diff --git a/lib/url.js b/lib/url.js
index b8c1105a9f2..d497116f58a 100644
--- a/lib/url.js
+++ b/lib/url.js
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ var protocolPattern = /^([a-z0-9]+:)/,
       'gopher:': true,
       'file:': true
     },
-    path = require('path'), // internal module, guaranteed to be loaded already.
     querystring = require('querystring');
 
 function urlParse(url, parseQueryString, slashesDenoteHost) {
@@ -280,7 +279,6 @@ function urlResolveObject(source, relative) {
     return source;
   }
 
-  // resolve dots.
   // if a url ENDs in . or .., then it must get a trailing slash.
   // however, if it ends in anything else non-slashy,
   // then it must NOT get a trailing slash.
@@ -289,27 +287,34 @@ function urlResolveObject(source, relative) {
       (source.host || relative.host) && (last === '.' || last === '..') ||
       last === '');
 
-  // Figure out if this has to end up as an absolute url,
-  // or should continue to be relative.
-  srcPath = path.normalizeArray(srcPath, true);
-  if (srcPath.length === 1 && srcPath[0] === '.') srcPath = [];
-  if (mustEndAbs || removeAllDots) {
-    // all dots must go.
-    var dirs = [];
-    srcPath.forEach(function(dir, i) {
-      if (dir === '..') {
-        dirs.pop();
-      } else if (dir !== '.') {
-        dirs.push(dir);
-      }
-    });
-
-    if (mustEndAbs && dirs[0] !== '' &&
-        (!dirs[0] || dirs[0].charAt(0) !== '/')) {
-      dirs.unshift('');
+  // strip single dots, resolve double dots to parent dir
+  // if the path tries to go above the root, `up` ends up > 0
+  var up = 0;
+  for (var i = srcPath.length; i >= 0; i--) {
+    last = srcPath[i];
+    if (last == '.') {
+      srcPath.splice(i, 1);
+    } else if (last === '..') {
+      srcPath.splice(i, 1);
+      up++;
+    } else if (up) {
+      srcPath.splice(i, 1);
+      up--;
     }
-    srcPath = dirs;
   }
+
+  // if the path is allowed to go above the root, restore leading ..s
+  if (!mustEndAbs && !removeAllDots) {
+    for ( ; up--; up) {
+      srcPath.unshift('..');
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (mustEndAbs && srcPath[0] !== '' &&
+      (!srcPath[0] || srcPath[0].charAt(0) !== '/')) {
+    srcPath.unshift('');
+  }
+
   if (hasTrailingSlash && (srcPath.join('/').substr(-1) !== '/')) {
     srcPath.push('');
   }