diff --git a/system/Autoloader/Autoloader.php b/system/Autoloader/Autoloader.php
index 7f31aef04cd9..4735119c85f9 100644
--- a/system/Autoloader/Autoloader.php
+++ b/system/Autoloader/Autoloader.php
@@ -326,7 +326,7 @@ protected function requireFile(string $file)
 	{
 		$file = $this->sanitizeFilename($file);
 
-		if (file_exists($file))
+		if (is_file($file))
 		{
 			require_once $file;
 
diff --git a/system/Autoloader/FileLocator.php b/system/Autoloader/FileLocator.php
index f846e4a68efe..94bef703f1a0 100644
--- a/system/Autoloader/FileLocator.php
+++ b/system/Autoloader/FileLocator.php
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ public function search(string $path, string $ext = 'php'): array
 		{
 			$folder = rtrim($folder, '/') . '/';
 
-			if (file_exists($folder . $path))
+			if (is_file($folder . $path) === true)
 			{
 				$foundPaths[] = $folder . $path;
 			}
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ protected function legacyLocate(string $file, string $folder = null): string
 	 */
 	protected function requireFile(string $path): bool
 	{
-		return file_exists($path);
+		return is_file($path);
 	}
 
 	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/system/Cache/Handlers/FileHandler.php b/system/Cache/Handlers/FileHandler.php
index 3a94238e9940..3a14e5e0a6f2 100644
--- a/system/Cache/Handlers/FileHandler.php
+++ b/system/Cache/Handlers/FileHandler.php
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ public function delete(string $key)
 	{
 		$key = $this->prefix . $key;
 
-		return file_exists($this->path . $key) ? unlink($this->path . $key) : false;
+		return is_file($this->path . $key) ? unlink($this->path . $key) : false;
 	}
 
 	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ public function getMetaData(string $key)
 	{
 		$key = $this->prefix . $key;
 
-		if (! file_exists($this->path . $key))
+		if (! is_file($this->path . $key))
 		{
 			return false;
 		}
@@ -473,7 +473,7 @@ protected function getDirFileInfo($source_dir, $top_level_only = true, $_recursi
 	 */
 	protected function getFileInfo(string $file, array $returned_values = ['name', 'server_path', 'size', 'date'])
 	{
-		if (! file_exists($file))
+		if (! is_file($file))
 		{
 			return false;
 		}
diff --git a/system/CodeIgniter.php b/system/CodeIgniter.php
index 91dab4cd53e4..5043b345a9f9 100644
--- a/system/CodeIgniter.php
+++ b/system/CodeIgniter.php
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ protected function detectEnvironment()
 	 */
 	protected function bootstrapEnvironment()
 	{
-		if (file_exists(APPPATH . 'Config/Boot/' . ENVIRONMENT . '.php'))
+		if (is_file(APPPATH . 'Config/Boot/' . ENVIRONMENT . '.php'))
 		{
 			require_once APPPATH . 'Config/Boot/' . ENVIRONMENT . '.php';
 		}
diff --git a/system/ComposerScripts.php b/system/ComposerScripts.php
index 377ccfd56152..87bbc2e2f4c8 100644
--- a/system/ComposerScripts.php
+++ b/system/ComposerScripts.php
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ protected static function removeDir($dir)
 	 */
 	public static function moveEscaper()
 	{
-		if (class_exists('\\Zend\\Escaper\\Escaper') && file_exists(static::getClassFilePath('\\Zend\\Escaper\\Escaper')))
+		if (class_exists('\\Zend\\Escaper\\Escaper') && is_file(static::getClassFilePath('\\Zend\\Escaper\\Escaper')))
 		{
 			$base = static::$basePath . 'ZendEscaper';
 
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ public static function moveKint()
 	{
 		$filename = 'vendor/kint-php/kint/build/kint-aante-light.php';
 
-		if (file_exists($filename))
+		if (is_file($filename))
 		{
 			$base = static::$basePath . 'Kint';
 
diff --git a/system/Database/SQLite3/Forge.php b/system/Database/SQLite3/Forge.php
index c68e75c12d41..a6f9a58bb2e1 100644
--- a/system/Database/SQLite3/Forge.php
+++ b/system/Database/SQLite3/Forge.php
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ public function createDatabase($db_name): bool
 	public function dropDatabase($db_name): bool
 	{
 		// In SQLite, a database is dropped when we delete a file
-		if (! file_exists($db_name))
+		if (! is_file($db_name))
 		{
 			if ($this->db->DBDebug)
 			{
diff --git a/system/Debug/Toolbar.php b/system/Debug/Toolbar.php
index d796d29bf222..041e860ebafe 100644
--- a/system/Debug/Toolbar.php
+++ b/system/Debug/Toolbar.php
@@ -458,7 +458,7 @@ public static function eventHandler()
 			$filename = WRITEPATH . 'debugbar/' . $file;
 
 			// Show the toolbar
-			if (file_exists($filename))
+			if (is_file($filename))
 			{
 				$contents = static::format(file_get_contents($filename), $format);
 				exit($contents);
diff --git a/system/Email/Email.php b/system/Email/Email.php
index 0ca3c24e42b9..87f5c82e3aa8 100644
--- a/system/Email/Email.php
+++ b/system/Email/Email.php
@@ -734,7 +734,7 @@ public function attach($file, $disposition = '', $newname = null, $mime = '')
 	{
 		if ($mime === '')
 		{
-			if (strpos($file, '://') === false && ! file_exists($file))
+			if (strpos($file, '://') === false && ! is_file($file))
 			{
 				$this->setErrorMessage(lang('Email.attachmentMissing', [$file]));
 
diff --git a/system/Events/Events.php b/system/Events/Events.php
index 41311f1729a5..f22b658a149f 100644
--- a/system/Events/Events.php
+++ b/system/Events/Events.php
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ public static function initialize()
 
 		foreach (static::$files as $file)
 		{
-			if (! file_exists($file))
+			if (! is_file($file))
 			{
 				continue;
 			}
diff --git a/system/Files/File.php b/system/Files/File.php
index 195d2ce2bb04..5996e4ce5215 100644
--- a/system/Files/File.php
+++ b/system/Files/File.php
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ public function move(string $targetPath, string $name = null, bool $overwrite =
 	 */
 	public function getDestination(string $destination, string $delimiter = '_', int $i = 0): string
 	{
-		while (file_exists($destination))
+		while (is_file($destination))
 		{
 			$info = pathinfo($destination);
 			if (strpos($info['filename'], $delimiter) !== false)
diff --git a/system/HTTP/CURLRequest.php b/system/HTTP/CURLRequest.php
index 6cbbc17459ef..41af34ec4def 100644
--- a/system/HTTP/CURLRequest.php
+++ b/system/HTTP/CURLRequest.php
@@ -581,7 +581,7 @@ protected function setCURLOptions(array $curl_options = [], array $config = [])
 				$cert                                = $cert[0];
 			}
 
-			if (! file_exists($cert))
+			if (! is_file($cert))
 			{
 				throw HTTPException::forSSLCertNotFound($cert);
 			}
diff --git a/system/HTTP/Files/UploadedFile.php b/system/HTTP/Files/UploadedFile.php
index 70419f888330..98052ebec44f 100644
--- a/system/HTTP/Files/UploadedFile.php
+++ b/system/HTTP/Files/UploadedFile.php
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ protected function setPath($path)
 		{
 			mkdir($path, 0777, true);
 			//create the index.html file
-			if (! file_exists($path . 'index.html'))
+			if (! is_file($path . 'index.html'))
 			{
 				$file = fopen($path . 'index.html', 'x+');
 				fclose($file);
diff --git a/system/Helpers/filesystem_helper.php b/system/Helpers/filesystem_helper.php
index c4389b4eb129..dd1825e44925 100644
--- a/system/Helpers/filesystem_helper.php
+++ b/system/Helpers/filesystem_helper.php
@@ -331,7 +331,7 @@ function get_dir_file_info(string $source_dir, bool $top_level_only = true, bool
 	 */
 	function get_file_info(string $file, $returned_values = ['name', 'server_path', 'size', 'date'])
 	{
-		if (! file_exists($file))
+		if (! is_file($file))
 		{
 			return null;
 		}
diff --git a/system/Log/Handlers/FileHandler.php b/system/Log/Handlers/FileHandler.php
index 8b2b43837749..12ad9ea8bf32 100644
--- a/system/Log/Handlers/FileHandler.php
+++ b/system/Log/Handlers/FileHandler.php
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ public function handle($level, $message): bool
 
 		$msg = '';
 
-		if (! file_exists($filepath))
+		if (! is_file($filepath))
 		{
 			$newfile = true;
 
diff --git a/system/Router/Router.php b/system/Router/Router.php
index e10f3f27bad4..3c7a22efd77d 100644
--- a/system/Router/Router.php
+++ b/system/Router/Router.php
@@ -530,7 +530,7 @@ public function autoRoute(string $uri)
 
 		// Load the file so that it's available for CodeIgniter.
 		$file = APPPATH . 'Controllers/' . $this->directory . $this->controller . '.php';
-		if (file_exists($file))
+		if (is_file($file))
 		{
 			include_once $file;
 		}
@@ -564,7 +564,7 @@ protected function validateRequest(array $segments)
 			$test = $this->directory . ucfirst($this->translateURIDashes === true ? str_replace('-', '_', $segments[0]) : $segments[0]
 			);
 
-			if (! file_exists(APPPATH . 'Controllers/' . $test . '.php') && $directory_override === false && is_dir(APPPATH . 'Controllers/' . $this->directory . ucfirst($segments[0]))
+			if (! is_file(APPPATH . 'Controllers/' . $test . '.php') && $directory_override === false && is_dir(APPPATH . 'Controllers/' . $this->directory . ucfirst($segments[0]))
 			)
 			{
 				$this->setDirectory(array_shift($segments), true);
@@ -663,7 +663,7 @@ protected function setDefaultController()
 			$this->method = 'index';
 		}
 
-		if (! file_exists(APPPATH . 'Controllers/' . $this->directory . ucfirst($class) . '.php'))
+		if (! is_file(APPPATH . 'Controllers/' . $this->directory . ucfirst($class) . '.php'))
 		{
 			return;
 		}
diff --git a/system/Session/Handlers/FileHandler.php b/system/Session/Handlers/FileHandler.php
index d6531a46bf88..1c4cb720b60e 100644
--- a/system/Session/Handlers/FileHandler.php
+++ b/system/Session/Handlers/FileHandler.php
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ public function read($sessionID)
 		// which re-reads session data
 		if ($this->fileHandle === null)
 		{
-			$this->fileNew = ! file_exists($this->filePath . $sessionID);
+			$this->fileNew = ! is_file($this->filePath . $sessionID);
 
 			if (($this->fileHandle = fopen($this->filePath . $sessionID, 'c+b')) === false)
 			{
@@ -302,13 +302,13 @@ public function destroy($session_id): bool
 	{
 		if ($this->close())
 		{
-			return file_exists($this->filePath . $session_id) ? (unlink($this->filePath . $session_id) && $this->destroyCookie()) : true;
+			return is_file($this->filePath . $session_id) ? (unlink($this->filePath . $session_id) && $this->destroyCookie()) : true;
 		}
 		elseif ($this->filePath !== null)
 		{
 			clearstatcache();
 
-			return file_exists($this->filePath . $session_id) ? (unlink($this->filePath . $session_id) && $this->destroyCookie()) : true;
+			return is_file($this->filePath . $session_id) ? (unlink($this->filePath . $session_id) && $this->destroyCookie()) : true;
 		}
 
 		return false;
diff --git a/system/View/Parser.php b/system/View/Parser.php
index 44c81488307f..37a992d4e493 100644
--- a/system/View/Parser.php
+++ b/system/View/Parser.php
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ public function render(string $view, array $options = null, $saveData = null): s
 		$view = $view . '.php';
 		$file = $this->viewPath . $view;
 
-		if (! file_exists($file))
+		if (! is_file($file))
 		{
 			$file = $this->loader->locateFile($view, 'Views');
 		}
diff --git a/system/View/View.php b/system/View/View.php
index 5e810ecb9178..7df71925957a 100644
--- a/system/View/View.php
+++ b/system/View/View.php
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ public function render(string $view, array $options = null, $saveData = null): s
 
 		$this->renderVars['file'] = $this->viewPath . $this->renderVars['view'];
 
-		if (! file_exists($this->renderVars['file']))
+		if (! is_file($this->renderVars['file']))
 		{
 			$this->renderVars['file'] = $this->loader->locateFile($this->renderVars['view'], 'Views', empty($fileExt) ? 'php' : $fileExt);
 		}
diff --git a/system/bootstrap.php b/system/bootstrap.php
index 1121a07bc38b..30a1d3320f73 100644
--- a/system/bootstrap.php
+++ b/system/bootstrap.php
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ class_alias('Config\Services', 'CodeIgniter\Services');
 $loader->register();    // Register the loader with the SPL autoloader stack.
 
 // Now load Composer's if it's available
-if (file_exists(COMPOSER_PATH))
+if (is_file(COMPOSER_PATH))
 {
 	require_once COMPOSER_PATH;
 }
diff --git a/tests/system/Cache/Handlers/FileHandlerTest.php b/tests/system/Cache/Handlers/FileHandlerTest.php
index abc751f3dc8f..838ba5378fed 100644
--- a/tests/system/Cache/Handlers/FileHandlerTest.php
+++ b/tests/system/Cache/Handlers/FileHandlerTest.php
@@ -187,7 +187,10 @@ public function __construct()
 
 	public function getFileInfoTest()
 	{
-		return $this->getFileInfo($this->config->storePath, [
+		$tmp_handle = tmpfile();
+		stream_get_meta_data($tmp_handle)['uri'];
+
+		return $this->getFileInfo(stream_get_meta_data($tmp_handle)['uri'], [
 			'name',
 			'server_path',
 			'size',
diff --git a/user_guide_src/source/concepts/autoloader.rst b/user_guide_src/source/concepts/autoloader.rst
index 300200bc30f0..8ceaffeb2c9a 100644
--- a/user_guide_src/source/concepts/autoloader.rst
+++ b/user_guide_src/source/concepts/autoloader.rst
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ Classmap
 ========
 
 The classmap is used extensively by CodeIgniter to eke the last ounces of performance out of the system
-by not hitting the file-system with extra ``file_exists()`` calls. You can use the classmap to link to
+by not hitting the file-system with extra ``is_file()`` calls. You can use the classmap to link to
 third-party libraries that are not namespaced::
 
 	$classmap = [
diff --git a/user_guide_src/source/tutorial/static_pages.rst b/user_guide_src/source/tutorial/static_pages.rst
index c5d664462236..c8a408eaea2f 100644
--- a/user_guide_src/source/tutorial/static_pages.rst
+++ b/user_guide_src/source/tutorial/static_pages.rst
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ page actually exists:
 
 	public function view($page = 'home')
 	{
-		if ( ! file_exists(APPPATH.'/Views/pages/'.$page.'.php'))
+		if ( ! is_file(APPPATH.'/Views/pages/'.$page.'.php'))
 		{
 		    // Whoops, we don't have a page for that!
 		    throw new \CodeIgniter\Exceptions\PageNotFoundException($page);
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ footer, and displayed to the user. If the page doesn't exist, a "404
 Page not found" error is shown.
 
 The first line in this method checks whether the page actually exists.
-PHP's native ``file_exists()`` function is used to check whether the file
+PHP's native ``is_file()`` function is used to check whether the file
 is where it's expected to be. The ``PageNotFoundException`` is a CodeIgniter
 exception that causes the default error page to show.