diff --git a/github/files.go b/github/files.go
index f7d415d..d0f7ecc 100644
--- a/github/files.go
+++ b/github/files.go
@@ -6,24 +6,28 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/url"
+	"path"
 	"strings"
 )
 
 // GetFileContentAtRef fetches a file at a specific ref from a repo.
 // If ref is empty, the query parameter is omitted (uses default branch).
 //
-// Note: dot-segments ("." and "..") in the path are silently removed to
-// prevent path traversal. This means a path like "foo/../bar" resolves
-// to "foo/bar" rather than "bar".
-func (c *Client) GetFileContentAtRef(ctx context.Context, owner, repo, path, ref string) (string, error) {
+// Returns an error if the path contains dot-segments (".", "..") or
+// attempts to traverse above the repository root.
+func (c *Client) GetFileContentAtRef(ctx context.Context, owner, repo, filePath, ref string) (string, error) {
+	escaped, err := escapePath(filePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid file path: %w", err)
+	}
 	reqURL := fmt.Sprintf("%s/repos/%s/%s/contents/%s",
-		c.baseURL, url.PathEscape(owner), url.PathEscape(repo), escapePath(path))
+		c.baseURL, url.PathEscape(owner), url.PathEscape(repo), escaped)
 	if ref != "" {
 		reqURL += "?ref=" + url.QueryEscape(ref)
 	}
 	body, err := c.doGet(ctx, reqURL)
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("fetch file %s: %w", path, err)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("fetch file %s: %w", filePath, err)
 	}
 	var resp struct {
 		Content  string `json:"content"`
@@ -33,27 +37,42 @@ func (c *Client) GetFileContentAtRef(ctx context.Context, owner, repo, path, ref
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("parse file content JSON: %w", err)
 	}
 	if resp.Encoding != "base64" {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("unexpected encoding %q for file %s", resp.Encoding, path)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unexpected encoding %q for file %s", resp.Encoding, filePath)
 	}
 	decoded, err := decodeBase64Content(resp.Content)
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("decode base64 content for %s: %w", path, err)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("decode base64 content for %s: %w", filePath, err)
 	}
 	return decoded, nil
 }
 
-// escapePath encodes each segment of a slash-separated path, stripping
-// dot-segments to prevent path traversal.
-func escapePath(p string) string {
-	parts := strings.Split(p, "/")
-	var clean []string
+// escapePath validates and encodes a slash-separated file path for use in
+// GitHub API URLs. Returns an error if the path contains dot-segments ("."
+// or "..") or resolves to a path outside the repository root.
+func escapePath(p string) (string, error) {
+	// Reject paths containing dot-segments rather than silently rewriting them.
+	for _, seg := range strings.Split(p, "/") {
+		if seg == "." || seg == ".." {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("path contains dot-segment %q: %s", seg, p)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Use path.Clean for canonical form, then verify it doesn't escape root.
+	cleaned := path.Clean(p)
+	if cleaned == "." || strings.HasPrefix(cleaned, "..") {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("path resolves outside repository root: %s", p)
+	}
+
+	// Encode each segment individually.
+	parts := strings.Split(cleaned, "/")
+	var encoded []string
 	for _, part := range parts {
-		if part == "." || part == ".." || part == "" {
+		if part == "" {
 			continue
 		}
-		clean = append(clean, url.PathEscape(part))
+		encoded = append(encoded, url.PathEscape(part))
 	}
-	return strings.Join(clean, "/")
+	return strings.Join(encoded, "/"), nil
 }
 
 // decodeBase64Content decodes base64-encoded content from the GitHub contents API.
diff --git a/github/files_test.go b/github/files_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..62c5412
--- /dev/null
+++ b/github/files_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+package github
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestEscapePath_ValidPaths(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		path string
+		want string
+	}{
+		{"simple file", "file.go", "file.go"},
+		{"nested path", "path/to/file.go", "path/to/file.go"},
+		{"special chars", "path/to/my file.go", "path/to/my%20file.go"},
+		{"leading slash stripped", "/path/to/file.go", "path/to/file.go"},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+			got, err := escapePath(tt.path)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+			}
+			if got != tt.want {
+				t.Errorf("escapePath(%q) = %q, want %q", tt.path, got, tt.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestEscapePath_DotSegments(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		path string
+	}{
+		{"single dot", "./file.go"},
+		{"double dot", "../file.go"},
+		{"dot in middle", "path/./file.go"},
+		{"parent traversal", "path/../file.go"},
+		{"only dots", ".."},
+		{"nested parent traversal", "a/b/../../c"},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+			_, err := escapePath(tt.path)
+			if err == nil {
+				t.Fatalf("expected error for path %q, got nil", tt.path)
+			}
+			if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "dot-segment") {
+				t.Errorf("expected error about dot-segment, got: %v", err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGetFileContentAtRef_DotSegmentError(t *testing.T) {
+	// Server should never be called — the error is caught before the request.
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		t.Fatal("server should not have been called")
+	}))
+	defer srv.Close()
+
+	c := NewClient(srv.URL, "token")
+	_, err := c.GetFileContentAtRef(context.Background(), "owner", "repo", "foo/../bar.go", "main")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error for path with dot-segments")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "invalid file path") {
+		t.Errorf("expected 'invalid file path' error, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/github/pr.go b/github/pr.go
index c028506..2aa4c79 100644
--- a/github/pr.go
+++ b/github/pr.go
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ func (c *Client) GetCommitStatuses(ctx context.Context, owner, repo, sha string)
 			result = append(result, vcs.CommitStatus{
 				Context:     cr.Name,
 				Status:      mapCheckRunStatus(cr.Conclusion),
-				Description: derefString(cr.Conclusion), // raw conclusion value (e.g. "success", "failure", "skipped")
+				Description: "", // check runs have no human-readable description; conclusion is captured in Status
 				TargetURL:   cr.HTMLURL,
 			})
 		}
@@ -220,10 +220,3 @@ func mapCheckRunStatus(conclusion *string) string {
 	}
 }
 
-// derefString safely dereferences a string pointer, returning empty string if nil.
-func derefString(s *string) string {
-	if s == nil {
-		return ""
-	}
-	return *s
-}