diff --git a/core/framework/framework.go b/core/framework/framework.go
index 8444320..a8849c5 100644
--- a/core/framework/framework.go
+++ b/core/framework/framework.go
@@ -67,21 +67,39 @@ func List() ([]Info, error) {
 }
 
 func Load(idOrFile string) (*Framework, error) {
-	if info, err := os.Stat(idOrFile); err == nil {
+	if isLikelyPath(idOrFile) {
+		info, err := os.Stat(idOrFile)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("load framework file %s: %w", idOrFile, err)
+		}
 		if info.IsDir() {
-			if isLikelyPath(idOrFile) {
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("load framework file %s: path is a directory", idOrFile)
-			}
-		} else {
-			return LoadFile(idOrFile)
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("load framework file %s: path is a directory", idOrFile)
 		}
-	} else if isLikelyPath(idOrFile) {
+		return LoadFile(idOrFile)
+	}
+
+	embedded, embeddedErr := loadEmbedded(idOrFile)
+	if embeddedErr == nil {
+		return embedded, nil
+	}
+
+	info, err := os.Stat(idOrFile)
+	if err == nil {
+		if info.IsDir() {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("load framework file %s: path is a directory", idOrFile)
+		}
+		return LoadFile(idOrFile)
+	}
+	if !os.IsNotExist(err) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("load framework file %s: %w", idOrFile, err)
 	}
+	return nil, embeddedErr
+}
 
+func loadEmbedded(idOrFile string) (*Framework, error) {
 	name := idOrFile
 	if !strings.HasSuffix(name, ".yaml") {
-		name = name + ".yaml"
+		name += ".yaml"
 	}
 	raw, err := frameworkFS.ReadFile(name)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -91,6 +109,7 @@ func Load(idOrFile string) (*Framework, error) {
 }
 
 func LoadFile(path string) (*Framework, error) {
+	// #nosec G304 -- path is intentionally caller-provided for runtime custom framework loading.
 	raw, err := os.ReadFile(path)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("load framework file %s: %w", path, err)
diff --git a/core/framework/framework_test.go b/core/framework/framework_test.go
index 04e755a..dc271d5 100644
--- a/core/framework/framework_test.go
+++ b/core/framework/framework_test.go
@@ -57,6 +57,49 @@ func TestLoadMissingFilesystemPath(t *testing.T) {
 	require.ErrorContains(t, err, "load framework file")
 }
 
+func TestLoadPrefersEmbeddedOverLocalCollision(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	t.Chdir(dir)
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile("eu-ai-act.yaml", []byte("not: valid: yaml: ["), 0o644))
+
+	f, err := Load("eu-ai-act.yaml")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, "eu-ai-act", f.Framework.ID)
+	require.Equal(t, "2024-final", f.Framework.Version)
+
+	list, err := List()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	var found bool
+	for _, info := range list {
+		if info.ID == "eu-ai-act" {
+			found = true
+			require.Equal(t, 3, info.ControlCount)
+		}
+	}
+	require.True(t, found)
+}
+
+func TestLoadFilenameFallbackForCustomFramework(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	t.Chdir(dir)
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile("custom-framework.yaml", []byte(`
+framework:
+  id: custom-framework
+  version: "1"
+  title: Custom Framework
+controls:
+  - id: custom-control
+    title: Custom Control
+    required_record_types: [decision]
+    required_fields: [record_id]
+    minimum_frequency: continuous
+`), 0o644))
+
+	f, err := Load("custom-framework.yaml")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, "custom-framework", f.Framework.ID)
+}
+
 func TestValidateControls(t *testing.T) {
 	valid := []Control{
 		{