diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/resolve.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/resolve.ts
index 5522ec0656d19d..02f23453987743 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/resolve.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/resolve.ts
@@ -1263,7 +1263,7 @@ function equalWithoutSuffix(path: string, key: string, suffix: string) {
 function getRealPath(resolved: string, preserveSymlinks?: boolean): string {
   resolved = ensureVolumeInPath(resolved)
   if (!preserveSymlinks && browserExternalId !== resolved) {
-    resolved = fs.realpathSync(resolved)
+    resolved = safeRealpathSync(resolved)
   }
   return normalizePath(resolved)
 }