diff --git a/.changeset/guard-null-vnode-mark-dirty.md b/.changeset/guard-null-vnode-mark-dirty.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..077a2bf576d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/guard-null-vnode-mark-dirty.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+'@qwik.dev/core': patch
+---
+
+fix: guard null/undefined vNode in markVNodeDirty
+
+Prevent `TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'dirty')` crash in `markVNodeDirty` when callers pass an undefined vNode. This happens when `DomContainer.$destroy$()` is called during async qwikloader dispatch — `$getObjectById$` returns `undefined` for all pending deserialization, so `scheduleTask`, `scheduleEffects`, `_hmr`, `_val`, `_chk`, and `_res` all pass undefined vNodes to `markVNodeDirty`.
diff --git a/packages/qwik/src/core/shared/vnode/vnode-dirty.ts b/packages/qwik/src/core/shared/vnode/vnode-dirty.ts
index f38ebae7773..de256e7d447 100644
--- a/packages/qwik/src/core/shared/vnode/vnode-dirty.ts
+++ b/packages/qwik/src/core/shared/vnode/vnode-dirty.ts
@@ -111,6 +111,13 @@ export function markVNodeDirty(
   bits: ChoreBits,
   cursorRoot: VNode | null = null
 ): void {
+  if (!vNode) {
+    // vNode can be undefined when a container is destroyed during async qwikloader dispatch.
+    // DomContainer.$destroy$() replaces $getObjectById$ with () => undefined and truncates
+    // $stateData$, so deserializeCaptures returns [undefined] for pending event handlers.
+    // This affects scheduleTask, scheduleEffects, _hmr, _val, _chk, and _res.
+    return;
+  }
   const prevDirty = vNode.dirty;
   vNode.dirty |= bits;
   if (isSsrNodeGuard(vNode)) {
diff --git a/packages/qwik/src/core/shared/vnode/vnode-dirty.unit.ts b/packages/qwik/src/core/shared/vnode/vnode-dirty.unit.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1a2a273ddb6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/qwik/src/core/shared/vnode/vnode-dirty.unit.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { markVNodeDirty } from './vnode-dirty';
+import { ChoreBits } from './enums/chore-bits.enum';
+import type { Container } from '../types';
+
+describe('markVNodeDirty', () => {
+  it('does not throw when vNode is undefined (destroyed container)', () => {
+    // After DomContainer.$destroy$(), $getObjectById$ returns undefined for all IDs.
+    // Callers like scheduleTask, _hmr, _val, _chk pass the deserialized result
+    // directly to markVNodeDirty — which would be undefined.
+    const container = {} as Container;
+    expect(() => {
+      markVNodeDirty(container, undefined as any, ChoreBits.TASKS);
+    }).not.toThrow();
+  });
+
+  it('does not throw when vNode is null', () => {
+    const container = {} as Container;
+    expect(() => {
+      markVNodeDirty(container, null as any, ChoreBits.TASKS);
+    }).not.toThrow();
+  });
+});