diff --git a/src/lib/guardrails/videoBridgeRuntime.ts b/src/lib/guardrails/videoBridgeRuntime.ts
index 52b481b909..0b3203a6f3 100644
--- a/src/lib/guardrails/videoBridgeRuntime.ts
+++ b/src/lib/guardrails/videoBridgeRuntime.ts
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ export async function probeLocalVideo(
       "-threads",
       "1",
       "-show_entries",
-      "format=duration,format_name:stream=index,codec_type,width,height",
+      "format=duration,format_name:stream=index,codec_type,width,height:stream_disposition=default,attached_pic",
       "-of",
       "json",
       inputPath,
@@ -198,11 +198,13 @@ export async function probeLocalVideo(
   let height = Number.NaN;
   let streamIndex = Number.NaN;
   let allVideoStreamsSafe = false;
+  let playableVideoStreamCount = 0;
   try {
     const parsed = JSON.parse(result.stdout) as {
       format?: { duration?: unknown; format_name?: unknown };
       streams?: Array<{
         codec_type?: unknown;
+        disposition?: unknown;
         height?: unknown;
         index?: unknown;
         width?: unknown;
@@ -211,9 +213,21 @@ export async function probeLocalVideo(
     durationSeconds = Number(parsed.format?.duration);
     formatName = typeof parsed.format?.format_name === "string" ? parsed.format.format_name : "";
     const videoStreams = parsed.streams?.filter((stream) => stream.codec_type === "video") ?? [];
+    const dispositionFlag = (stream: (typeof videoStreams)[number], key: string): boolean => {
+      const disposition = stream.disposition;
+      if (!disposition || typeof disposition !== "object" || Array.isArray(disposition)) {
+        return false;
+      }
+      const value = (disposition as Record<string, unknown>)[key];
+      return value === 1 || value === "1";
+    };
+    const playableVideoStreams = videoStreams.filter(
+      (stream) => !dispositionFlag(stream, "attached_pic")
+    );
+    playableVideoStreamCount = playableVideoStreams.length;
     allVideoStreamsSafe =
-      videoStreams.length > 0 &&
-      !videoStreams.some((stream) => {
+      playableVideoStreams.length > 0 &&
+      !playableVideoStreams.some((stream) => {
         const streamWidth = Number(stream.width);
         const streamHeight = Number(stream.height);
         const candidateIndex = Number(stream.index);
@@ -229,12 +243,16 @@ export async function probeLocalVideo(
           streamWidth * streamHeight > VIDEO_MAX_PIXELS
         );
       });
-    const selectedStream = [...videoStreams].sort(
-      (left, right) => Number(left.index) - Number(right.index)
-    )[0];
-    streamIndex = Number(selectedStream.index);
-    width = Number(selectedStream.width);
-    height = Number(selectedStream.height);
+    const selectedStream = [...playableVideoStreams].sort((left, right) => {
+      const defaultPreference =
+        Number(dispositionFlag(right, "default")) - Number(dispositionFlag(left, "default"));
+      return defaultPreference || Number(left.index) - Number(right.index);
+    })[0];
+    if (selectedStream) {
+      streamIndex = Number(selectedStream.index);
+      width = Number(selectedStream.width);
+      height = Number(selectedStream.height);
+    }
   } catch {
     // The stable error below deliberately excludes raw ffprobe output.
   }
@@ -252,8 +270,11 @@ export async function probeLocalVideo(
   if (formats.length === 0 || formats.some((entry) => !SAFE_FORMATS.has(entry))) {
     throw new Error("Video container format is not allowed");
   }
+  if (playableVideoStreamCount === 0) {
+    throw new Error("Video container has no playable video stream");
+  }
   if (!allVideoStreamsSafe) {
-    throw new Error("Video dimensions exceed the safe processing limit");
+    throw new Error("Video stream metadata or dimensions exceed the safe processing limit");
   }
   return { durationSeconds, formatName, height, streamIndex, width };
 }
diff --git a/tests/unit/guardrails/videoBridgeRuntime.test.ts b/tests/unit/guardrails/videoBridgeRuntime.test.ts
index 061c65271f..01f56f381d 100644
--- a/tests/unit/guardrails/videoBridgeRuntime.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/guardrails/videoBridgeRuntime.test.ts
@@ -65,6 +65,10 @@ test("probes and extracts a local video using shell-free bounded commands", asyn
     ["-protocol_whitelist", "file"]
   );
   assert.ok(calls[0].args.includes("-format_whitelist"));
+  assert.equal(
+    calls[0].args[calls[0].args.indexOf("-show_entries") + 1],
+    "format=duration,format_name:stream=index,codec_type,width,height:stream_disposition=default,attached_pic"
+  );
   assert.equal(
     calls.slice(1).every((call) => call.executable === "ffmpeg"),
     true
@@ -243,6 +247,113 @@ test("selects the lowest validated video stream index and maps it explicitly in
   assert.deepEqual(ffmpegArgs.slice(mapIndex, mapIndex + 2), ["-map", "0:1"]);
 });
 
+test("ignores an attached cover and maps the preferred playable default stream", async () => {
+  const calls: Array<{ executable: string; args: string[] }> = [];
+  const runner: VideoCommandRunner = async (executable, args) => {
+    calls.push({ executable, args: [...args] });
+    return executable === "ffprobe"
+      ? {
+          stdout: JSON.stringify({
+            format: { duration: "4", format_name: "mp4" },
+            streams: [
+              {
+                index: 0,
+                codec_type: "video",
+                width: 20000,
+                height: 20000,
+                disposition: { attached_pic: 1, default: 0 },
+              },
+              {
+                index: 1,
+                codec_type: "video",
+                width: 640,
+                height: 360,
+                disposition: { attached_pic: 0, default: 0 },
+              },
+              {
+                index: 2,
+                codec_type: "video",
+                width: 1280,
+                height: 720,
+                disposition: { attached_pic: 0, default: 1 },
+              },
+            ],
+          }),
+          stderr: "",
+        }
+      : { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+  };
+
+  const metadata = await probeLocalVideo("/tmp/cover-and-video.mp4", { runner });
+  await extractFramesFromLocalVideo("/tmp/cover-and-video.mp4", "/tmp/frames", {
+    durationSeconds: metadata.durationSeconds,
+    frameCount: 1,
+    runner,
+    streamIndex: metadata.streamIndex,
+  });
+
+  assert.equal(metadata.streamIndex, 2);
+  assert.equal(metadata.width, 1280);
+  assert.equal(metadata.height, 720);
+  const ffmpegArgs = calls.find((call) => call.executable === "ffmpeg")?.args ?? [];
+  const mapIndex = ffmpegArgs.indexOf("-map");
+  assert.deepEqual(ffmpegArgs.slice(mapIndex, mapIndex + 2), ["-map", "0:2"]);
+});
+
+test("rejects a container whose only video stream is an attached picture", async () => {
+  const runner: VideoCommandRunner = async () => ({
+    stdout: JSON.stringify({
+      format: { duration: "4", format_name: "mp4" },
+      streams: [
+        { index: 0, codec_type: "audio" },
+        {
+          index: 1,
+          codec_type: "video",
+          width: 600,
+          height: 600,
+          disposition: { attached_pic: 1, default: 1 },
+        },
+      ],
+    }),
+    stderr: "",
+  });
+
+  await assert.rejects(
+    () => probeLocalVideo("/tmp/audio-with-cover.mp4", { runner }),
+    /playable video stream/
+  );
+});
+
+test("malformed playable stream disposition or index fails closed without selecting a cover", async () => {
+  const runner: VideoCommandRunner = async () => ({
+    stdout: JSON.stringify({
+      format: { duration: "4", format_name: "mp4" },
+      streams: [
+        {
+          index: 0,
+          codec_type: "video",
+          width: 300,
+          height: 300,
+          disposition: { attached_pic: "1", default: "not-a-flag" },
+        },
+        {
+          index: "bad",
+          codec_type: "video",
+          width: 1280,
+          height: 720,
+          disposition: { attached_pic: 0, default: 1 },
+        },
+      ],
+    }),
+    stderr: "",
+  });
+
+  await assert.rejects(
+    () => probeLocalVideo("/tmp/malformed-stream.mp4", { runner }),
+    /dimensions|stream metadata/
+  );
+});
+
 test("runtime status exposes sanitized versions and a sanitized unavailable reason", async () => {
   resetVideoRuntimeProbeCacheForTests();
   const ready = await probeVideoRuntime({