diff --git a/vortex-duckdb/src/multi_file.rs b/vortex-duckdb/src/multi_file.rs
index 8acb5a83624..cba9a316ff0 100644
--- a/vortex-duckdb/src/multi_file.rs
+++ b/vortex-duckdb/src/multi_file.rs
@@ -20,6 +20,38 @@ use crate::duckdb::ClientContextRef;
 use crate::duckdb::LogicalType;
 use crate::filesystem::resolve_filesystem;
 
+/// Parse a glob string into a [`Url`].
+///
+/// Accepts full URLs (e.g. `s3://bucket/prefix/*.vortex`, `file:///data/*.vortex`) as well as
+/// bare file paths. For bare paths, the path is made absolute (without requiring it to exist)
+/// so that relative paths such as `./data/*.vortex` or `../data/*.vortex` are resolved correctly.
+fn parse_glob_url(glob_url_str: &str) -> VortexResult<Url> {
+    Url::parse(glob_url_str).or_else(|_| {
+        let path = absolute(Path::new(glob_url_str))
+            .map_err(|e| vortex_err!("Failed making {glob_url_str} absolute: {e}"))?;
+        // `absolute()` does not normalize `..` components, so `/a/b/../c` stays as-is.
+        // Normalizing manually avoids `..` being percent-encoded in the resulting URL.
+        let path = normalize_path(path);
+        Url::from_file_path(path).map_err(|_| vortex_err!("Neither URL nor path: {glob_url_str}"))
+    })
+}
+
+/// Normalize a path by resolving `.` and `..` components without accessing the filesystem.
+fn normalize_path(path: std::path::PathBuf) -> std::path::PathBuf {
+    use std::path::Component;
+    let mut normalized = std::path::PathBuf::new();
+    for component in path.components() {
+        match component {
+            Component::CurDir => {}
+            Component::ParentDir => {
+                normalized.pop();
+            }
+            c => normalized.push(c),
+        }
+    }
+    normalized
+}
+
 /// Vortex multi-file scan table function (`vortex_scan` / `read_vortex`).
 ///
 /// Takes a file glob parameter and resolves it into a [`MultiFileDataSource`].
@@ -39,14 +71,9 @@ impl DataSourceTableFunction for VortexMultiFileScan {
             .ok_or_else(|| vortex_err!("Missing file glob parameter"))?;
 
         // Parse the URL and separate the base URL (keep scheme, host, etc.) from the path.
-        let glob_url_str = glob_url_parameter.as_string();
-
-        let glob_url = Url::parse(&glob_url_str).or_else(|_| {
-            let glob_url = glob_url_str.as_str();
-            let path = absolute(Path::new(glob_url));
-            let path = path.map_err(|e| vortex_err!("Failed making {glob_url} absolute: {e}"))?;
-            Url::from_file_path(path).map_err(|_| vortex_err!("Neither URL nor path: {glob_url}"))
-        })?;
+        let glob_url_string = glob_url_parameter.as_string();
+        let glob_url_str = glob_url_string.as_str();
+        let glob_url = parse_glob_url(glob_url_str)?;
 
         let mut base_url = glob_url.clone();
         base_url.set_path("");
@@ -62,3 +89,130 @@ impl DataSourceTableFunction for VortexMultiFileScan {
         })
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    #[allow(clippy::wildcard_imports)]
+    use rstest::rstest;
+
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_glob_url_s3() -> VortexResult<()> {
+        let url = parse_glob_url("s3://my-bucket/prefix/*.vortex")?;
+        assert_eq!(url.scheme(), "s3");
+        assert_eq!(url.host_str(), Some("my-bucket"));
+        assert_eq!(url.path(), "/prefix/*.vortex");
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_glob_url_file_scheme() -> VortexResult<()> {
+        let url = parse_glob_url("file:///absolute/path/data.vortex")?;
+        assert_eq!(url.scheme(), "file");
+        assert_eq!(url.path(), "/absolute/path/data.vortex");
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_glob_url_absolute_glob_path() -> VortexResult<()> {
+        let tmpdir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let glob = format!("{}/*.vortex", tmpdir.path().display());
+        let url = parse_glob_url(&glob)?;
+        assert_eq!(url.scheme(), "file");
+        assert!(url.path().ends_with("/*.vortex"));
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_glob_url_absolute_existing_path() -> VortexResult<()> {
+        let tmpfile = tempfile::NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
+        let canonical = std::fs::canonicalize(tmpfile.path()).unwrap();
+        let path_str = canonical.to_str().unwrap();
+        let url = parse_glob_url(path_str)?;
+        assert_eq!(url.scheme(), "file");
+        assert_eq!(url.path(), path_str);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_glob_url_relative_path() -> VortexResult<()> {
+        // Create a tempfile in the current working directory so we can refer to it
+        // by a relative name (just the filename, without any directory component).
+        let tmpfile = tempfile::NamedTempFile::new_in(".").unwrap();
+        let filename = tmpfile.path().file_name().unwrap().to_str().unwrap();
+
+        let url = parse_glob_url(filename)?;
+        assert_eq!(url.scheme(), "file");
+        // The relative name must have been resolved to an absolute path.
+        assert!(url.path().ends_with(filename));
+        assert!(url.path().starts_with('/'));
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_glob_url_relative_glob_path() -> VortexResult<()> {
+        // A relative path with a glob character (e.g. `./data/*.vortex`) must also resolve
+        // correctly.
+        let tmpdir = tempfile::tempdir_in(".").unwrap();
+        let dir_name = tmpdir.path().file_name().unwrap().to_str().unwrap();
+        let glob = format!("./{dir_name}/*.vortex");
+        let url = parse_glob_url(&glob)?;
+        assert_eq!(url.scheme(), "file");
+        assert!(url.path().starts_with('/'));
+        assert!(url.path().ends_with("/*.vortex"));
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_glob_url_nonexistent_path() -> VortexResult<()> {
+        // absolute() does not require the path to exist, so a non-existent path succeeds.
+        let url = parse_glob_url("/nonexistent/path/file.vortex")?;
+        assert_eq!(url.scheme(), "file");
+        assert_eq!(url.path(), "/nonexistent/path/file.vortex");
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_glob_url_parent_relative_path() -> VortexResult<()> {
+        // A path starting with `..` must be resolved to an absolute path without
+        // percent-encoding the `..` component in the resulting URL.
+        let tmpfile = tempfile::NamedTempFile::new_in("..").unwrap();
+        let filename = tmpfile.path().file_name().unwrap().to_str().unwrap();
+        let relative = format!("../{filename}");
+
+        let url = parse_glob_url(&relative)?;
+        assert_eq!(url.scheme(), "file");
+        // The resolved path must be absolute and must not contain encoded dots.
+        assert!(url.path().starts_with('/'));
+        assert!(
+            !url.path().contains("%2E"),
+            "path must not contain percent-encoded dots"
+        );
+        assert!(url.path().ends_with(filename));
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    // Use absolute paths so the expected result is cwd-independent.
+    #[rstest]
+    #[case("/a/./b", "/a/b")]
+    #[case("/a/b/./c", "/a/b/c")]
+    #[case("/a/../b", "/b")]
+    #[case("/a/b/../c", "/a/c")]
+    #[case("/a/b/../../c", "/c")]
+    #[case("/a/./b/.././c", "/a/c")]
+    #[case("/a/b/../..", "/")]
+    fn test_parse_glob_url_dot_normalization(
+        #[case] input: &str,
+        #[case] expected_path: &str,
+    ) -> VortexResult<()> {
+        let url = parse_glob_url(input)?;
+        assert_eq!(url.scheme(), "file");
+        assert_eq!(
+            url.path(),
+            expected_path,
+            "input {input:?} should normalize to {expected_path:?}"
+        );
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}