diff --git a/src/entry.rs b/src/entry.rs
index f99c897b..83d6a466 100644
--- a/src/entry.rs
+++ b/src/entry.rs
@@ -433,6 +433,21 @@ impl<'a> EntryFields<'a> {
         })
     }
 
+    // on Windows one path may be using the extended length syntax while another
+    // is not, so we remove any prefix before comparing them.
+    fn path_has_base(&self, path: &Path, base: &Path) -> bool {
+        let path: PathBuf = path
+            .components()
+            .skip_while(|c| matches!(*c, Component::Prefix(_)))
+            .collect();
+        let base: PathBuf = base
+            .components()
+            .skip_while(|c| matches!(*c, Component::Prefix(_)))
+            .collect();
+
+        path.starts_with(&base)
+    }
+
     /// Returns access to the header of this entry in the archive.
     fn unpack(&mut self, target_base: Option<&Path>, dst: &Path) -> io::Result<Unpacked> {
         let kind = self.header.entry_type();
@@ -467,6 +482,9 @@ impl<'a> EntryFields<'a> {
                     // the destination of this hard link is both present and
                     // inside our own directory. This is needed because we want
                     // to make sure to not overwrite anything outside the root.
+                    // If the link points to an absolute path, assume it's relative
+                    // to the target dir by removing the leading '/', as we already
+                    // do for files, see unpack_in() comments.
                     //
                     // Note that this logic is only needed for hard links
                     // currently. With symlinks the `validate_inside_dst` which
@@ -475,6 +493,21 @@ impl<'a> EntryFields<'a> {
                     // links though they're canonicalized to their existing path
                     // so we need to validate at this time.
                     Some(ref p) => {
+                        let mut src = src.to_path_buf();
+                        if src.is_absolute() {
+                            let dest_canon = p.canonicalize()?;
+                            if !self.path_has_base(&src, &dest_canon) {
+                                // Skip root component, making the target relative to the target dir.
+                                // Also skip prefix because on Windows the path may use the extended syntax.
+                                src = src
+                                    .components()
+                                    .skip_while(|c| {
+                                        matches!(*c, Component::RootDir | Component::Prefix(_))
+                                    })
+                                    .collect();
+                            }
+                        }
+
                         let link_src = p.join(src);
                         self.validate_inside_dst(p, &link_src)?;
                         link_src
diff --git a/tests/entry.rs b/tests/entry.rs
index 757fd7da..784a5f60 100644
--- a/tests/entry.rs
+++ b/tests/entry.rs
@@ -44,6 +44,16 @@ fn absolute_symlink() {
 #[test]
 fn absolute_hardlink() {
     let td = t!(Builder::new().prefix("tar").tempdir());
+    // on macos the tempdir is created in /var/folders/ which is actually
+    // /private/var/folders/. Canonicalize the path so the link target has
+    // the proper base. Do not do this on Windows as canonicalize() will
+    // convert the path to the extended length syntax which cannot be used
+    // in the tarball paths.
+    let td_canon = if cfg!(unix) {
+        td.path().canonicalize().unwrap()
+    } else {
+        td.path().to_path_buf()
+    };
     let mut ar = tar::Builder::new(Vec::new());
 
     let mut header = tar::Header::new_gnu();
@@ -58,16 +68,30 @@ fn absolute_hardlink() {
     header.set_entry_type(tar::EntryType::Link);
     t!(header.set_path("bar"));
     // This absolute path under tempdir will be created at unpack time
-    t!(header.set_link_name(td.path().join("foo")));
+    t!(header.set_link_name(td_canon.join("foo")));
+    header.set_cksum();
+    t!(ar.append(&header, &[][..]));
+
+    let mut header = tar::Header::new_gnu();
+    header.set_size(0);
+    header.set_entry_type(tar::EntryType::Link);
+    t!(header.set_path("baz"));
+    // This absolute path on root will be converted when unpacking
+    if cfg!(unix) {
+        t!(header.set_link_name("/foo"));
+    } else {
+        t!(header.set_link_name("C:\\foo"));
+    }
     header.set_cksum();
     t!(ar.append(&header, &[][..]));
 
     let bytes = t!(ar.into_inner());
     let mut ar = tar::Archive::new(&bytes[..]);
 
-    t!(ar.unpack(td.path()));
+    t!(ar.unpack(&td_canon));
     t!(td.path().join("foo").metadata());
     t!(td.path().join("bar").metadata());
+    t!(td.path().join("baz").metadata());
 }
 
 #[test]