diff --git a/resources/indexes/HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld.ts b/resources/indexes/HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld.ts
index 4fef90131..d5dc8c196 100644
--- a/resources/indexes/HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld.ts
+++ b/resources/indexes/HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld.ts
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ export class HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld {
 		if (existingVector) {
 			// If we are updating an existing entry, we need to update the entry point
 			// if the new entry is closer to the entry point than the old one
-			oldNode = { ...this.indexStore.getSync(nodeId, options) };
+			oldNode = { ...this.safeGetSync(nodeId, options) };
 		} else oldNode = {} as Node;
 		if (vector) {
 			// Pre-compute 1/|vector| for cosine distance so searchLayer can skip sqrt per neighbor
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ export class HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld {
 				for (const v of vector) magSq += v * v;
 				invMag = 1 / (Math.sqrt(magSq) || 1);
 			}
-			let entryPoint = entryPointId && this.indexStore.getSync(entryPointId, options);
+			let entryPoint = entryPointId && this.safeGetSync(entryPointId, options);
 			if (entryPoint == null) {
 				const level = Math.floor(-Math.log(Math.random()) * this.mL);
 				const node = {
@@ -281,8 +281,11 @@ export class HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld {
 
 					for (const { fromId, toId } of connectionsToBeReplaced) {
 						let from = updateNode(fromId);
-						if (!from) from = updateNode(fromId, this.indexStore.getSync(fromId, options));
-						for (let i = 0; i < from[l].length; i++) {
+						if (!from) from = updateNode(fromId, this.safeGetSync(fromId, options));
+						if (!from) continue;
+						const fromAtLevel = from[l];
+						if (!fromAtLevel) continue;
+						for (let i = 0; i < fromAtLevel.length; i++) {
 							if (from[l][i].id === toId) {
 								if (Object.isFrozen(from[l])) {
 									from[l] = from[l].slice();
@@ -383,7 +386,7 @@ export class HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld {
 				const oldConnections = oldNode[l];
 				for (const { id: neighborId } of oldConnections) {
 					// get and copy the neighbor node so we can modify it
-					const neighborNode = updateNode(neighborId, this.indexStore.getSync(neighborId, options));
+					const neighborNode = updateNode(neighborId, this.safeGetSync(neighborId, options));
 					if (!neighborNode) continue;
 					for (let l2 = 0; l2 <= l; l2++) {
 						// remove the connection to this node from the neighbor node
@@ -414,14 +417,24 @@ export class HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld {
 		for (const [key, vector] of needsReindexing) {
 			this.index(key, vector, vector, options);
 		}
-		this.checkSymmetry(nodeId, this.indexStore.getSync(nodeId, options), options);
+		this.checkSymmetry(nodeId, this.safeGetSync(nodeId, options), options);
+	}
+
+	private safeGetSync(key: any, options?: any): any {
+		try {
+			return this.indexStore.getSync(key, options);
+		} catch {
+			logger.warn?.('Failed to decode HNSW node, skipping', key);
+			return undefined;
+		}
 	}
 
 	private getEntryPoint(options: { transaction?: any } = {}) {
 		// Get entry point
 		const entryPointId = this.indexStore.getSync(ENTRY_POINT, options);
 		if (entryPointId === undefined) return;
-		const node = this.indexStore.getSync(entryPointId, options);
+		const node = this.safeGetSync(entryPointId, options);
+		if (!node) return;
 		return { id: entryPointId, ...node };
 	}
 
@@ -486,7 +499,7 @@ export class HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld {
 				if (visited.has(neighborId) || neighborId === undefined) continue;
 				visited.add(neighborId);
 
-				const neighbor = this.indexStore.getSync(neighborId, options);
+				const neighbor = this.safeGetSync(neighborId, options);
 				if (!neighbor) continue;
 				this.nodesVisitedCount++;
 				const distance = computeDistance(neighbor.vector, neighbor.invMag);
@@ -590,9 +603,9 @@ export class HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld {
 			// verify that the level is not empty, otherwise this means we have an orphaned node
 			if (connections.length === 0) break;
 			for (const { id: neighbor } of connections) {
-				const neighborNode = this.indexStore.getSync(neighbor, options);
+				const neighborNode = this.safeGetSync(neighbor, options);
 				if (!neighborNode) {
-					logger.info?.('could not find neighbor node', neighborNode);
+					logger.info?.('could not find neighbor node', neighbor);
 					continue;
 				}
 				// verify that the connection is symmetrical
@@ -638,7 +651,7 @@ export class HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld {
 			node[level] = keptConnections;
 			// For removed connections, ensure there's still a path to them
 			for (const removed of removedConnections) {
-				let removedNode = updateNode(removed.id) ?? this.indexStore.getSync(removed.id, options);
+				let removedNode = updateNode(removed.id) ?? this.safeGetSync(removed.id, options);
 				if (removedNode) {
 					// Remove the reverse connection if it exists
 					if (removedNode[level]) {
diff --git a/unitTests/resources/vectorIndex.test.js b/unitTests/resources/vectorIndex.test.js
index d0d910a01..85c9cf3d5 100644
--- a/unitTests/resources/vectorIndex.test.js
+++ b/unitTests/resources/vectorIndex.test.js
@@ -199,6 +199,58 @@ describe('HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld indexing', () => {
 		assert.equal(euclidean[0].id, 1);
 		assert.equal(dot[0].id, 2);
 	});
+	it('does not crash when an index node decodes as corrupt', () => {
+		const nodes = new Map();
+		let entryPoint;
+		let neighborReadCount = 0;
+
+		// Minimal mock indexStore: corrupt reads on numeric neighbor-node keys after the first few
+		const mockStore = {
+			encoder: { useFloat32: false },
+			getSync(key) {
+				if (key === Symbol.for('entryPoint')) return entryPoint;
+				if (typeof key === 'number') {
+					neighborReadCount++;
+					// After the graph has a few nodes, simulate a corrupt node read
+					if (neighborReadCount > 3) {
+						throw new Error('Data read, but end of buffer not reached 0');
+					}
+					return nodes.get(key);
+				}
+				return nodes.get(JSON.stringify(key));
+			},
+			put(key, value) {
+				if (key === Symbol.for('entryPoint')) {
+					entryPoint = value;
+				} else if (typeof key === 'number') {
+					nodes.set(key, value);
+				} else {
+					nodes.set(JSON.stringify(key), value);
+				}
+			},
+			remove(key) {
+				nodes.delete(typeof key === 'number' ? key : JSON.stringify(key));
+			},
+			getKeys() {
+				return [];
+			},
+			getUserSharedBuffer(_name, buffer) {
+				return buffer;
+			},
+		};
+
+		const hnsw = new HierarchicalNavigableSmallWorld(mockStore, {});
+
+		// Build a small graph (neighbor reads stay under threshold here)
+		for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+			hnsw.index(i, [i, i + 1, i + 2], null, {});
+		}
+		neighborReadCount = 0; // reset so subsequent inserts hit the corrupt path
+
+		// Inserting new nodes must not throw even though neighbor reads now corrupt
+		assert.doesNotThrow(() => hnsw.index(100, [1, 2, 3], null, {}));
+		assert.doesNotThrow(() => hnsw.index(101, [4, 5, 6], null, {}));
+	});
 	after(() => {
 		HNSWTest.dropTable();
 	});