diff --git a/src/CTA.Rules.ProjectFile/ProjectFileCreator.cs b/src/CTA.Rules.ProjectFile/ProjectFileCreator.cs
index f6ef7800..ff96a63a 100644
--- a/src/CTA.Rules.ProjectFile/ProjectFileCreator.cs
+++ b/src/CTA.Rules.ProjectFile/ProjectFileCreator.cs
@@ -291,9 +291,19 @@ private void UpdatePackageReferences()
             //Select existing packages and deduplicate them by package name:
             var existingPackages = _projectFileXml.Descendants()
                 .Where(d => d.Name == "PackageReference")
-                .Select(d => new { Name = d.Attributes("Include").First().Value, Version = d.Attributes("Version").First().Value })
-                .GroupBy(d => d.Name).Select(d => d.FirstOrDefault())
-                .ToDictionary(p => p.Name, p => p.Version);
+                .Select(d => new
+                {
+                    Name = d.Attributes("Include")
+                        .FirstOrDefault()?
+                        .Value ?? "",
+                    Version = d.Attributes("Version")
+                        .FirstOrDefault()?
+                        .Value ?? ""
+                })
+                .GroupBy(d => d.Name)
+                .Select(d => d.FirstOrDefault())
+                .ToDictionary(p => p.Name,
+                    p => p.Version);
 
             _packages = _packages.Where(p => existingPackages.Keys?.Contains(p.Key) == false).ToDictionary(d => d.Key, d => d.Value);
 
diff --git a/tst/CTA.Rules.Test/Actions/ProjectFileActionsTests.cs b/tst/CTA.Rules.Test/Actions/ProjectFileActionsTests.cs
index 6a372519..935ab448 100644
--- a/tst/CTA.Rules.Test/Actions/ProjectFileActionsTests.cs
+++ b/tst/CTA.Rules.Test/Actions/ProjectFileActionsTests.cs
@@ -118,6 +118,33 @@ public void ProjectFileCreationHandlesNoExistingPackages()
             StringAssert.Contains("<PackageReference Include=\"Newtonsoft.Json\" Version=\"2.2.6\" />", result);
         }
 
+        [Test]
+        public void ProjectFileCreationHandlePackageReferenceNoVersion()
+        {
+            const string projectFile = @"
+<Project Sdk=""Microsoft.NET.Sdk"">
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <TargetFramework>netcoreapp3.1</TargetFramework>
+  </PropertyGroup>
+  <ItemGroup>
+    <PackageReference Include=""Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Design""/>
+  </ItemGroup>
+</Project>";
+
+            var result = CreateNewFile(
+                ProjectType.CoreMvc,
+                new List<string>() { SupportedFrameworks.Net8 },
+                new Dictionary<string, string>()
+                {
+                    {"Newtonsoft.Json", "2.2.6"}
+                }, new List<string>(),
+                newContent: projectFile);
+            StringAssert.Contains(SupportedFrameworks.Net8, result);
+            //verify both new and old package reference remain
+            StringAssert.Contains("<PackageReference Include=\"Newtonsoft.Json\" Version=\"2.2.6\" />", result);
+            StringAssert.Contains("<PackageReference Include=\"Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Design\" />", result);
+        }
+
         private string CreateNewFile(ProjectType projectType, List<string> targetVersions, Dictionary<string, string> packageReferences, List<string> projectReferences, bool isNetCore = false, string newContent="")
         {
             ResetProjectFile(newContent: newContent, isNetCore: isNetCore);