An incompressible fluid model of the ablative Rayleigh–Taylor instability [Phys. Fluids29, 2067 (1986)] is generalized to include self‐consistent diffuse boundaries. With diffuse boundaries the incompressible model is found to be in excellent agreement with a number of previous stability studies of laser ablation. The present theory can predict the scaling of the instability cutoff over an extended parameter range and its dependence on the heat conduction law. It is found that more favorable stability behavior can be obtained both for weak and strong thermal diffusion. Furthermore a strong dependence of the stabilization mechanism on the functional form of the heat conductivity is indicated. Representative conditions for laser ablation are identified and discussed in detail.