diff --git a/src/build/vite/dev.ts b/src/build/vite/dev.ts
index ab4f24671b..bda269edb7 100644
--- a/src/build/vite/dev.ts
+++ b/src/build/vite/dev.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ import { getEnvRunner } from "./env.ts";
 
 // https://vite.dev/guide/api-environment-runtimes.html#modulerunner
 
+// Vite-specific query suffixes that must be resolved through the plugin container.
+const VITE_QUERY_RE = /\?(url|raw|inline|worker)(?:&|$)/;
+
 // Extensions that strongly indicate a browser asset load (script/style/font/image/media).
 // Used as a fallback signal when `Sec-Fetch-Dest` is absent (plain-HTTP non-loopback origins).
 // Kept narrow on purpose so that arbitrary dotted Nitro route params (e.g. `.../foo.bar.1`) keep reaching Nitro.
@@ -77,15 +80,17 @@ export class FetchableDevEnvironment extends DevEnvironment {
     // We intercept bare imports, resolve them through the environment's plugin
     // pipeline (which respects resolve.conditions and picks ESM), then route
     // the resolved path through transformRequest for proper SSR processing.
+    // Intercept Vite-specific query suffixes (?url, ?raw, ?inline, ?worker) so they
+    // are resolved through the plugin container rather than externalized.
+    const hasViteQuery = VITE_QUERY_RE.test(id);
     if (
-      this.#preventExternalize &&
+      (this.#preventExternalize || hasViteQuery) &&
       !id.startsWith("file://") &&
       importer &&
-      id[0] !== "." &&
-      id[0] !== "/"
+      (hasViteQuery || (id[0] !== "." && id[0] !== "/"))
     ) {
       const resolved = await this.pluginContainer.resolveId(id, importer);
-      if (resolved && !resolved.external) {
+      if (resolved && (!resolved.external || hasViteQuery)) {
         return super.fetchModule(resolved.id, importer, options);
       }
     }
@@ -245,10 +250,10 @@ export async function configureViteDevServer(ctx: NitroPluginContext, server: Vi
     const fetchDest = req.headers["sec-fetch-dest"];
     const accept = req.headers["accept"];
     const ext = req.url!.split(/[?#]/, 1)[0].match(/\.([a-z0-9]+)$/i)?.[1];
-    const isNitroRoute = !!nitro.routing.routes.match(
-      req.method || "",
-      new URL(withBase(req.url!, nitro.options.baseURL), "http://localhost").pathname
-    );
+    const reqPathname = new URL(withBase(req.url!, nitro.options.baseURL), "http://localhost")
+      .pathname;
+    const nitroRouteMatch = nitro.routing.routes.match(req.method || "", reqPathname);
+    const isNitroRoute = !!nitroRouteMatch;
     // Sec-Fetch-* is only sent on "potentially trustworthy" origins, so on plain-HTTP non-loopback (e.g. http://10.0.0.x) it's absent and a splat Nitro route may swallow browser asset loads (#4234). When the header is missing, treat known asset extensions without `text/html` in Accept as asset loads and let Vite handle them.
     const isAssetByDest =
       typeof fetchDest === "string" && !/^(document|iframe|frame|empty)$/.test(fetchDest);
@@ -256,8 +261,15 @@ export async function configureViteDevServer(ctx: NitroPluginContext, server: Vi
     const acceptsHTML = typeof accept === "string" && /\btext\/html\b/.test(accept);
     const treatAsAsset = isAssetByDest || (!fetchDest && isAssetByExt && !acceptsHTML);
     res.setHeader("vary", "sec-fetch-dest, accept");
-    // An explicit Nitro route reaches Nitro even when the request is tagged as an asset (e.g. `<img src="/api/image">` with `sec-fetch-dest: image`, #4241), UNLESS the URL also has an asset-like extension — in that case Vite stays the definitive handler so a splat doesn't swallow `<script src=".../entry-client.ts">` (#4234).
-    const nitroWins = isNitroRoute && !(isAssetByExt && treatAsAsset);
+    // An explicit Nitro route reaches Nitro even when the request is tagged as an asset (#4241).
+    // The asset-extension guard only applies to root-level wildcards (/**) to prevent a renderer
+    // or user catch-all from swallowing Vite's own <script>/<link> serves (#4234). Specific
+    // prefixed routes (e.g. /api/photos/**) are never wildcards on Vite-managed paths (#4252).
+    const matchedRoutePattern = Array.isArray(nitroRouteMatch)
+      ? nitroRouteMatch[0]?.route
+      : nitroRouteMatch?.route;
+    const isRootWildcard = matchedRoutePattern === "/**" || matchedRoutePattern?.startsWith("/**:");
+    const nitroWins = isNitroRoute && (!isRootWildcard || !(isAssetByExt && treatAsAsset));
     // Fallback for unknown URLs: extensionless, non-asset requests default to Nitro (page navigation, SSR catch-all).
     const documentFallback = !ext && !treatAsAsset;
     const routeToNitro =
diff --git a/src/build/vite/env.ts b/src/build/vite/env.ts
index 46dbf92032..80718b59bf 100644
--- a/src/build/vite/env.ts
+++ b/src/build/vite/env.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ export function createNitroEnvironment(ctx: NitroPluginContext): EnvironmentOpti
           : [
               /^nitro$/, // i have absolutely no idea why and how it fixes issues!
               new RegExp(`^(${runtimeDependencies.join("|")})$`), // virtual resolutions in vite skip plugin hooks
+              /\?(url|raw|inline|worker)(?:&|$)/,
               ...ctx.bundlerConfig!.base.noExternal,
             ]
         : true, // production build is standalone
diff --git a/test/vite/baseurl-dotted-param-fixture/routes/[...path].ts b/test/vite/baseurl-dotted-param-fixture/routes/[...path].ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0c2e759e17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/vite/baseurl-dotted-param-fixture/routes/[...path].ts
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+import type { EventHandler } from "h3";
+
+export default ((event) => {
+  const path = event.context.params?.path ?? "";
+  return `root-wildcard:${path}`;
+}) satisfies EventHandler;
diff --git a/test/vite/baseurl-dotted-param.test.ts b/test/vite/baseurl-dotted-param.test.ts
index f1061071b3..789d5dbd89 100644
--- a/test/vite/baseurl-dotted-param.test.ts
+++ b/test/vite/baseurl-dotted-param.test.ts
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ describe("vite:baseURL dotted params", { sequential: true }, () => {
   });
 
   test("serves Nitro API routes with dotted params under baseURL without redirecting", async () => {
-    // `image` is included to cover #4241 — `<img src="/api/...">` requests carry `sec-fetch-dest: image` but should still reach an explicit Nitro route.
     for (const fetchDest of ["empty", "document", "image", undefined]) {
       const headers: Record<string, string> = {};
       if (fetchDest) {
@@ -58,16 +57,43 @@ describe("vite:baseURL dotted params", { sequential: true }, () => {
     expect(await response.text()).toBe("image");
   });
 
-  // Browsers omit Sec-Fetch-* on plain-HTTP non-loopback origins (e.g. http://10.0.0.x:3000). Without that signal, a splat Nitro route would swallow `<script src=".../entry-client.ts">` requests. Accept + asset extension is used as a fallback to keep asset loads routed to Vite.
-  test("does not misroute asset loads to splat Nitro routes when sec-fetch-dest is absent", async () => {
-    const response = await fetch(`${serverURL}/subdir/api/proxy/entry-client.ts`, {
-      headers: { accept: "*/*" },
+  test("prefixed splat routes win over Vite assets even with asset extensions and sec-fetch-dest", async () => {
+    for (const fetchDest of ["script", "style", "image", undefined]) {
+      const headers: Record<string, string> = { accept: "*/*" };
+      if (fetchDest) {
+        headers["sec-fetch-dest"] = fetchDest;
+      }
+      const response = await fetch(`${serverURL}/subdir/api/proxy/entry-client.ts`, {
+        headers,
+        redirect: "manual",
+      });
+      expect(response.status, `fetchDest: ${fetchDest}`).toBe(200);
+      expect(await response.text(), `fetchDest: ${fetchDest}`).toBe("entry-client.ts");
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("root-level wildcards do not swallow Vite assets (protects #4234)", async () => {
+    for (const fetchDest of ["script", "style", "image", undefined]) {
+      const headers: Record<string, string> = { accept: "*/*" };
+      if (fetchDest) {
+        headers["sec-fetch-dest"] = fetchDest;
+      }
+      const response = await fetch(`${serverURL}/subdir/entry-client.ts`, {
+        headers,
+        redirect: "manual",
+      });
+      expect(response.status, `fetchDest: ${fetchDest}`).toBe(404);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("root-level wildcards *do* swallow Vite assets when NOT an asset extension", async () => {
+    const response = await fetch(`${serverURL}/subdir/some-page`, {
       redirect: "manual",
     });
-    expect(await response.text()).not.toBe("entry-client.ts");
+    expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+    expect(await response.text()).toBe("root-wildcard:some-page");
   });
 
-  // The extension extraction must look at the path only — a `.png` in the query string (e.g. `?file=bar.png`) must not flag the request as an asset and divert it to Vite.
   test("ignores asset-like extensions inside the query string when routing to Nitro", async () => {
     const response = await fetch(`${serverURL}/subdir/api/proxy/data?file=bar.png`, {
       headers: { "sec-fetch-dest": "image", accept: "image/*" },