diff --git a/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy/Browse/GalaxyDiscoverer.cs b/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy/Browse/GalaxyDiscoverer.cs
index 9f60b95c..f1febd84 100644
--- a/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy/Browse/GalaxyDiscoverer.cs
+++ b/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy/Browse/GalaxyDiscoverer.cs
@@ -22,7 +22,9 @@ namespace ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy.Browse;
 ///         order-independently and memoised, so the parent can appear before or after the child).
 ///         A gobject degrades to the driver root when its <c>parent_gobject_id</c> is <c>0</c>,
 ///         self-referential, or names a gobject not present in the returned set — so a model
-///         that carries no parentage still renders flat.</item>
+///         that carries no parentage still renders flat. If a parent-reference cycle exists
+///         (e.g. A→B→A), EVERY member of the cycle degrades to the root — none nests under
+///         another cycle member — so materialisation stays finite and flat.</item>
 ///     </list>
 /// </remarks>
 public sealed class GalaxyDiscoverer
@@ -105,30 +107,29 @@ public sealed class GalaxyDiscoverer
 
     // Resolve (and memoise) the folder for a gobject, recursively creating its parent's folder
     // first so the result nests under it. Falls back to the driver root when the parent_gobject_id
-    // is 0, self-referential, absent from the returned set, or already mid-resolution (cycle guard).
-    // Memoisation is keyed by gobject_id and only applies to non-zero ids — an id-0 object always
-    // gets its own freshly-created folder (it can be neither a parent target nor shared).
+    // is 0, self-referential, or absent from the returned set. Before nesting, the gobject's parent
+    // chain is walked once (IsRootedTo) to ensure it terminates at a real root — if the chain ever
+    // revisits a gobject (a parent-reference cycle), EVERY member of the cycle degrades to the root
+    // rather than the outermost member nesting under another cycle member. Memoisation is keyed by
+    // gobject_id and only applies to non-zero ids — an id-0 object always gets its own freshly-created
+    // folder (it can be neither a parent target nor shared).
     private static IAddressSpaceBuilder EnsureFolder(
         GalaxyObject obj,
         IAddressSpaceBuilder root,
         IReadOnlyDictionary<int, GalaxyObject> byId,
-        Dictionary<int, IAddressSpaceBuilder> folders,
-        HashSet<int>? building = null)
+        Dictionary<int, IAddressSpaceBuilder> folders)
     {
         if (obj.GobjectId != 0 && folders.TryGetValue(obj.GobjectId, out var existing)) return existing;
 
         var browseName = string.IsNullOrEmpty(obj.ContainedName) ? obj.TagName : obj.ContainedName;
-        building ??= [];
 
         IAddressSpaceBuilder parentBuilder = root;
         if (obj.ParentGobjectId != 0
             && obj.ParentGobjectId != obj.GobjectId
-            && !building.Contains(obj.ParentGobjectId)
-            && byId.TryGetValue(obj.ParentGobjectId, out var parentObj))
+            && byId.TryGetValue(obj.ParentGobjectId, out var parentObj)
+            && IsRootedTo(obj, byId))
         {
-            building.Add(obj.GobjectId);
-            parentBuilder = EnsureFolder(parentObj, root, byId, folders, building);
-            building.Remove(obj.GobjectId);
+            parentBuilder = EnsureFolder(parentObj, root, byId, folders);
         }
 
         var folder = parentBuilder.Folder(browseName, browseName);
@@ -139,6 +140,26 @@ public sealed class GalaxyDiscoverer
         return folder;
     }
 
+    // Walk a gobject's parent chain to decide whether it can safely nest. Returns true when the chain
+    // terminates at a real root (parent == 0, self-parent, or a parent absent from the returned set);
+    // returns false when the walk revisits a gobject already on the chain — i.e. the gobject sits on a
+    // parent-reference cycle, so it (and every other member) must degrade to the driver root instead of
+    // nesting under another cycle member. The visited-set is seeded with the starting gobject so a
+    // mutual cycle (A→B→A) is detected the moment the walk loops back to it.
+    private static bool IsRootedTo(GalaxyObject obj, IReadOnlyDictionary<int, GalaxyObject> byId)
+    {
+        var visited = new HashSet<int> { obj.GobjectId };
+        var current = obj;
+        while (current.ParentGobjectId != 0
+               && current.ParentGobjectId != current.GobjectId
+               && byId.TryGetValue(current.ParentGobjectId, out var parent))
+        {
+            if (!visited.Add(current.ParentGobjectId)) return false; // revisited → cycle
+            current = parent;
+        }
+        return true; // reached a terminal root (parent 0 / self / absent)
+    }
+
     // PR 5.W workaround for mxaccessgw GalaxyRepository.cs:173-175 — the gateway's
     // SQL appends `[]` to array-typed `full_tag_reference` values, but MxAccess COM
     // `IInstance.AddItem` doesn't accept `[]`-suffixed addresses (so any downstream
diff --git a/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy.Tests/Browse/GalaxyDiscovererTests.cs b/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy.Tests/Browse/GalaxyDiscovererTests.cs
index d2d72a61..62a3af03 100644
--- a/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy.Tests/Browse/GalaxyDiscovererTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy.Tests/Browse/GalaxyDiscovererTests.cs
@@ -431,6 +431,23 @@ public sealed class GalaxyDiscovererTests
         builder.Folders.Single(f => f.BrowseName == "selfie").ParentBrowseName.ShouldBeNull();
     }
 
+    /// <summary>A mutual parent cycle (A→B, B→A) degrades EVERY member to the root — neither
+    /// folder nests under the other, and discovery stays finite (no infinite recursion / crash).</summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Mutual_cycle_degrades_both_to_root()
+    {
+        var src = new FakeHierarchySource([
+            Node(1, 2, "a", "a", Attr("PV")), // A's parent is B
+            Node(2, 1, "b", "b", Attr("PV")), // B's parent is A
+        ]);
+        var builder = new FakeBuilder();
+
+        await new GalaxyDiscoverer(src).DiscoverAsync(builder, CancellationToken.None);
+
+        builder.Folders.Single(f => f.BrowseName == "a").ParentBrowseName.ShouldBeNull();
+        builder.Folders.Single(f => f.BrowseName == "b").ParentBrowseName.ShouldBeNull();
+    }
+
     /// <summary>A child object's attributes are added into the child's own folder, not the parent's.</summary>
     [Fact]
     public async Task Variables_land_in_their_owner_folder()