diff --git a/merge-recursive.c b/merge-recursive.c
index d92e2acf1ed2cf..36948eafb75028 100644
--- a/merge-recursive.c
+++ b/merge-recursive.c
@@ -1750,6 +1750,18 @@ static int handle_rename_rename_1to2(struct merge_options *opt,
 			return -1;
 	}
 
+	if (!mfi.clean && mfi.blob.mode == a->mode &&
+	    oideq(&mfi.blob.oid, &a->oid)) {
+		/*
+		 * Getting here means we were attempting to merge a binary
+		 * blob.  Since we can't merge binaries, the merge algorithm
+		 * just takes one side.  But we don't want to copy the
+		 * contents of one side to both paths; we'd rather use the
+		 * original content at the given path for each path.
+		 */
+		oidcpy(&mfi.blob.oid, &b->oid);
+		mfi.blob.mode = b->mode;
+	}
 	add = &ci->ren2->dst_entry->stages[flip_stage(3)];
 	if (is_valid(add)) {
 		add->path = mfi.blob.path = b->path;
diff --git a/t/t6042-merge-rename-corner-cases.sh b/t/t6042-merge-rename-corner-cases.sh
index b047cf1c1c3735..f163893ff97125 100755
--- a/t/t6042-merge-rename-corner-cases.sh
+++ b/t/t6042-merge-rename-corner-cases.sh
@@ -1379,4 +1379,59 @@ test_expect_success 'check nested conflicts from rename/rename(2to1)' '
 	)
 '
 
+# Testcase rename/rename(1to2) of a binary file
+#   Commit O: orig
+#   Commit A: orig-A
+#   Commit B: orig-B
+#   Expected: CONFLICT(rename/rename) message, three unstaged entries in the
+#             index, and contents of orig-[AB] at path orig-[AB]
+test_setup_rename_rename_1_to_2_binary () {
+	test_create_repo rename_rename_1_to_2_binary &&
+	(
+		cd rename_rename_1_to_2_binary &&
+
+		echo '* binary' >.gitattributes &&
+		git add .gitattributes &&
+
+		test_seq 1 10 >orig &&
+		git add orig &&
+		git commit -m orig &&
+
+		git branch A &&
+		git branch B &&
+
+		git checkout A &&
+		git mv orig orig-A &&
+		test_seq 1 11 >orig-A &&
+		git add orig-A &&
+		git commit -m orig-A &&
+
+		git checkout B &&
+		git mv orig orig-B &&
+		test_seq 0 10 >orig-B &&
+		git add orig-B &&
+		git commit -m orig-B
+
+	)
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'rename/rename(1to2) with a binary file' '
+	test_setup_rename_rename_1_to_2_binary &&
+	(
+		cd rename_rename_1_to_2_binary &&
+
+		git checkout A^0 &&
+
+		test_must_fail git merge -s recursive B^0 &&
+
+		# Make sure the index has the right number of entries
+		git ls-files -s >actual &&
+		test_line_count = 4 actual &&
+
+		git rev-parse A:orig-A B:orig-B >expect &&
+		git hash-object orig-A orig-B >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual
+	)
+'
+
 test_done