diff --git a/src/jinjaturtle/core.py b/src/jinjaturtle/core.py
index 458dbdc..de7b552 100644
--- a/src/jinjaturtle/core.py
+++ b/src/jinjaturtle/core.py
@@ -375,6 +375,10 @@ def parse_config(path: Path, fmt: str | None = None) -> tuple[str, Any]:
         raise ValueError(f"Unsupported config format: {fmt}")
     try:
         parsed = handler.parse(path)
+        # Make sure datetime objects are treated as strings (TOML, YAML). This
+        # walks the parsed object recursively, so keep it inside the try where a
+        # RecursionError from a pathological structure is normalised below.
+        parsed = _stringify_timestamps(parsed)
     except ConfigParseError:
         raise
     except _MALFORMED_CONFIG_ERRORS as exc:
@@ -391,8 +395,16 @@ def parse_config(path: Path, fmt: str | None = None) -> tuple[str, Any]:
         # attempted XXE/entity-expansion attack and must propagate unchanged so
         # callers (and tests) can distinguish "malformed" from "malicious".
         raise ConfigParseError(f"could not parse {path} as {fmt}: {exc}") from exc
-    # Make sure datetime objects are treated as strings (TOML, YAML)
-    parsed = _stringify_timestamps(parsed)
+    except RecursionError as exc:
+        # A deeply-nested or self-referential structure (e.g. a recursive YAML
+        # anchor) can exhaust the Python stack while walking the parsed object.
+        # The YAML handler already rejects reference cycles up front; this is a
+        # format-agnostic backstop so any such input fails closed with a clean
+        # message instead of a stack-overflow traceback.
+        raise ConfigParseError(
+            f"could not parse {path} as {fmt}: input is too deeply nested "
+            "or self-referential"
+        ) from exc
 
     return fmt, parsed
 
diff --git a/src/jinjaturtle/handlers/yaml.py b/src/jinjaturtle/handlers/yaml.py
index a1447bb..9a868a6 100644
--- a/src/jinjaturtle/handlers/yaml.py
+++ b/src/jinjaturtle/handlers/yaml.py
@@ -11,6 +11,36 @@ from ..loop_analyzer import is_safe_loop_field_key
 from ..loop_analyzer import LoopCandidate
 
 
+def _reject_recursive_structure(obj: Any) -> None:
+    """Raise ``yaml.YAMLError`` if *obj* contains a reference cycle.
+
+    A recursive YAML anchor (``a: &a [*a]``) produces a container that contains
+    itself. Every consumer in JinjaTurtle walks the parsed object depth-first,
+    so a cycle would raise ``RecursionError`` deep in unrelated code. Detect it
+    up front by tracking the ``id()`` of containers on the current descent path;
+    a repeat means a cycle. ``yaml.YAMLError`` is raised so ``parse_config``
+    normalises it into a clean ``ConfigParseError`` like any other malformed
+    input, rather than surfacing a stack-overflow traceback.
+    """
+
+    on_path: set[int] = set()
+
+    def walk(node: Any) -> None:
+        if isinstance(node, (dict, list)):
+            marker = id(node)
+            if marker in on_path:
+                raise yaml.YAMLError(
+                    "recursive/self-referential YAML structure is not supported"
+                )
+            on_path.add(marker)
+            children = node.values() if isinstance(node, dict) else node
+            for child in children:
+                walk(child)
+            on_path.discard(marker)
+
+    walk(obj)
+
+
 class YamlHandler(DictLikeHandler):
     """
     YAML handler that can generate both scalar templates and loop-based templates.
@@ -21,7 +51,16 @@ class YamlHandler(DictLikeHandler):
 
     def parse(self, path: Path) -> Any:
         text = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-        return yaml.safe_load(text) or {}
+        parsed = yaml.safe_load(text) or {}
+        # PyYAML's safe_load happily builds *recursive* structures from an anchor
+        # that references itself (e.g. ``a: &a [*a]``). Downstream flattening,
+        # timestamp-stringifying and template generation all walk the parsed
+        # object recursively and would blow the Python stack (RecursionError) on
+        # such input. JinjaTurtle is regularly pointed at harvested,
+        # attacker-influenceable config, so reject a self-referential document
+        # cleanly here rather than crashing later.
+        _reject_recursive_structure(parsed)
+        return parsed
 
     def generate_jinja2_template(
         self,
diff --git a/tests/test_config_parse_errors.py b/tests/test_config_parse_errors.py
index 01ba1ef..7f4c422 100644
--- a/tests/test_config_parse_errors.py
+++ b/tests/test_config_parse_errors.py
@@ -162,3 +162,44 @@ def test_folder_mode_skips_unparseable_file(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     assert "localhost" in defaults_yaml
     assert "good.json" in defaults_yaml
     assert outputs
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "content",
+    [
+        "a: &a [*a]\n",  # self-referential sequence alias
+        "root: &r\n  child: *r\n",  # self-referential mapping alias
+    ],
+)
+def test_recursive_yaml_is_rejected_cleanly(tmp_path: Path, content: str) -> None:
+    """A recursive YAML anchor must fail as a clean ConfigParseError.
+
+    PyYAML's safe_load builds a self-referential object from a recursive anchor;
+    JinjaTurtle's downstream walks (flatten, timestamp-stringify, template gen)
+    would otherwise blow the stack with a RecursionError traceback. Harvested
+    config is attacker-influenceable, so this must fail closed.
+    """
+    src = tmp_path / "cyclic.yaml"
+    src.write_text(content, encoding="utf-8")
+    with pytest.raises(ConfigParseError):
+        parse_config(src, "yaml")
+
+
+def test_recursive_yaml_cli_exits_nonzero_without_traceback(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    src = tmp_path / "cyclic.yaml"
+    src.write_text("a: &a [*a]\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    res = _run_cli([str(src), "-f", "yaml", "-r", "role"])
+    assert res.returncode != 0
+    assert "Traceback" not in res.stderr
+    assert "RecursionError" not in res.stderr
+
+
+def test_shared_noncyclic_yaml_aliases_still_work(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    """A shared (acyclic) anchor referenced multiple times is a DAG, not a
+    cycle, and must still parse and template normally."""
+    src = tmp_path / "shared.yaml"
+    src.write_text("base: &b\n  x: 1\na: *b\nc: *b\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    fmt, parsed = parse_config(src, "yaml")
+    assert fmt == "yaml"
+    assert parsed["a"] == {"x": 1}
+    assert parsed["c"] == {"x": 1}