diff --git a/cuda_core/cuda/core/utils/_program_cache/_file_stream.py b/cuda_core/cuda/core/utils/_program_cache/_file_stream.py
index eb71abf5446..504e7fb3bae 100644
--- a/cuda_core/cuda/core/utils/_program_cache/_file_stream.py
+++ b/cuda_core/cuda/core/utils/_program_cache/_file_stream.py
@@ -756,12 +756,22 @@ def _enforce_size_cap(self) -> None:
             # problems -- surface them rather than silently exceed the cap.
             try:
                 _unlink_with_sharing_retry(path)
-                total -= size
             except FileNotFoundError:
+                # Someone else unlinked it between the stat-guard above and
+                # here. The bytes are off disk either way, so credit them --
+                # exactly as the stat-miss branch a few lines up already
+                # does. Leaving ``total`` unchanged keeps it above the cap,
+                # so this pass evicts a live entry that did not need to go,
+                # and then reseeds the tracker with the same overcount, which
+                # makes the next write over-evict again.
                 pass
             except PermissionError as exc:
                 if not _is_windows_sharing_violation(exc):
                     raise
+                # Retry budget exhausted on a Windows sharing violation: the
+                # file is still on disk, so its bytes must stay in ``total``.
+                continue
+            total -= size
         # Reconcile: after the eviction pass, ``total`` reflects what we
         # believe the disk now holds. Re-seed the tracker so the next write
         # accumulates from a fresh baseline.
diff --git a/cuda_core/docs/source/release/1.2.0-notes.rst b/cuda_core/docs/source/release/1.2.0-notes.rst
index 120d2c2a253..90bb973fd58 100644
--- a/cuda_core/docs/source/release/1.2.0-notes.rst
+++ b/cuda_core/docs/source/release/1.2.0-notes.rst
@@ -73,6 +73,14 @@ Fixes and enhancements
   Windows, both ``ctypes.CFUNCTYPE`` and ``ctypes.WINFUNCTYPE`` are accepted.
   (`#2439 <https://github.com/NVIDIA/cuda-python/issues/2439>`__)
 
+- :class:`~cuda.core.utils.FileStreamProgramCache` no longer over-evicts when
+  another process removes an entry during a size-cap pass. The eviction loop
+  credited an entry that had already vanished by the time it was re-stat'ed,
+  but not one that vanished a few microseconds later at the ``unlink`` -- so
+  the pass believed it was still over the cap, evicted a live entry that did
+  not need to go, and reseeded the size tracker with the same overcount,
+  making the next write over-evict as well.
+
 Deprecation Notices
 -------------------
 
diff --git a/cuda_core/tests/test_program_cache.py b/cuda_core/tests/test_program_cache.py
index a8d3fc85f7e..5364feed57c 100644
--- a/cuda_core/tests/test_program_cache.py
+++ b/cuda_core/tests/test_program_cache.py
@@ -1784,6 +1784,55 @@ def test_filestream_cache_size_cap_counts_tmp_files(tmp_path):
         assert cache.get(b"c") is not None
 
 
+@pytest.mark.agent_authored(model="claude-opus-5")
+def test_filestream_size_cap_credits_an_entry_that_vanished_at_unlink(tmp_path):
+    """An entry another process removed mid-pass must be credited to ``total``.
+
+    ``_enforce_size_cap`` already credits an entry that has vanished by the
+    time it re-stats it. The unlink a few lines later is the same "already
+    gone" condition a few microseconds later, but its ``FileNotFoundError``
+    branch left ``total`` unchanged -- so the pass believed it was still over
+    the cap and evicted a second, live entry that did not need to go, then
+    reseeded the tracker with that same overcount, making the *next* write
+    over-evict too.
+    """
+    from cuda.core.utils import FileStreamProgramCache
+    from cuda.core.utils._program_cache import _file_stream
+
+    cap = 100
+    with FileStreamProgramCache(tmp_path / "fc", max_size_bytes=cap) as cache:
+        for i in range(3):
+            time.sleep(0.02)  # distinct atimes so eviction order is deterministic
+            cache[f"k{i}".encode()] = b"X" * 30
+        assert cache._tracked_size_bytes == 90
+
+        real_unlink = _file_stream._unlink_with_sharing_retry
+        raced = []
+
+        def racing_unlink(path):
+            # The first victim of this pass is unlinked by "another process"
+            # in the window between our stat-guard and our own unlink.
+            if not raced:
+                raced.append(path)
+                path.unlink()
+                raise FileNotFoundError(path)
+            real_unlink(path)
+
+        _file_stream._unlink_with_sharing_retry = racing_unlink
+        try:
+            time.sleep(0.02)
+            cache[b"k3"] = b"X" * 30  # 120 > 100 -> eviction pass runs
+        finally:
+            _file_stream._unlink_with_sharing_retry = real_unlink
+
+        assert raced, "the eviction pass never reached an unlink"
+        # 30 bytes had to go to get under the cap and 30 bytes did go, so the
+        # three remaining entries must all survive.
+        assert len(cache) == 3
+        assert cache._compute_total_size() == 90
+        assert cache._tracked_size_bytes == 90
+
+
 def test_filestream_cache_handles_long_keys(tmp_path):
     """Arbitrary-length keys must not overflow per-component filename limits.
     The filename is a fixed-length 256-bit digest; key uniqueness