diff --git a/src/uu/cp/src/platform/linux.rs b/src/uu/cp/src/platform/linux.rs
index fc32a4be5da..015d6dddf6e 100644
--- a/src/uu/cp/src/platform/linux.rs
+++ b/src/uu/cp/src/platform/linux.rs
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ use rustix::fs::{SeekFrom, ftruncate, ioctl_ficlone, seek};
 use std::fs::File;
 use std::io::{self, Read};
 use std::os::unix::fs::FileExt;
-use std::os::unix::fs::FileTypeExt;
 use std::os::unix::fs::MetadataExt;
 use std::path::Path;
 
@@ -154,7 +153,25 @@ fn sparse_copy_without_hole_fd(src_file: &File, dst_file: &File, context: &str)
     let ctx_err = |e: io::Error| CpError::IoErrContext(e, context.to_owned());
 
     let size = src_file.metadata().map_err(&ctx_err)?.size();
-    ftruncate(dst_file, size).map_err(|e| CpError::IoErrContext(e.into(), context.to_owned()))?;
+    // A fifo, a socket, or a character device such as the `/dev/null` that
+    // `/dev/stdout` may resolve to all reject `ftruncate` with `EINVAL`
+    // since they support neither it nor the writes at explicit offsets the
+    // rest of this function makes; take the standard copy instead, which is
+    // what GNU does with them. Discovered here rather than checked in
+    // advance, since checking first would cost every ordinary destination
+    // -- overwhelmingly a regular file, for which this never fires -- a
+    // `metadata` call for no benefit. Nothing has been read from `src_file`
+    // or written to `dst_file` yet, so falling back here cannot duplicate
+    // or corrupt output.
+    match ftruncate(dst_file, size) {
+        Ok(()) => {}
+        Err(rustix::io::Errno::INVAL) => {
+            let mut src = src_file;
+            let mut dst = dst_file;
+            return buf_copy::copy_fast(&mut src, &mut dst).map_err(&ctx_err);
+        }
+        Err(e) => return Err(CpError::IoErrContext(e.into(), context.to_owned())),
+    }
     let mut current_offset = 0;
     // Maximize the data read at once to 16 MiB to avoid memory hogging with large files
     // 16 MiB chunks should saturate an SSD
@@ -194,7 +211,16 @@ fn sparse_copy_fd(src_file: &mut File, dst_file: &File, context: &str) -> CopyRe
     // Keep the size as u64: on 32-bit targets a usize conversion would
     // panic for sources of 4 GiB and more.
     let size = src_file.metadata().map_err(&ctx_err)?.size();
-    ftruncate(dst_file, size).map_err(|e| CpError::IoErrContext(e.into(), context.to_owned()))?;
+    // See the matching comment in `sparse_copy_without_hole_fd` for why an
+    // `EINVAL` here falls back to a plain copy instead of erroring.
+    match ftruncate(dst_file, size) {
+        Ok(()) => {}
+        Err(rustix::io::Errno::INVAL) => {
+            let mut dst = dst_file;
+            return buf_copy::copy_fast(src_file, &mut dst).map_err(&ctx_err);
+        }
+        Err(e) => return Err(CpError::IoErrContext(e.into(), context.to_owned())),
+    }
 
     let blksize = dst_file.metadata().map_err(&ctx_err)?.blksize();
     let mut buf: Vec<u8> = vec![0; blksize as usize];
@@ -224,12 +250,6 @@ fn sparse_copy_fd(src_file: &mut File, dst_file: &File, context: &str) -> CopyRe
     Ok(())
 }
 
-/// Checks whether an existing destination is a fifo
-fn check_dest_is_fifo(dest: &Path) -> bool {
-    // If our destination file exists and its a fifo , we do a standard copy .
-    std::fs::metadata(dest).is_ok_and(|f| f.file_type().is_fifo())
-}
-
 /// Copy the contents of a stream from `source` to `dest`.
 fn copy_stream<P>(source: P, dest: P, nofollow: bool, context: &str) -> CopyResult<()>
 where
@@ -314,7 +334,7 @@ pub(crate) fn copy_on_write(
                 let mut src_file = open_source(source, nofollow)
                     .map_err(|e| CpError::IoErrContext(e, context.to_owned()))?;
                 let mut copy_method = CopyMethod::Default;
-                let result = handle_reflink_never_sparse_always(&mut src_file, dest);
+                let result = handle_reflink_never_sparse_always(&mut src_file);
                 if let Ok((debug, method)) = result {
                     copy_debug = debug;
                     copy_method = method;
@@ -356,7 +376,7 @@ pub(crate) fn copy_on_write(
                 let mut src_file = open_source(source, nofollow)
                     .map_err(|e| CpError::IoErrContext(e, context.to_owned()))?;
                 let mut copy_method = CopyMethod::Default;
-                let result = handle_reflink_never_sparse_auto(&mut src_file, dest);
+                let result = handle_reflink_never_sparse_auto(&mut src_file);
                 if let Ok((debug, method)) = result {
                     copy_debug = debug;
                     copy_method = method;
@@ -382,7 +402,7 @@ pub(crate) fn copy_on_write(
                 let mut src_file = open_source(source, nofollow)
                     .map_err(|e| CpError::IoErrContext(e, context.to_owned()))?;
                 let mut copy_method = CopyMethod::Default;
-                let result = handle_reflink_auto_sparse_always(&mut src_file, dest);
+                let result = handle_reflink_auto_sparse_always(&mut src_file);
                 if let Ok((debug, method)) = result {
                     copy_debug = debug;
                     copy_method = method;
@@ -421,7 +441,7 @@ pub(crate) fn copy_on_write(
                 let mut src_file = open_source(source, nofollow)
                     .map_err(|e| CpError::IoErrContext(e, context.to_owned()))?;
                 let mut copy_method = CopyMethod::Default;
-                let result = handle_reflink_auto_sparse_auto(&mut src_file, dest);
+                let result = handle_reflink_auto_sparse_auto(&mut src_file);
                 if let Ok((debug, method)) = result {
                     copy_debug = debug;
                     copy_method = method;
@@ -457,10 +477,7 @@ pub(crate) fn copy_on_write(
 
 /// Handles debug results when flags are "--reflink=auto" and "--sparse=always" and specifies what
 /// type of copy should be used
-fn handle_reflink_auto_sparse_always(
-    src_file: &mut File,
-    dest: &Path,
-) -> io::Result<(CopyDebug, CopyMethod)> {
+fn handle_reflink_auto_sparse_always(src_file: &mut File) -> io::Result<(CopyDebug, CopyMethod)> {
     let mut copy_debug = CopyDebug {
         offload: OffloadReflinkDebug::Unknown,
         reflink: OffloadReflinkDebug::Unsupported,
@@ -485,9 +502,6 @@ fn handle_reflink_auto_sparse_always(
         (true, false, _) => copy_debug.sparse_detection = SparseDebug::SeekHole,
         (_, _, _) => (),
     }
-    if check_dest_is_fifo(dest) {
-        copy_method = CopyMethod::FSCopy;
-    }
     Ok((copy_debug, copy_method))
 }
 
@@ -536,10 +550,7 @@ fn handle_reflink_auto_sparse_never(src_file: &mut File) -> io::Result<CopyDebug
 
 /// Handles debug results when flags are "--reflink=auto" and "--sparse=auto" and specifies what
 /// type of copy should be used
-fn handle_reflink_auto_sparse_auto(
-    src_file: &mut File,
-    dest: &Path,
-) -> io::Result<(CopyDebug, CopyMethod)> {
+fn handle_reflink_auto_sparse_auto(src_file: &mut File) -> io::Result<(CopyDebug, CopyMethod)> {
     let mut copy_debug = CopyDebug {
         offload: OffloadReflinkDebug::Unknown,
         reflink: OffloadReflinkDebug::Unsupported,
@@ -571,18 +582,12 @@ fn handle_reflink_auto_sparse_auto(
         copy_debug.sparse_detection = SparseDebug::SeekHole;
     }
 
-    if check_dest_is_fifo(dest) {
-        copy_method = CopyMethod::FSCopy;
-    }
     Ok((copy_debug, copy_method))
 }
 
 /// Handles debug results when flags are "--reflink=never" and "--sparse=auto" and specifies what
 /// type of copy should be used
-fn handle_reflink_never_sparse_auto(
-    src_file: &mut File,
-    dest: &Path,
-) -> io::Result<(CopyDebug, CopyMethod)> {
+fn handle_reflink_never_sparse_auto(src_file: &mut File) -> io::Result<(CopyDebug, CopyMethod)> {
     let mut copy_debug = CopyDebug {
         offload: OffloadReflinkDebug::Unknown,
         reflink: OffloadReflinkDebug::No,
@@ -607,18 +612,12 @@ fn handle_reflink_never_sparse_auto(
         copy_debug.sparse_detection = SparseDebug::SeekHole;
     }
 
-    if check_dest_is_fifo(dest) {
-        copy_method = CopyMethod::FSCopy;
-    }
     Ok((copy_debug, copy_method))
 }
 
 /// Handles debug results when flags are "--reflink=never" and "--sparse=always" and specifies what
 /// type of copy should be used
-fn handle_reflink_never_sparse_always(
-    src_file: &mut File,
-    dest: &Path,
-) -> io::Result<(CopyDebug, CopyMethod)> {
+fn handle_reflink_never_sparse_always(src_file: &mut File) -> io::Result<(CopyDebug, CopyMethod)> {
     let mut copy_debug = CopyDebug {
         offload: OffloadReflinkDebug::Unknown,
         reflink: OffloadReflinkDebug::No,
@@ -652,9 +651,6 @@ fn handle_reflink_never_sparse_always(
 
         (_, _, _) => (),
     }
-    if check_dest_is_fifo(dest) {
-        copy_method = CopyMethod::FSCopy;
-    }
 
     Ok((copy_debug, copy_method))
 }
diff --git a/tests/by-util/test_cp.rs b/tests/by-util/test_cp.rs
index f216f52a3be..893befa9d46 100644
--- a/tests/by-util/test_cp.rs
+++ b/tests/by-util/test_cp.rs
@@ -8937,3 +8937,16 @@ fn test_progressbar_inexistent_source() {
         .fails_with_code(1)
         .stderr_contains("cp: cannot stat 'inexistent1': No such file or directory");
 }
+
+#[test]
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+fn test_cp_sparse_always_to_character_device() {
+    // The sparse paths use ftruncate and positional writes, which a character
+    // device rejects with EINVAL. Only a fifo destination was excluded, so
+    // `cp --sparse=always FILE /dev/null` failed where GNU copies normally.
+    let (at, mut ucmd) = at_and_ucmd!();
+    at.write("src.txt", "hello world\n");
+    ucmd.args(&["--sparse=always", "src.txt", "/dev/null"])
+        .succeeds()
+        .no_stderr();
+}