diff --git a/packages/core/src/utils/package.test.ts b/packages/core/src/utils/package.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4dd48065b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/utils/package.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2025 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { getPackageJson } from './package.js';
+import { readPackageUp } from 'read-package-up';
+
+vi.mock('read-package-up', () => ({
+  readPackageUp: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+describe('getPackageJson', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.resetAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it('should return packageJson when found', async () => {
+    const expectedPackageJsonResult = { name: 'test-pkg', version: '1.2.3' };
+    vi.mocked(readPackageUp).mockResolvedValue({
+      packageJson: expectedPackageJsonResult,
+      path: '/path/to/package.json',
+    });
+
+    const result = await getPackageJson('/some/path');
+    expect(result).toEqual(expectedPackageJsonResult);
+    expect(readPackageUp).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      cwd: '/some/path',
+      normalize: false,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    {
+      description: 'no package.json is found',
+      setup: () => vi.mocked(readPackageUp).mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      expected: undefined,
+    },
+    {
+      description: 'non-semver versions (when normalize is false)',
+      setup: () =>
+        vi.mocked(readPackageUp).mockResolvedValue({
+          packageJson: { name: 'test-pkg', version: '2024.60' },
+          path: '/path/to/package.json',
+        }),
+      expected: { name: 'test-pkg', version: '2024.60' },
+    },
+    {
+      description: 'readPackageUp throws',
+      setup: () =>
+        vi.mocked(readPackageUp).mockRejectedValue(new Error('Read error')),
+      expected: undefined,
+    },
+  ])('should handle $description', async ({ setup, expected }) => {
+    setup();
+    const result = await getPackageJson('/some/path');
+    expect(result).toEqual(expected);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/utils/package.ts b/packages/core/src/utils/package.ts
index 81b208bc5f..b203e42062 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/utils/package.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/utils/package.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   readPackageUp,
   type PackageJson as BasePackageJson,
 } from 'read-package-up';
+import { debugLogger } from './debugLogger.js';
 
 export type PackageJson = BasePackageJson & {
   config?: {
@@ -32,10 +33,15 @@ export type PackageJson = BasePackageJson & {
 export async function getPackageJson(
   cwd: string,
 ): Promise<PackageJson | undefined> {
-  const result = await readPackageUp({ cwd });
-  if (!result) {
+  try {
+    const result = await readPackageUp({ cwd, normalize: false });
+    if (!result) {
+      return undefined;
+    }
+
+    return result.packageJson;
+  } catch (error) {
+    debugLogger.error('Error occurred while reading package.json', error);
     return undefined;
   }
-
-  return result.packageJson;
 }