diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/lib/edge.js b/workspaces/arborist/lib/edge.js
index 32e523cbc83ca..83a9c18cb6aac 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/lib/edge.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/lib/edge.js
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ class Edge {
         this.#error = 'PEER LOCAL'
       } else if (!this.satisfiedBy(this.#to)) {
         this.#error = 'INVALID'
-      } else if (this.overrides && this.#to.edgesOut.size && OverrideSet.doOverrideSetsConflict(this.overrides, this.#to.overrides)) {
+      } else if (this.overrides && this.#to.overrides && this.#to.edgesOut.size && OverrideSet.doOverrideSetsConflict(this.overrides, this.#to.overrides)) {
         // Check for conflicts between the edge's override set and the target node's override set.
         // This catches cases where different parts of the tree have genuinely incompatible
         // version requirements for the same package.
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/lib/override-set.js b/workspaces/arborist/lib/override-set.js
index b4a11ba589df7..7dc876d44c922 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/lib/override-set.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/lib/override-set.js
@@ -200,6 +200,11 @@ class OverrideSet {
   }
 
   static doOverrideSetsConflict (first, second) {
+    // If either override set is missing, there's no conflict
+    if (!first || !second) {
+      return false
+    }
+
     // If override sets contain one another then we can try to use the more specific one.
     // If neither one is more specific, check for semantic conflicts.
     const specificSet = this.findSpecificOverrideSet(first, second)
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/test/edge.js b/workspaces/arborist/test/edge.js
index cf5e2e3326539..e3f6204da9556 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/test/edge.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/test/edge.js
@@ -1244,3 +1244,91 @@ t.test('override fallback to local when root missing dependency with from.overri
   t.equal(edge.spec, '^1.2.3', 'should fall back to local package version from devDependencies')
   t.end()
 })
+
+t.test('edge with overrides should not crash when target has no overrides', t => {
+  const root = {
+    name: 'root',
+    edgesOut: new Map(),
+    edgesIn: new Set(),
+    explain: () => 'root',
+    package: {
+      name: 'root',
+      version: '1.0.0',
+      overrides: {
+        react: '^18.3.1',
+        'react-dom': '^18.3.1',
+      },
+    },
+    get version () {
+      return this.package.version
+    },
+    isTop: true,
+    parent: null,
+    overrides: new OverrideSet({
+      overrides: {
+        react: '^18.3.1',
+        'react-dom': '^18.3.1',
+      },
+    }),
+    resolve (n) {
+      return n === 'dep' ? dep : null
+    },
+    addEdgeOut (edge) {
+      this.edgesOut.set(edge.name, edge)
+    },
+    addEdgeIn (edge) {
+      this.edgesIn.add(edge)
+    },
+    deleteEdgeIn (edge) {
+      this.edgesIn.delete(edge)
+    },
+  }
+
+  // Target node with dependencies but NO overrides
+  const dep = {
+    name: 'dep',
+    edgesOut: new Map([
+      // Has dependencies so edgesOut.size > 0
+      ['some-lib', { name: 'some-lib', peer: false }],
+    ]),
+    edgesIn: new Set(),
+    explain: () => 'dep',
+    package: { name: 'dep', version: '1.0.0' },
+    get version () {
+      return this.package.version
+    },
+    parent: root,
+    root,
+    // NO overrides property - this causes this.#to.overrides to be undefined
+    resolve () {
+      return null
+    },
+    addEdgeOut (edge) {
+      this.edgesOut.set(edge.name, edge)
+    },
+    addEdgeIn (edge) {
+      this.edgesIn.add(edge)
+    },
+    deleteEdgeIn (edge) {
+      this.edgesIn.delete(edge)
+    },
+  }
+
+  // Create an edge from root to dep
+  // Root has overrides, dep has dependencies but no overrides
+  const edge = new Edge({
+    from: root,
+    type: 'prod',
+    spec: '^1.0.0',
+    name: 'dep',
+    overrides: root.overrides,
+  })
+
+  t.doesNotThrow(() => {
+    const err = edge.error
+    t.equal(err, null, 'edge should be valid (no error)')
+  }, 'should not crash when target node has no overrides')
+
+  t.ok(edge.valid, 'edge should be valid')
+  t.end()
+})
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/test/override-set.js b/workspaces/arborist/test/override-set.js
index 8b8be32c9bb81..85265e645ef0e 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/test/override-set.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/test/override-set.js
@@ -558,4 +558,24 @@ t.test('coverage for isEqual edge cases', async t => {
     // AND parent.isEqual(...) returns false
     t.notOk(childC.isEqual(childD), 'two children with different parents are not equal')
   })
+
+  t.test('should handle undefined/null second parameter gracefully', async (t) => {
+    const overrides = new OverrideSet({
+      overrides: {
+        react: '^18.3.1',
+        'react-dom': '^18.3.1',
+      },
+    })
+
+    t.doesNotThrow(() => {
+      OverrideSet.doOverrideSetsConflict(overrides, undefined)
+    }, 'should not throw when second parameter is undefined')
+
+    t.doesNotThrow(() => {
+      OverrideSet.doOverrideSetsConflict(overrides, null)
+    }, 'should not throw when second parameter is null')
+
+    t.equal(OverrideSet.doOverrideSetsConflict(overrides, undefined), false, 'should return false for undefined')
+    t.equal(OverrideSet.doOverrideSetsConflict(overrides, null), false, 'should return false for null')
+  })
 })