diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d7488adadf1..362fe6320fa 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -258,3 +258,4 @@ Microsoft.TemplateEngine.VC.db
 
 #Rider
 .idea/
+.nuget/
diff --git a/src/Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Orchestrator.RunnableProjects/LocalizationModelDeserializer.cs b/src/Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Orchestrator.RunnableProjects/LocalizationModelDeserializer.cs
index ca63b1b535a..d9b45444d8c 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Orchestrator.RunnableProjects/LocalizationModelDeserializer.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Orchestrator.RunnableProjects/LocalizationModelDeserializer.cs
@@ -131,6 +131,12 @@ private static IReadOnlyDictionary<string, PostActionLocalizationModel> LoadPost
 
             foreach (var postActionParts in strings.GroupBy(p => p.NameParts.FirstOrDefault()))
             {
+                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(postActionParts.Key))
+                {
+                    // Post action with no ID. Ignore.
+                    continue;
+                }
+
                 string postActionId = postActionParts.Key;
                 string? description = postActionParts.SingleOrDefault(p => p.NameParts.Skip(1).FirstOrDefault() == "description").LocalizedString;
                 var instructions = LoadManualInstructionModels(postActionParts
@@ -162,6 +168,12 @@ private static IReadOnlyDictionary<string, string> LoadManualInstructionModels(I
 
             foreach (var instructionParts in strings.GroupBy(p => p.NameParts.FirstOrDefault()))
             {
+                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(instructionParts.Key))
+                {
+                    // Instruction with no ID. Ignore.
+                    continue;
+                }
+
                 string id = instructionParts.Key;
                 string? text = instructionParts.SingleOrDefault(p => p.NameParts.Skip(1).FirstOrDefault() == "text").LocalizedString;
                 results[id] = text;
diff --git a/test/Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Orchestrator.RunnableProjects.UnitTests/TemplateConfigTests/LocalizationTests.cs b/test/Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Orchestrator.RunnableProjects.UnitTests/TemplateConfigTests/LocalizationTests.cs
index fb7f8c12a9b..c6d1df84757 100644
--- a/test/Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Orchestrator.RunnableProjects.UnitTests/TemplateConfigTests/LocalizationTests.cs
+++ b/test/Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Orchestrator.RunnableProjects.UnitTests/TemplateConfigTests/LocalizationTests.cs
@@ -109,6 +109,8 @@ public void CanReadDescription(string fileContent, bool errorExpected, string? e
         [InlineData(/*lang=json,strict*/ """{ "symbols/someSymbol/displayName": "localizedSymbol" }""", false, "someSymbol", "localizedSymbol", "(null)")]
         [InlineData(/*lang=json,strict*/ """{ "symbols/someSymbol/description": "localizedSymbolDescription" }""", false, "someSymbol", "(null)", "localizedSymbolDescription")]
         [InlineData(/*lang=json*/ """{ description: ""}""", false, null, null, null)]
+        // Test case for NullReferenceException fix: malformed symbol key with only "symbols/" prefix
+        [InlineData(/*lang=json,strict*/ """{ "symbols/": "test" }""", false, null, null, null)]
         public void CanReadNonChoiceSymbol(
             string fileContent,
             bool errorExpected,
@@ -244,6 +246,10 @@ public void CanReadChoiceSymbol(
         [InlineData(/*lang=json*/ """{ description: ""}""", false, null, null, null)]
         [InlineData(/*lang=json,strict*/ """{ "postActions/pa0/description": "localizedDescription" }""", false, "pa0", "localizedDescription", "(null)")]
         [InlineData(/*lang=json,strict*/ """{ "postActions/pa0/manualInstructions/first/text": "localizedDescription" }""", false, "pa0", "(null)", "first*localizedDescription")]
+        // Test case for NullReferenceException fix: malformed postAction key with only "postActions/" prefix
+        [InlineData(/*lang=json,strict*/ """{ "postActions/": "test" }""", false, null, null, null)]
+        // Test case for NullReferenceException fix: malformed manualInstruction key with missing instruction id
+        [InlineData(/*lang=json,strict*/ """{ "postActions/pa0/manualInstructions//text": "test" }""", false, "pa0", "(null)", "(null)")]
         public void CanReadPostAction(
     string fileContent,
     bool errorExpected,