diff --git a/sagemaker-core/src/sagemaker/core/common_utils.py b/sagemaker-core/src/sagemaker/core/common_utils.py
index 4f865b439f..c6ec385dbb 100644
--- a/sagemaker-core/src/sagemaker/core/common_utils.py
+++ b/sagemaker-core/src/sagemaker/core/common_utils.py
@@ -424,6 +424,9 @@ def download_folder(bucket_name, prefix, target, sagemaker_session):
 
     prefix = prefix.lstrip("/")
 
+    if ".." in prefix:
+        raise ValueError("Traversal components are not allowed in S3 path!")
+
     # Try to download the prefix as an object first, in case it is a file and not a 'directory'.
     # Do this first, in case the object has broader permissions than the bucket.
     if not prefix.endswith("/"):
diff --git a/sagemaker-core/tests/unit/test_common_utils.py b/sagemaker-core/tests/unit/test_common_utils.py
index 291b667191..8aeb496922 100644
--- a/sagemaker-core/tests/unit/test_common_utils.py
+++ b/sagemaker-core/tests/unit/test_common_utils.py
@@ -945,6 +945,21 @@ def test_download_folder_with_prefix(self):
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
             download_folder("bucket", "prefix/", tmpdir, mock_session)
 
+    def test_download_folder_with_traversal_error(self):
+        """Test downloading folder with prefix."""
+        from sagemaker.core.common_utils import download_folder
+
+        mock_session = Mock()
+        mock_s3 = Mock()
+        mock_bucket = Mock()
+        mock_session.s3_resource = mock_s3
+        mock_s3.Bucket.return_value = mock_bucket
+        mock_bucket.objects.filter.return_value = []
+
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+            with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+                download_folder("bucket", "/../prefix/", tmpdir, mock_session)
+
 
 class TestRepackModel:
     """Test repack_model function."""