diff --git a/src/test/shell.test.ts b/src/test/shell.test.ts
index 51d0e85dc9..7e919f8a3b 100644
--- a/src/test/shell.test.ts
+++ b/src/test/shell.test.ts
@@ -78,6 +78,11 @@ describe("Shell Detection Tests", () => {
 			expect(getShell()).to.equal("C:\\Windows\\System32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe")
 		})
 
+		it("handles undefined shell profile gracefully", () => {
+			mockVsCodeConfig("windows", "NonExistentProfile", {})
+			expect(getShell()).to.equal("C:\\Windows\\System32\\cmd.exe")
+		})
+
 		it("uses WSL bash when profile indicates WSL source", () => {
 			mockVsCodeConfig("windows", "WSL", {
 				WSL: { source: "WSL" },
diff --git a/src/utils/shell.ts b/src/utils/shell.ts
index 8871550a0e..2f7ffb3a88 100644
--- a/src/utils/shell.ts
+++ b/src/utils/shell.ts
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ function getWindowsShellFromVSCode(): string | null {
 	}
 
 	// If there's a specific path, return that immediately
-	if (profile.path) {
+	if (profile?.path) {
 		return profile.path
 	}