ai/kimi-code": patch
+---
+
+Unify image format detection when sniffing fails.
diff --git a/packages/agent-core/src/tools/support/file-type.ts b/packages/agent-core/src/tools/support/file-type.ts
index 82edb79f5..49b6d1980 100644
--- a/packages/agent-core/src/tools/support/file-type.ts
+++ b/packages/agent-core/src/tools/support/file-type.ts
@@ -374,31 +374,27 @@ export function detectFileType(
       }
       return sniffed;
     }
-    // Sniff failed. In media mode, only video falls back to the extension:
-    // some video containers (e.g. MPEG-PS `.mpg`) have no magic we recognise,
-    // so the extension is the only signal. Every image format the model
-    // accepts (PNG/JPEG/GIF/WebP) has a reliable magic signature, so a failed
-    // sniff on an image means it is not a supported image — returning the
-    // extension MIME would only produce a mismatched data URL the model API
-    // rejects. (Runs before the NUL check so a video extension wins even when
-    // the header happens to contain a 0x00 byte.)
-    if (type === 'media') {
-      if (mediaHint?.kind === 'video') {
-        return mediaHint;
-      }
-      if (mediaHint?.kind === 'image') {
-        return { kind: 'unknown', mimeType: '' };
-      }
+    // Sniff failed.
+    // An image extension without confirming magic is not an image in any mode.
+    // Every image format the model accepts (PNG/JPEG/GIF/WebP) has a reliable
+    // signature, so trusting the extension would only mislead: in media mode it
+    // builds a mismatched data URL the model API rejects; in text mode it
+    // redirects the user to ReadMediaFile for a file that is not an image.
+    if (mediaHint?.kind === 'image') {
+      return { kind: 'unknown', mimeType: '' };
+    }
+    // In media mode, fall back to the extension for video: some containers
+    // (e.g. MPEG-PS `.mpg`) have no magic we recognise, so the extension is
+    // the only signal. Runs before the NUL check so a video extension wins
+    // even when the header happens to contain a 0x00 byte.
+    if (type === 'media' && mediaHint?.kind === 'video') {
+      return mediaHint;
     }
     if (buf.includes(0x00)) {
       return { kind: 'unknown', mimeType: '' };
     }
-    // No sniff and no NUL (text mode): still do not trust an image extension
-    // hint, for the same reason as above. Anything else falls through to the
+    // No sniff, not an image hint, no NUL: fall through to the
     // hint / text / unknown logic.
-    if (mediaHint?.kind === 'image') {
-      return { kind: 'unknown', mimeType: '' };
-    }
   }
 
   if (mediaHint) return mediaHint;
diff --git a/packages/agent-core/test/tools/file-type.test.ts b/packages/agent-core/test/tools/file-type.test.ts
index a25b2fd1b..c0587411a 100644
--- a/packages/agent-core/test/tools/file-type.test.ts
+++ b/packages/agent-core/test/tools/file-type.test.ts
@@ -214,10 +214,12 @@ describe('detectFileType', () => {
 
   it('returns unknown for an image extension whose bytes fail to sniff', () => {
     // A `.png` file with no recognisable image magic and no NUL byte must not
-    // be reported as `image/png` — otherwise a media reader would ship a
-    // mismatched data URL that the model API rejects as
-    // `application/octet-stream`.
+    // be reported as `image/png` in either mode. In media mode it would build
+    // a mismatched data URL the model API rejects as
+    // `application/octet-stream`; in text mode it would redirect the user to
+    // ReadMediaFile for a file that is not an image.
     const garbage = Buffer.from('plain ascii, definitely not a png');
+    expect(detectFileType('fake.png', garbage, 'media').kind).toBe('unknown');
     expect(detectFileType('fake.png', garbage).kind).toBe('unknown');
   });
 
diff --git a/packages/agent-core/test/tools/read.test.ts b/packages/agent-core/test/tools/read.test.ts
index 4ab97c1bb..54e1fabdd 100644
--- a/packages/agent-core/test/tools/read.test.ts
+++ b/packages/agent-core/test/tools/read.test.ts
@@ -384,6 +384,33 @@ describe('ReadTool', () => {
     expect(readText).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it('rejects an image-extension file whose bytes are not an image as not readable', async () => {
+    // A `.png` file with no recognisable image magic and no NUL byte is not a
+    // real image; it must fall through to the generic "not readable" error
+    // rather than being misidentified as an image and sent to ReadMediaFile.
+    const plainText = Buffer.from('this is plain ascii text, not a png');
+    const readText = vi
+      .fn<Kaos['readText']>()
+      .mockRejectedValue(new Error('readText should not be called for non-image files'));
+    const tool = new ReadTool(
+      createFakeKaos({
+        stat: vi.fn<Kaos['stat']>().mockResolvedValue(REGULAR_FILE_STAT),
+        readBytes: vi.fn<Kaos['readBytes']>().mockResolvedValue(plainText),
+        readText,
+      }),
+      PERMISSIVE_WORKSPACE,
+    );
+
+    const result = await executeTool(tool, context({ path: '/tmp/fake.png' }));
+    const output = toolContentString(result);
+
+    expect(result.isError).toBe(true);
+    expect(output).toBe(
+      '"/tmp/fake.png" is not readable as UTF-8 text. If it is an image or video, use ReadMediaFile. For other binary formats, use Bash or an MCP tool if available.',
+    );
+    expect(readText).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it('rejects extensionless image files using magic-byte sniffing', async () => {
     const pngHeader = Buffer.from([0x89, 0x50, 0x4e, 0x47, 0x0d, 0x0a, 0x1a, 0x0a]);
     const readText = vi