diff --git a/Include/internal/pycore_fileutils.h b/Include/internal/pycore_fileutils.h
index 13f86b01bbfe8f..93c4118e5f7c20 100644
--- a/Include/internal/pycore_fileutils.h
+++ b/Include/internal/pycore_fileutils.h
@@ -279,7 +279,8 @@ extern size_t _Py_find_basename(const wchar_t *filename);
 // Export for '_testinternalcapi' shared extension
 PyAPI_FUNC(wchar_t*) _Py_normpath(wchar_t *path, Py_ssize_t size);
 
-extern wchar_t *_Py_normpath_and_size(wchar_t *path, Py_ssize_t size, Py_ssize_t *length);
+extern wchar_t *_Py_normpath_and_size(wchar_t *path, Py_ssize_t size, Py_ssize_t *length,
+                                      int explicit_curdir);
 
 // The Windows Games API family does not provide these functions
 // so provide our own implementations. Remove them in case they get added
diff --git a/Include/internal/pycore_global_objects_fini_generated.h b/Include/internal/pycore_global_objects_fini_generated.h
index e4f0138e17edfa..891086c1b5e7b4 100644
--- a/Include/internal/pycore_global_objects_fini_generated.h
+++ b/Include/internal/pycore_global_objects_fini_generated.h
@@ -924,6 +924,7 @@ _PyStaticObjects_CheckRefcnt(PyInterpreterState *interp) {
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(exception));
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(existing_file_name));
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(exp));
+    _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(explicit_curdir));
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(extend));
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(extra_tokens));
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(facility));
diff --git a/Include/internal/pycore_global_strings.h b/Include/internal/pycore_global_strings.h
index e70f11e2a26cd5..9cb3a110c8169a 100644
--- a/Include/internal/pycore_global_strings.h
+++ b/Include/internal/pycore_global_strings.h
@@ -413,6 +413,7 @@ struct _Py_global_strings {
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(exception)
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(existing_file_name)
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(exp)
+        STRUCT_FOR_ID(explicit_curdir)
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(extend)
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(extra_tokens)
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(facility)
diff --git a/Include/internal/pycore_runtime_init_generated.h b/Include/internal/pycore_runtime_init_generated.h
index 5d404c8fd91ca6..3cedd4cf5a44a3 100644
--- a/Include/internal/pycore_runtime_init_generated.h
+++ b/Include/internal/pycore_runtime_init_generated.h
@@ -922,6 +922,7 @@ extern "C" {
     INIT_ID(exception), \
     INIT_ID(existing_file_name), \
     INIT_ID(exp), \
+    INIT_ID(explicit_curdir), \
     INIT_ID(extend), \
     INIT_ID(extra_tokens), \
     INIT_ID(facility), \
diff --git a/Include/internal/pycore_unicodeobject_generated.h b/Include/internal/pycore_unicodeobject_generated.h
index d0bc8d7186c053..3e8ea073593e95 100644
--- a/Include/internal/pycore_unicodeobject_generated.h
+++ b/Include/internal/pycore_unicodeobject_generated.h
@@ -1448,6 +1448,10 @@ _PyUnicode_InitStaticStrings(PyInterpreterState *interp) {
     _PyUnicode_InternStatic(interp, &string);
     assert(_PyUnicode_CheckConsistency(string, 1));
     assert(PyUnicode_GET_LENGTH(string) != 1);
+    string = &_Py_ID(explicit_curdir);
+    _PyUnicode_InternStatic(interp, &string);
+    assert(_PyUnicode_CheckConsistency(string, 1));
+    assert(PyUnicode_GET_LENGTH(string) != 1);
     string = &_Py_ID(extend);
     _PyUnicode_InternStatic(interp, &string);
     assert(_PyUnicode_CheckConsistency(string, 1));
diff --git a/Lib/ntpath.py b/Lib/ntpath.py
index 5481bb8888ef59..4c2348be1b1893 100644
--- a/Lib/ntpath.py
+++ b/Lib/ntpath.py
@@ -555,6 +555,7 @@ def normpath(path):
 
 # Return an absolute path.
 try:
+    from nt import _path_normpath_ex as _normpath
     from nt import _getfullpathname
 
 except ImportError: # not running on Windows - mock up something sensible
@@ -573,7 +574,7 @@ def abspath(path):
     def abspath(path):
         """Return the absolute version of a path."""
         try:
-            return _getfullpathname(normpath(path))
+            return _getfullpathname(_normpath(path, explicit_curdir=True))
         except (OSError, ValueError):
             # See gh-75230, handle outside for cleaner traceback
             pass
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_ntpath.py b/Lib/test/test_ntpath.py
index 4f59184dfcfdc7..0c65a8ee0836e7 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_ntpath.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_ntpath.py
@@ -839,6 +839,20 @@ def test_abspath(self):
             tester('ntpath.abspath("")', cwd_dir)
             tester('ntpath.abspath(" ")', cwd_dir + "\\ ")
             tester('ntpath.abspath("?")', cwd_dir + "\\?")
+            tester('ntpath.abspath("con")', r"\\.\con")
+            # bpo-45354: Windows 11 changed MS-DOS device name handling
+            if sys.getwindowsversion()[:3] < (10, 0, 22000):
+                tester('ntpath.abspath("./con")', r"\\.\con")
+                tester('ntpath.abspath("foo/../con")', r"\\.\con")
+                tester('ntpath.abspath("con/foo/..")', r"\\.\con")
+                tester('ntpath.abspath("con/.")', r"\\.\con")
+            else:
+                tester('ntpath.abspath("./con")', cwd_dir + r"\con")
+                tester('ntpath.abspath("foo/../con")', cwd_dir + r"\con")
+                tester('ntpath.abspath("con/foo/..")', cwd_dir + r"\con")
+                tester('ntpath.abspath("con/.")', cwd_dir + r"\con")
+            tester('ntpath.abspath("./Z:spam")', cwd_dir + r"\Z:spam")
+            tester('ntpath.abspath("spam/../Z:eggs")', cwd_dir + r"\Z:eggs")
             drive, _ = ntpath.splitdrive(cwd_dir)
             tester('ntpath.abspath("/abc/")', drive + "\\abc")
 
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2024-05-31-12-44-38.gh-issue-126782.Atm9ol.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2024-05-31-12-44-38.gh-issue-126782.Atm9ol.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..e57fdcfc3b7aa8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2024-05-31-12-44-38.gh-issue-126782.Atm9ol.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Support qualified referencing for :func:`os.path.abspath` on Windows.
diff --git a/Modules/clinic/posixmodule.c.h b/Modules/clinic/posixmodule.c.h
index dce0ea100ec435..e972e9304b5f54 100644
--- a/Modules/clinic/posixmodule.c.h
+++ b/Modules/clinic/posixmodule.c.h
@@ -2517,6 +2517,78 @@ os__path_splitroot_ex(PyObject *module, PyObject *const *args, Py_ssize_t nargs,
     return return_value;
 }
 
+PyDoc_STRVAR(os__path_normpath_ex__doc__,
+"_path_normpath_ex($module, /, path, *, explicit_curdir=False)\n"
+"--\n"
+"\n"
+"Normalize path, eliminating double slashes, etc.");
+
+#define OS__PATH_NORMPATH_EX_METHODDEF    \
+    {"_path_normpath_ex", _PyCFunction_CAST(os__path_normpath_ex), METH_FASTCALL|METH_KEYWORDS, os__path_normpath_ex__doc__},
+
+static PyObject *
+os__path_normpath_ex_impl(PyObject *module, path_t *path,
+                          int explicit_curdir);
+
+static PyObject *
+os__path_normpath_ex(PyObject *module, PyObject *const *args, Py_ssize_t nargs, PyObject *kwnames)
+{
+    PyObject *return_value = NULL;
+    #if defined(Py_BUILD_CORE) && !defined(Py_BUILD_CORE_MODULE)
+
+    #define NUM_KEYWORDS 2
+    static struct {
+        PyGC_Head _this_is_not_used;
+        PyObject_VAR_HEAD
+        PyObject *ob_item[NUM_KEYWORDS];
+    } _kwtuple = {
+        .ob_base = PyVarObject_HEAD_INIT(&PyTuple_Type, NUM_KEYWORDS)
+        .ob_item = { &_Py_ID(path), &_Py_ID(explicit_curdir), },
+    };
+    #undef NUM_KEYWORDS
+    #define KWTUPLE (&_kwtuple.ob_base.ob_base)
+
+    #else  // !Py_BUILD_CORE
+    #  define KWTUPLE NULL
+    #endif  // !Py_BUILD_CORE
+
+    static const char * const _keywords[] = {"path", "explicit_curdir", NULL};
+    static _PyArg_Parser _parser = {
+        .keywords = _keywords,
+        .fname = "_path_normpath_ex",
+        .kwtuple = KWTUPLE,
+    };
+    #undef KWTUPLE
+    PyObject *argsbuf[2];
+    Py_ssize_t noptargs = nargs + (kwnames ? PyTuple_GET_SIZE(kwnames) : 0) - 1;
+    path_t path = PATH_T_INITIALIZE("_path_normpath_ex", "path", 0, 1, 1, 0, 0);
+    int explicit_curdir = 0;
+
+    args = _PyArg_UnpackKeywords(args, nargs, NULL, kwnames, &_parser,
+            /*minpos*/ 1, /*maxpos*/ 1, /*minkw*/ 0, /*varpos*/ 0, argsbuf);
+    if (!args) {
+        goto exit;
+    }
+    if (!path_converter(args[0], &path)) {
+        goto exit;
+    }
+    if (!noptargs) {
+        goto skip_optional_kwonly;
+    }
+    explicit_curdir = PyObject_IsTrue(args[1]);
+    if (explicit_curdir < 0) {
+        goto exit;
+    }
+skip_optional_kwonly:
+    return_value = os__path_normpath_ex_impl(module, &path, explicit_curdir);
+
+exit:
+    /* Cleanup for path */
+    path_cleanup(&path);
+
+    return return_value;
+}
+
 PyDoc_STRVAR(os__path_normpath__doc__,
 "_path_normpath($module, /, path)\n"
 "--\n"
@@ -13114,4 +13186,4 @@ os__create_environ(PyObject *module, PyObject *Py_UNUSED(ignored))
 #ifndef OS__SUPPORTS_VIRTUAL_TERMINAL_METHODDEF
     #define OS__SUPPORTS_VIRTUAL_TERMINAL_METHODDEF
 #endif /* !defined(OS__SUPPORTS_VIRTUAL_TERMINAL_METHODDEF) */
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=5358a13b4ce6148b input=a9049054013a1b77]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=455d5808247079f4 input=a9049054013a1b77]*/
diff --git a/Modules/posixmodule.c b/Modules/posixmodule.c
index da7399de86f213..a7b7432ba32f4d 100644
--- a/Modules/posixmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/posixmodule.c
@@ -5594,21 +5594,25 @@ os__path_splitroot_ex_impl(PyObject *module, path_t *path)
 
 
 /*[clinic input]
-os._path_normpath
+os._path_normpath_ex
 
     path: path_t(make_wide=True, nonstrict=True)
+    *
+    explicit_curdir: bool = False
 
 Normalize path, eliminating double slashes, etc.
 [clinic start generated code]*/
 
 static PyObject *
-os__path_normpath_impl(PyObject *module, path_t *path)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=d353e7ed9410c044 input=3d4ac23b06332dcb]*/
+os__path_normpath_ex_impl(PyObject *module, path_t *path,
+                          int explicit_curdir)
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=4c4c3bf33a70fe57 input=90fe0dfc4b3a751b]*/
 {
     PyObject *result;
     Py_ssize_t norm_len;
     wchar_t *norm_path = _Py_normpath_and_size((wchar_t *)path->wide,
-                                               path->length, &norm_len);
+                                               path->length, &norm_len,
+                                               explicit_curdir);
     if (!norm_len) {
         result = PyUnicode_FromOrdinal('.');
     }
@@ -5621,6 +5625,23 @@ os__path_normpath_impl(PyObject *module, path_t *path)
     return result;
 }
 
+
+/*[clinic input]
+os._path_normpath
+
+    path: path_t(make_wide=True, nonstrict=True)
+
+Normalize path, eliminating double slashes, etc.
+[clinic start generated code]*/
+
+static PyObject *
+os__path_normpath_impl(PyObject *module, path_t *path)
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=d353e7ed9410c044 input=3d4ac23b06332dcb]*/
+{
+
+    return os__path_normpath_ex_impl(module, path, 0);
+}
+
 /*[clinic input]
 os.mkdir
 
@@ -17059,6 +17080,7 @@ static PyMethodDef posix_methods[] = {
     OS__GETVOLUMEPATHNAME_METHODDEF
     OS__PATH_SPLITROOT_METHODDEF
     OS__PATH_SPLITROOT_EX_METHODDEF
+    OS__PATH_NORMPATH_EX_METHODDEF
     OS__PATH_NORMPATH_METHODDEF
     OS_GETLOADAVG_METHODDEF
     OS_URANDOM_METHODDEF
diff --git a/Python/fileutils.c b/Python/fileutils.c
index c9ae1b3f54e167..4403adcf9fa3e2 100644
--- a/Python/fileutils.c
+++ b/Python/fileutils.c
@@ -2483,9 +2483,12 @@ _Py_find_basename(const wchar_t *filename)
    make the path longer, and will not fail. 'size' is the length of
    the path, if known. If -1, the first null character will be assumed
    to be the end of the path. 'normsize' will be set to contain the
-   length of the resulting normalized path. */
+   length of the resulting normalized path. If 'explicit_curdir' is
+   set, an explicit curdir will be used for qualified referencing in
+   the cwd. */
 wchar_t *
-_Py_normpath_and_size(wchar_t *path, Py_ssize_t size, Py_ssize_t *normsize)
+_Py_normpath_and_size(wchar_t *path, Py_ssize_t size, Py_ssize_t *normsize,
+                      int explicit_curdir)
 {
     assert(path != NULL);
     if ((size < 0 && !path[0]) || size == 0) {
@@ -2497,6 +2500,7 @@ _Py_normpath_and_size(wchar_t *path, Py_ssize_t size, Py_ssize_t *normsize)
     wchar_t *p2 = path;     // destination of a scanned character to be ljusted
     wchar_t *minP2 = path;  // the beginning of the destination range
     wchar_t lastC = L'\0';  // the last ljusted character, p2[-1] in most cases
+    int explicit = 0;       // uses qualified referencing in the cwd
 
 #define IS_END(x) (pEnd ? (x) == pEnd : !*(x))
 #ifdef ALTSEP
@@ -2506,38 +2510,36 @@ _Py_normpath_and_size(wchar_t *path, Py_ssize_t size, Py_ssize_t *normsize)
 #endif
 #define SEP_OR_END(x) (IS_SEP(x) || IS_END(x))
 
+    Py_ssize_t drvsize, rootsize;
+    _Py_skiproot(path, size, &drvsize, &rootsize);
     if (p1[0] == L'.' && IS_SEP(&p1[1])) {
         // Skip leading '.\'
-        path = &path[2];
-        while (IS_SEP(path)) {
-            path++;
+        p1 = &path[2];
+        while (IS_SEP(p1)) {
+            p1++;
         }
-        p1 = p2 = minP2 = path;
         lastC = SEP;
+        explicit = 1;
     }
-    else {
-        Py_ssize_t drvsize, rootsize;
-        _Py_skiproot(path, size, &drvsize, &rootsize);
-        if (drvsize || rootsize) {
-            // Skip past root and update minP2
-            p1 = &path[drvsize + rootsize];
+    else if (drvsize || rootsize) {
+        // Skip past root and update minP2
+        p1 = &path[drvsize + rootsize];
 #ifndef ALTSEP
-            p2 = p1;
+        p2 = p1;
 #else
-            for (; p2 < p1; ++p2) {
-                if (*p2 == ALTSEP) {
-                    *p2 = SEP;
-                }
+        for (; p2 < p1; ++p2) {
+            if (*p2 == ALTSEP) {
+                *p2 = SEP;
             }
+        }
 #endif
-            minP2 = p2 - 1;
-            lastC = *minP2;
+        minP2 = p2 - 1;
+        lastC = *minP2;
 #ifdef MS_WINDOWS
-            if (lastC != SEP) {
-                minP2++;
-            }
-#endif
+        if (lastC != SEP) {
+            minP2++;
         }
+#endif
     }
 
     /* if pEnd is specified, check that. Else, check for null terminator */
@@ -2569,9 +2571,11 @@ _Py_normpath_and_size(wchar_t *path, Py_ssize_t size, Py_ssize_t *normsize)
                         p2 = p3 + 1;
                     } else {
                         p2 = p3;
+                        explicit = 1;
                     }
                     p1 += 1;
                 } else if (sep_at_1) {
+                    explicit = 1;
                 } else {
                     *p2++ = lastC = c;
                 }
@@ -2591,6 +2595,31 @@ _Py_normpath_and_size(wchar_t *path, Py_ssize_t size, Py_ssize_t *normsize)
     } else {
         --p2;
     }
+    if (explicit_curdir && !rootsize && explicit) {
+        // Add explicit curdir
+        if (p2 == minP2 - 1) {
+            // Set to '.'
+            p2++;
+            assert(p2 < p1);
+            *p2 = L'.';
+        }
+        else if (minP2[0] != L'.' || minP2[1] != L'.' ||
+                 !SEP_OR_END(&minP2[2]))
+        {
+            // Add leading '.\'
+            wchar_t *p3 = p2;
+            p2 += 2;
+            assert(p2 < p1);
+            while (p3 != minP2) {
+                p3[2] = *p3;
+                p3--;
+            }
+            p3[2] = p3[0];
+            p3[1] = SEP;
+            p3[0] = L'.';
+        }
+        p2[1] = L'\0';
+    }
     *normsize = p2 - path + 1;
 #undef SEP_OR_END
 #undef IS_SEP
@@ -2607,7 +2636,7 @@ wchar_t *
 _Py_normpath(wchar_t *path, Py_ssize_t size)
 {
     Py_ssize_t norm_length;
-    return _Py_normpath_and_size(path, size, &norm_length);
+    return _Py_normpath_and_size(path, size, &norm_length, 0);
 }