diff --git a/fileutils.go b/fileutils.go
index 7e11915..5478fee 100644
--- a/fileutils.go
+++ b/fileutils.go
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ func IsDir(dirname string) bool {
 
 func exists(name string, dir bool) bool {
 	info, err := os.Stat(name)
-	if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+	if err != nil { // any stat failure leaves info nil, not just a missing file
 		return false
 	}
 	if dir {
@@ -235,6 +235,11 @@ func SanitizePath(s string) string {
 // If rename fails (e.g., cross-device move), it will fall back to copy+delete.
 // It will create destination directories if they don't exist.
 func MoveFile(src, dst string) error {
+	return moveFile(src, dst, os.Rename)
+}
+
+// moveFile is MoveFile with the rename call injected, so the copy+delete fallback can be tested.
+func moveFile(src, dst string, rename func(oldpath, newpath string) error) error {
 	if src == "" {
 		return errors.New("empty source path")
 	}
@@ -257,7 +262,7 @@ func MoveFile(src, dst string) error {
 	}
 
 	// try atomic rename first
-	if err = os.Rename(src, dst); err == nil {
+	if err = rename(src, dst); err == nil {
 		return nil
 	}
 
@@ -267,7 +272,7 @@ func MoveFile(src, dst string) error {
 	}
 
 	// try rename again after creating directory
-	if err = os.Rename(src, dst); err == nil {
+	if err = rename(src, dst); err == nil {
 		return nil
 	}
 
diff --git a/fileutils_test.go b/fileutils_test.go
index 518a01b..6f1f480 100644
--- a/fileutils_test.go
+++ b/fileutils_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package fileutils
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strconv"
@@ -31,6 +32,39 @@ func TestExistsDir(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.False(t, IsDir("testfiles-nop"))
 }
 
+func TestExistsStatError(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("invalid path", func(t *testing.T) {
+		invalidPath := "invalid\x00path"
+		_, err := os.Stat(invalidPath)
+		require.Error(t, err)
+		require.False(t, os.IsNotExist(err), "this path must produce a stat error other than not-exist")
+
+		assert.False(t, IsFile(invalidPath))
+		assert.False(t, IsDir(invalidPath))
+	})
+
+	t.Run("unreadable parent directory", func(t *testing.T) {
+		if os.Geteuid() == 0 {
+			t.Skip("root bypasses directory permissions")
+		}
+
+		locked := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "locked")
+		require.NoError(t, os.Mkdir(locked, 0o700))
+		target := filepath.Join(locked, "file.txt")
+		require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(target, []byte("test content"), 0o600))
+
+		require.NoError(t, os.Chmod(locked, 0o000))
+		t.Cleanup(func() { _ = os.Chmod(locked, 0o700) })
+
+		_, err := os.Stat(target)
+		require.Error(t, err)
+		require.False(t, os.IsNotExist(err), "this path must produce a permission error, not not-exist")
+
+		assert.False(t, IsFile(target))
+		assert.False(t, IsDir(target))
+	})
+}
+
 func TestCopyFile(t *testing.T) {
 	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
 
@@ -271,7 +305,7 @@ func TestMoveFile(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Equal(t, "test content", string(content))
 	})
 
-	t.Run("move with copy fallback", func(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("move into a missing directory", func(t *testing.T) {
 		// create source dir and file
 		srcDir := t.TempDir()
 		srcFile := filepath.Join(srcDir, "move_test_src2.txt")
@@ -295,6 +329,29 @@ func TestMoveFile(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Equal(t, "test content", string(content))
 	})
 
+	t.Run("copy fallback when rename fails", func(t *testing.T) {
+		srcFile := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "move_test_src3.txt")
+		require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(srcFile, []byte("test content"), 0o600))
+
+		dstFile := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "subdir", "move_test_dst.txt")
+
+		// rename always fails, so the copy+delete path has to carry the move
+		renameAttempts := 0
+		err := moveFile(srcFile, dstFile, func(_, _ string) error {
+			renameAttempts++
+			return errors.New("forced rename failure")
+		})
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, 2, renameAttempts, "rename is retried once after the destination directory is created")
+
+		_, err = os.Stat(srcFile)
+		assert.True(t, os.IsNotExist(err), "source file should not exist")
+
+		content, err := os.ReadFile(dstFile) //nolint:gosec
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, "test content", string(content))
+	})
+
 	t.Run("errors", func(t *testing.T) {
 		tests := []struct {
 			name    string
@@ -337,13 +394,16 @@ func TestTouchFile(t *testing.T) {
 		tmpDir := t.TempDir()
 		newFile := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "new.txt")
 
+		// bound the modification time from below only, an upper bound would just measure the runner
+		before := time.Now().Add(-time.Second)
+
 		err := TouchFile(newFile)
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		info, err := os.Stat(newFile)
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		assert.Equal(t, int64(0), info.Size())
-		assert.True(t, time.Since(info.ModTime()) < time.Second)
+		assert.True(t, info.ModTime().After(before), "modification time should be set on creation")
 	})
 
 	t.Run("update existing", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -353,10 +413,13 @@ func TestTouchFile(t *testing.T) {
 		err := os.WriteFile(existingFile, []byte("test"), 0600)
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 
-		// get original time and wait a bit
+		// backdate the file rather than sleeping, so the timestamp has to move regardless of
+		// how coarse the filesystem's timestamp resolution is
+		backdated := time.Now().Add(-time.Hour)
+		require.NoError(t, os.Chtimes(existingFile, backdated, backdated))
+
 		origInfo, err := os.Stat(existingFile)
 		require.NoError(t, err)
-		time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 100)
 
 		err = TouchFile(existingFile)
 		require.NoError(t, err)