diff --git a/codex-rs/cli/src/main.rs b/codex-rs/cli/src/main.rs
index bb56637103..455682e142 100644
--- a/codex-rs/cli/src/main.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/cli/src/main.rs
@@ -842,23 +842,30 @@ fn run_update_action(action: UpdateAction) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     println!();
     let cmd_str = action.command_str();
     println!("Updating Codex via `{cmd_str}`...");
-
     let status = {
         #[cfg(windows)]
         {
-            if action == UpdateAction::StandaloneWindows {
-                let (cmd, args) = action.command_args();
-                // Run the standalone PowerShell installer with PowerShell
-                // itself. Routing this through `cmd.exe /C` would parse
-                // PowerShell metacharacters like `|` before PowerShell sees
-                // the installer command.
-                std::process::Command::new(cmd).args(args).status()?
+            let (cmd, args) = action.command_args();
+            let cmd = if action == UpdateAction::StandaloneWindows {
+                // These args contain PowerShell metacharacters, so do not let
+                // PATHEXT select a batch shim for this action.
+                "powershell.exe"
             } else {
-                // On Windows, run via cmd.exe so .CMD/.BAT are correctly resolved (PATHEXT semantics).
-                std::process::Command::new("cmd")
-                    .args(["/C", &cmd_str])
-                    .status()?
-            }
+                cmd
+            };
+            let path_env =
+                std::env::var_os("PATH").ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("PATH is not set"))?;
+            let command_path = resolve_windows_update_command_from_path(cmd, &path_env)?;
+            // Do not let a project-local command or package-manager config
+            // influence the updater after the user accepts the update prompt.
+            let update_cwd = tempfile::tempdir()?;
+            // Resolve through PATH without consulting the project cwd. When
+            // this returns a .cmd/.bat shim, std::process::Command routes the
+            // absolute path through the system command processor.
+            std::process::Command::new(command_path)
+                .args(args)
+                .current_dir(update_cwd.path())
+                .status()?
         }
         #[cfg(not(windows))]
         {
@@ -880,6 +887,23 @@ fn run_update_action(action: UpdateAction) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+#[cfg(windows)]
+fn resolve_windows_update_command_from_path(
+    command: &str,
+    path_env: &std::ffi::OsStr,
+) -> anyhow::Result<PathBuf> {
+    let path_env =
+        std::env::join_paths(std::env::split_paths(path_env).filter(|path| path.is_absolute()))?;
+    if path_env.is_empty() {
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "Could not find an absolute update command `{command}` on PATH. Please update manually: https://developers.openai.com/codex/cli/"
+        );
+    }
+    which::which_in_global(command, Some(&path_env))?
+        .next()
+        .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("could not find update command `{command}` on PATH"))
+}
+
 fn run_update_command() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     #[cfg(debug_assertions)]
     {
@@ -2862,6 +2886,52 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(size < 64 * 1024, "interactive TUI future is {size} bytes");
     }
 
+    #[cfg(windows)]
+    #[test]
+    fn windows_update_command_resolution_ignores_relative_path_entries() {
+        let cwd = std::env::current_dir().expect("current directory");
+        let decoy_dir = tempfile::tempdir_in(&cwd).expect("relative decoy directory");
+        let trusted_dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("trusted PATH directory");
+        let relative_decoy_dir = decoy_dir
+            .path()
+            .strip_prefix(&cwd)
+            .expect("decoy directory should be relative to cwd");
+
+        for command in ["npm.cmd", "pnpm.cmd", "bun.exe"] {
+            std::fs::write(decoy_dir.path().join(command), "decoy")
+                .expect("write cwd-relative decoy");
+            std::fs::write(trusted_dir.path().join(command), "trusted")
+                .expect("write trusted PATH command");
+            let path_env = std::env::join_paths([relative_decoy_dir, trusted_dir.path()])
+                .expect("join synthetic PATH");
+
+            let resolved = resolve_windows_update_command_from_path(command, &path_env)
+                .expect("resolve update command");
+
+            assert_eq!(resolved, trusted_dir.path().join(command));
+        }
+
+        let cwd_decoy = tempfile::Builder::new()
+            .suffix(".cmd")
+            .tempfile_in(&cwd)
+            .expect("cwd-local decoy");
+        let command = cwd_decoy
+            .path()
+            .file_name()
+            .and_then(|name| name.to_str())
+            .expect("decoy filename");
+        let relative_only_path_env = std::env::join_paths(["."]).expect("join relative-only PATH");
+        let err = resolve_windows_update_command_from_path(command, &relative_only_path_env)
+            .expect_err("relative-only PATH should not resolve a cwd command");
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            err.to_string(),
+            format!(
+                "Could not find an absolute update command `{command}` on PATH. Please update manually: https://developers.openai.com/codex/cli/"
+            )
+        );
+    }
+
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn updater_http_client_factory_honors_respect_system_proxy() {
         let codex_home = tempfile::tempdir().expect("temporary Codex home");