diff --git a/__tests__/tarConcurrency.test.ts b/__tests__/tarConcurrency.test.ts
index 0d84d89..b9ebde5 100644
--- a/__tests__/tarConcurrency.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/tarConcurrency.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
+import * as core from '@actions/core'
 import * as exec from '@actions/exec'
+import * as io from '@actions/io'
 import * as fs from 'fs'
 import * as path from 'path'
 import * as tar from '../src/internal/tar'
@@ -178,6 +180,32 @@ describeWindows.each([
     expectCleanScratch()
   })
 
+  test.each<[Operation, boolean]>([
+    ['extract', false],
+    ['extract', true],
+    ['list', false],
+    ['list', true]
+  ])(
+    'preserves the %s result when cleanup fails (command fails=%s)',
+    async (operation, commandFails) => {
+      const debugMock = jest.spyOn(core, 'debug').mockImplementation(() => {})
+      jest
+        .spyOn(io, 'rmRF')
+        .mockRejectedValue(new Error('simulated cleanup failure'))
+      failStage = commandFails ? 'tar' : undefined
+
+      const result = readers[operation](archives[0], compression)
+      if (commandFails) {
+        await expect(result).rejects.toThrow('simulated tar failure')
+      } else {
+        await expect(result).resolves.toBeUndefined()
+      }
+      expect(debugMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.stringContaining('simulated cleanup failure')
+      )
+    }
+  )
+
   test.each<[Operation, 'decompress' | 'tar']>([
     ['extract', 'decompress'],
     ['extract', 'tar'],
diff --git a/src/internal/tar.ts b/src/internal/tar.ts
index 7b8d81a..cad3ac6 100644
--- a/src/internal/tar.ts
+++ b/src/internal/tar.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import * as core from '@actions/core'
 import {exec} from '@actions/exec'
 import * as io from '@actions/io'
 import {existsSync, writeFileSync} from 'fs'
@@ -286,7 +287,11 @@ async function execReadCommands(
     await execCommands(commands, tempDirectory)
   } finally {
     if (tempDirectory) {
-      await io.rmRF(tempDirectory)
+      try {
+        await io.rmRF(tempDirectory)
+      } catch (error) {
+        core.debug(`Failed to delete temporary tar directory: ${error}`)
+      }
     }
   }
 }