diff --git a/xrspatial/geotiff/_reader.py b/xrspatial/geotiff/_reader.py
index 19c2105f..ca776e87 100644
--- a/xrspatial/geotiff/_reader.py
+++ b/xrspatial/geotiff/_reader.py
@@ -47,11 +47,15 @@
 MAX_PIXELS_DEFAULT = 1_000_000_000
 
 
+class PixelSafetyLimitError(ValueError):
+    """Raised when a requested TIFF allocation exceeds max_pixels."""
+
+
 def _check_dimensions(width, height, samples, max_pixels):
-    """Raise ValueError if the requested allocation exceeds *max_pixels*."""
+    """Raise PixelSafetyLimitError if the request exceeds *max_pixels*."""
     total = width * height * samples
     if total > max_pixels:
-        raise ValueError(
+        raise PixelSafetyLimitError(
             f"TIFF image dimensions ({width} x {height} x {samples} = "
             f"{total:,} pixels) exceed the safety limit of "
             f"{max_pixels:,} pixels.  Pass a larger max_pixels value to "
diff --git a/xrspatial/geotiff/_vrt.py b/xrspatial/geotiff/_vrt.py
index 5a792ffa..a30013b4 100644
--- a/xrspatial/geotiff/_vrt.py
+++ b/xrspatial/geotiff/_vrt.py
@@ -626,7 +626,7 @@ def read_vrt(vrt_path: str, *, window=None,
     -------
     (np.ndarray, VRTDataset) tuple
     """
-    from ._reader import read_to_array
+    from ._reader import PixelSafetyLimitError, read_to_array
 
     with open(vrt_path, 'r') as f:
         xml_str = f.read()
@@ -871,10 +871,13 @@ def read_vrt(vrt_path: str, *, window=None,
                     src.filename,
                     window=(read_r0, read_c0, read_r1, read_c1),
                     band=src.band - 1,  # convert 1-based to 0-based
+                    max_pixels=max_pixels,
                 )
             except (
                 OSError, ValueError, struct.error,
             ) + _CODEC_DECODE_EXCEPTIONS as e:
+                if isinstance(e, PixelSafetyLimitError):
+                    raise
                 # Under XRSPATIAL_GEOTIFF_STRICT=1, surface the read failure
                 # so partial mosaics are caught in CI. Default mode warns
                 # once per missing source then continues, preserving the
diff --git a/xrspatial/geotiff/tests/test_vrt_source_max_pixels_1796.py b/xrspatial/geotiff/tests/test_vrt_source_max_pixels_1796.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ce72288
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xrspatial/geotiff/tests/test_vrt_source_max_pixels_1796.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+"""VRT source reads must honor the caller's max_pixels budget (#1796)."""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+
+import numpy as np
+import pytest
+
+from xrspatial.geotiff import to_geotiff, read_vrt
+
+
+def test_vrt_source_read_forwards_max_pixels(tmp_path):
+    """A tiny VRT output cannot force an oversized source-window decode."""
+    src = tmp_path / "tmp_1796_source.tif"
+    data = np.arange(16, dtype=np.uint8).reshape(4, 4)
+    to_geotiff(data, str(src), compression='none')
+
+    vrt = tmp_path / "tmp_1796_source_cap.vrt"
+    vrt.write_text(
+        '<VRTDataset rasterXSize="1" rasterYSize="1">\n'
+        '  <VRTRasterBand dataType="Byte" band="1">\n'
+        '    <SimpleSource>\n'
+        f'      <SourceFilename relativeToVRT="1">{os.path.basename(src)}'
+        '</SourceFilename>\n'
+        '      <SourceBand>1</SourceBand>\n'
+        '      <SrcRect xOff="0" yOff="0" xSize="4" ySize="4"/>\n'
+        '      <DstRect xOff="0" yOff="0" xSize="1" ySize="1"/>\n'
+        '    </SimpleSource>\n'
+        '  </VRTRasterBand>\n'
+        '</VRTDataset>\n'
+    )
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="exceed"):
+        read_vrt(str(vrt), max_pixels=1)
+