diff --git a/pkg/sentry/fsimpl/gofer/dentry_impl.go b/pkg/sentry/fsimpl/gofer/dentry_impl.go
index c6bceab20..8cc74dd74 100644
--- a/pkg/sentry/fsimpl/gofer/dentry_impl.go
+++ b/pkg/sentry/fsimpl/gofer/dentry_impl.go
@@ -325,7 +325,9 @@ func (d *dentry) mknod(ctx context.Context, name string, creds *auth.Credentials
 	}
 }
 
-// Precondition: !d.isSynthetic().
+// Preconditions:
+//   - !d.isSynthetic().
+//   - d.fs.renameMu must be locked.
 func (d *dentry) link(ctx context.Context, target *dentry, name string) (*dentry, error) {
 	switch dt := d.impl.(type) {
 	case *lisafsDentry:
diff --git a/pkg/sentry/fsimpl/gofer/directfs_dentry.go b/pkg/sentry/fsimpl/gofer/directfs_dentry.go
index 232c872fd..fdbfee371 100644
--- a/pkg/sentry/fsimpl/gofer/directfs_dentry.go
+++ b/pkg/sentry/fsimpl/gofer/directfs_dentry.go
@@ -512,8 +512,16 @@ func (d *directfsDentry) bindAt(ctx context.Context, name string, creds *auth.Cr
 	return child, nil
 }
 
+// Precondition: d.fs.renameMu must be locked.
 func (d *directfsDentry) link(target *directfsDentry, name string) (*dentry, error) {
-	if err := unix.Linkat(target.controlFD, "", d.controlFD, name, unix.AT_EMPTY_PATH); err != nil {
+	// Using linkat(targetFD, "", newdirfd, name, AT_EMPTY_PATH) requires
+	// CAP_DAC_READ_SEARCH in the *root* userns. With directfs, the sandbox
+	// process has CAP_DAC_READ_SEARCH in its own userns. But the sandbox is
+	// running in a different userns. So we can't use AT_EMPTY_PATH. Fallback to
+	// using olddirfd to call linkat(2).
+	// Also note that d and target are from the same mount. Given target is a
+	// non-directory and d is a directory, target.parent must exist.
+	if err := unix.Linkat(target.parent.impl.(*directfsDentry).controlFD, target.name, d.controlFD, name, 0); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	// Note that we don't need to set uid/gid for the new child. This is a hard
diff --git a/runsc/boot/filter/config.go b/runsc/boot/filter/config.go
index 30a038a63..e138ef5b0 100644
--- a/runsc/boot/filter/config.go
+++ b/runsc/boot/filter/config.go
@@ -426,7 +426,7 @@ func hostFilesystemFilters() seccomp.SyscallRules {
 				seccomp.MatchAny{},
 				validFDCheck,
 				seccomp.MatchAny{},
-				seccomp.EqualTo(unix.AT_EMPTY_PATH),
+				seccomp.EqualTo(0),
 			},
 		},
 		unix.SYS_MKDIRAT: []seccomp.Rule{
diff --git a/runsc/fsgofer/lisafs.go b/runsc/fsgofer/lisafs.go
index c78e34013..dca243cc1 100644
--- a/runsc/fsgofer/lisafs.go
+++ b/runsc/fsgofer/lisafs.go
@@ -248,6 +248,16 @@ func (fd *controlFDLisa) getWritableFD() (int, error) {
 	return writableFD, nil
 }
 
+func (fd *controlFDLisa) getParentFD() (int, string, error) {
+	filePath := fd.Node().FilePath()
+	if filePath == "/" {
+		log.Warningf("getParentFD() call on the root")
+		return -1, "", unix.EINVAL
+	}
+	parent, err := unix.Open(path.Dir(filePath), openFlags|unix.O_PATH, 0)
+	return parent, path.Base(filePath), err
+}
+
 // FD implements lisafs.ControlFDImpl.FD.
 func (fd *controlFDLisa) FD() *lisafs.ControlFD {
 	if fd == nil {
@@ -280,15 +290,14 @@ func (fd *controlFDLisa) SetStat(stat lisafs.SetStatReq) (failureMask uint32, fa
 		if fd.IsSocket() {
 			// fchmod(2) on socket files created via bind(2) fails. We need to
 			// fchmodat(2) it from its parent.
-			sockPath := fd.Node().FilePath()
-			parent, err := unix.Open(path.Dir(sockPath), openFlags|unix.O_PATH, 0)
+			parent, sockName, err := fd.getParentFD()
 			if err == nil {
 				// Note that AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW flag is not currently supported.
-				err = unix.Fchmodat(parent, path.Base(sockPath), stat.Mode&^unix.S_IFMT, 0 /* flags */)
+				err = unix.Fchmodat(parent, sockName, stat.Mode&^unix.S_IFMT, 0 /* flags */)
 				unix.Close(parent)
 			}
 			if err != nil {
-				log.Warningf("SetStat fchmod failed on socket %q, err: %v", sockPath, err)
+				log.Warningf("SetStat fchmod failed on socket %q, err: %v", fd.Node().FilePath(), err)
 				failureMask |= unix.STATX_MODE
 				failureErr = err
 			}
@@ -332,10 +341,9 @@ func (fd *controlFDLisa) SetStat(stat lisafs.SetStatReq) (failureMask uint32, fa
 			// utimensat operates different that other syscalls. To operate on a
 			// symlink it *requires* AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW with dirFD and a non-empty
 			// name. We need the parent FD.
-			symlinkPath := fd.Node().FilePath()
-			parent, err := unix.Open(path.Dir(symlinkPath), openFlags|unix.O_PATH, 0)
+			parent, symlinkName, err := fd.getParentFD()
 			if err == nil {
-				err = fsutil.Utimensat(parent, path.Base(symlinkPath), utimes, unix.AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW)
+				err = fsutil.Utimensat(parent, symlinkName, utimes, unix.AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW)
 				unix.Close(parent)
 			}
 			if err != nil {
@@ -669,8 +677,17 @@ func (fd *controlFDLisa) Symlink(name string, target string, uid lisafs.UID, gid
 
 // Link implements lisafs.ControlFDImpl.Link.
 func (fd *controlFDLisa) Link(dir lisafs.ControlFDImpl, name string) (*lisafs.ControlFD, linux.Statx, error) {
+	// Using linkat(targetFD, "", newdirfd, name, AT_EMPTY_PATH) requires
+	// CAP_DAC_READ_SEARCH in the *root* userns. The gofer process has
+	// CAP_DAC_READ_SEARCH in its own userns. But sometimes the gofer may be
+	// running in a different userns. So we can't use AT_EMPTY_PATH. Fallback
+	// to using olddirfd to call linkat(2).
+	oldDirFD, oldName, err := fd.getParentFD()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, linux.Statx{}, err
+	}
 	dirFD := dir.(*controlFDLisa)
-	if err := unix.Linkat(fd.hostFD, "", dirFD.hostFD, name, unix.AT_EMPTY_PATH); err != nil {
+	if err := unix.Linkat(oldDirFD, oldName, dirFD.hostFD, name, 0); err != nil {
 		return nil, linux.Statx{}, err
 	}
 	cu := cleanup.Make(func() {
diff --git a/test/syscalls/BUILD b/test/syscalls/BUILD
index 530afc4f8..91dd42d48 100644
--- a/test/syscalls/BUILD
+++ b/test/syscalls/BUILD
@@ -324,7 +324,9 @@ syscall_test(
     add_fusefs = True,
     add_overlay = True,
     test = "//test/syscalls/linux:link_test",
-    use_tmpfs = True,  # gofer needs CAP_DAC_READ_SEARCH to use AT_EMPTY_PATH with linkat(2)
+    # TODO(gvisor.dev/issue/6739): Remove use_tmpfs=True once gofer filesystem
+    # supports hard links correctly.
+    use_tmpfs = True,
 )
 
 syscall_test(