diff --git a/db_test.go b/db_test.go
index f0e78d055..dd735e465 100644
--- a/db_test.go
+++ b/db_test.go
@@ -2841,14 +2841,20 @@ func TestOpenWithEmptyMemFile(t *testing.T) {
 func TestOpenWithEmptyVlogFile(t *testing.T) {
 	dir := t.TempDir()
 	opt := getTestOptions(dir)
+	// The default ValueThreshold is 1MB, which would inline every value in the
+	// LSM tree and leave the value log read path untested. Drop it so the
+	// values below actually land in a .vlog file.
+	opt.ValueThreshold = 32
+	value := func(i int) []byte {
+		return []byte(fmt.Sprintf("value:%05d:%s", i, strings.Repeat("v", 64)))
+	}
 
 	// Step 1: Create a DB with some data.
 	db, err := Open(opt)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	for i := 0; i < 100; i++ {
 		err := db.Update(func(txn *Txn) error {
-			return txn.Set([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("key:%05d", i)),
-				[]byte(fmt.Sprintf("value:%05d", i)))
+			return txn.Set([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("key:%05d", i)), value(i))
 		})
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 	}
@@ -2902,8 +2908,7 @@ func TestOpenWithEmptyVlogFile(t *testing.T) {
 				return err
 			}
 			err = item.Value(func(val []byte) error {
-				expected := fmt.Sprintf("value:%05d", i)
-				require.Equal(t, expected, string(val))
+				require.Equal(t, value(i), val)
 				return nil
 			})
 			if err != nil {
@@ -2925,10 +2930,103 @@ func TestOpenWithEmptyVlogFile(t *testing.T) {
 		require.NoError(t, db2.Close())
 	})
 
-	// Step 6: Read-only Open must also succeed with the empty .vlog file present.
+	// Step 6: Read-only Open must also succeed with the empty .vlog file
+	// present, and must serve reads out of the value log. Read-only never
+	// calls createVlogFile, so vlog.maxFid still names the skipped artifact
+	// here; the read path has to cope with that.
 	roOpt := opt
 	roOpt.ReadOnly = true
 	db3, err := Open(roOpt)
 	require.NoError(t, err, "read-only Open should succeed with an empty .vlog file")
+	require.NoError(t, db3.View(func(txn *Txn) error {
+		for i := 0; i < 100; i++ {
+			item, err := txn.Get([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("key:%05d", i)))
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			got, err := item.ValueCopy(nil)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			require.Equal(t, value(i), got)
+		}
+		return nil
+	}))
 	require.NoError(t, db3.Close())
 }
+
+// TestEmptyVlogFileDoesNotSkipTailRecovery verifies that a 0-byte .vlog crash
+// artifact does not rob the newest surviving value log file of its tail
+// recovery. populateFilesMap sets vlog.maxFid from the directory listing before
+// the 0-byte file is skipped, so maxFid names a file that is no longer in
+// filesMap. Indexing filesMap by maxFid there would skip the iterate-and-
+// truncate pass that trims a partially written entry off the last file — and
+// the crash that leaves a 0-byte .vlog behind is exactly the crash that can
+// leave a torn tail on the file before it.
+func TestEmptyVlogFileDoesNotSkipTailRecovery(t *testing.T) {
+	newestVlog := func(dir string) (string, uint32) {
+		entries, err := os.ReadDir(dir)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		var maxFid uint32
+		for _, e := range entries {
+			name := e.Name()
+			if !strings.HasSuffix(name, ".vlog") {
+				continue
+			}
+			fid, err := strconv.ParseUint(strings.TrimSuffix(name, ".vlog"), 10, 32)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			if uint32(fid) > maxFid {
+				maxFid = uint32(fid)
+			}
+		}
+		return filepath.Join(dir, fmt.Sprintf("%06d.vlog", maxFid)), maxFid
+	}
+
+	// plantEmpty controls whether a 0-byte .vlog artifact sits above the torn
+	// file. Recovery must behave identically either way.
+	run := func(t *testing.T, plantEmpty bool) {
+		dir := t.TempDir()
+		opt := getTestOptions(dir)
+		opt.ValueThreshold = 32
+
+		db, err := Open(opt)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		val := []byte(strings.Repeat("v", 1024))
+		for i := 0; i < 50; i++ {
+			require.NoError(t, db.Update(func(txn *Txn) error {
+				return txn.Set([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("key:%05d", i)), val)
+			}))
+		}
+		require.NoError(t, db.Close())
+
+		lastPath, lastFid := newestVlog(dir)
+		clean, err := os.Stat(lastPath)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+
+		// Simulate a write torn off by a crash.
+		f, err := os.OpenFile(lastPath, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_APPEND, 0600)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		_, err = f.Write([]byte("torn entry that is not a valid record"))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.NoError(t, f.Close())
+
+		if plantEmpty {
+			empty := filepath.Join(dir, fmt.Sprintf("%06d.vlog", lastFid+1))
+			ef, err := os.Create(empty)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.NoError(t, ef.Close())
+		}
+
+		db2, err := Open(opt)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		recovered, err := os.Stat(lastPath)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.NoError(t, db2.Close())
+
+		require.Equal(t, clean.Size(), recovered.Size(),
+			"torn tail should have been truncated off %s", filepath.Base(lastPath))
+	}
+
+	t.Run("no artifact", func(t *testing.T) { run(t, false) })
+	t.Run("with empty vlog artifact", func(t *testing.T) { run(t, true) })
+}
diff --git a/memtable.go b/memtable.go
index 64782d9b8..0273b2958 100644
--- a/memtable.go
+++ b/memtable.go
@@ -68,15 +68,21 @@ func (db *DB) openMemTables(opt Options) error {
 		return fids[i] < fids[j]
 	})
 	for _, fid := range fids {
-		// Skip empty .mem files that can be left behind by a crash
-		// between file creation and the first write. Stat-and-skip
-		// avoids opening them at all, which works for both read-write
-		// and read-only modes (no truncation required).
-		fi, err := os.Stat(db.mtFilePath(fid))
+		// A crash between file creation and the first write can leave a 0-byte
+		// .mem behind. Stat and skip those before opening anything:
+		// z.OpenMmapFile would truncate such a file and hand back the
+		// z.NewFile sentinel, which the open below treats as fatal, and which
+		// read-only mode cannot produce at all because the truncate fails on
+		// an O_RDONLY fd. The file itself stays on disk, so read-only opens
+		// mutate nothing. The fid stays in fids as well, so nextMemFid below
+		// still advances past it and no new memtable reuses it.
+		path := db.mtFilePath(fid)
+		fi, err := os.Stat(path)
 		if err != nil {
-			return errFile(err, db.mtFilePath(fid), "Unable to stat mem file.")
+			return errFile(err, path, "Unable to stat mem file.")
 		}
 		if fi.Size() == 0 {
+			db.opt.Infof("Skipping empty memtable file: %s", path)
 			continue
 		}
 
diff --git a/value.go b/value.go
index c171eaa33..5cd40448e 100644
--- a/value.go
+++ b/value.go
@@ -598,28 +598,43 @@ func (vlog *valueLog) open(db *DB) error {
 		_, err := vlog.createVlogFile()
 		return y.Wrapf(err, "Error while creating log file in valueLog.open")
 	}
+	// A crash between file creation and the first write can leave a 0-byte .vlog behind. Stat
+	// and skip those before opening anything: z.OpenMmapFile would truncate such a file and hand
+	// back the z.NewFile sentinel, which the open below treats as fatal, and which read-only mode
+	// cannot produce at all because the truncate fails on an O_RDONLY fd. Skipping also drops the
+	// fid from filesMap, since nothing opened the file and its nil MmapFile would be dereferenced
+	// by anything that walks the map, vlog.Close() included. The file itself stays on disk, so
+	// read-only opens mutate nothing.
 	fids := vlog.sortedFids()
+	live := make([]uint32, 0, len(fids))
 	for _, fid := range fids {
 		lf, ok := vlog.filesMap[fid]
 		y.AssertTrue(ok)
 
-		lf.opt = vlog.opt
-
-		// Skip 0-byte .vlog files left behind by a crash between file
-		// creation and the first write. Stat-and-skip avoids opening them at
-		// all, which works in both read-write and read-only modes (no
-		// truncation required). The file stays on disk but is harmless.
 		fi, err := os.Stat(lf.path)
 		if err != nil {
-			return y.Wrapf(err, "Unable to stat file: %q", lf.path)
+			return errFile(err, lf.path, "Unable to stat value log file.")
 		}
 		if fi.Size() == 0 {
-			// Since the logfile, corresponding to this fid, does not
-			// have MmapFile initialized, susceptible to nil deref panic.
-			// Like that in vlog.Close()
+			vlog.opt.Infof("Skipping empty value log file: %s", lf.path)
 			delete(vlog.filesMap, fid)
 			continue
 		}
+		live = append(live, fid)
+	}
+
+	// vlog.maxFid can name a file that the skip above just dropped from filesMap, so track the
+	// newest file that actually survived and use that wherever the newest file matters. Leave
+	// maxFid itself alone: createVlogFile takes maxFid+1 with O_EXCL, so lowering it would
+	// collide with the skipped artifact still sitting on disk.
+	var newestFid uint32
+	if len(live) > 0 {
+		newestFid = live[len(live)-1]
+	}
+
+	for _, fid := range live {
+		lf := vlog.filesMap[fid]
+		lf.opt = vlog.opt
 
 		flags := os.O_RDWR
 		if vlog.opt.ReadOnly {
@@ -629,8 +644,8 @@ func (vlog *valueLog) open(db *DB) error {
 			2*vlog.opt.ValueLogFileSize); err != nil {
 			return y.Wrapf(err, "Open existing file: %q", lf.path)
 		}
-		// We shouldn't delete the maxFid file.
-		if lf.size.Load() == vlogHeaderSize && fid != vlog.maxFid && !vlog.opt.ReadOnly {
+		// We shouldn't delete the newest file.
+		if lf.size.Load() == vlogHeaderSize && fid != newestFid && !vlog.opt.ReadOnly {
 			vlog.opt.Infof("Deleting empty file: %s", lf.path)
 			if err := lf.Delete(); err != nil {
 				return y.Wrapf(err, "while trying to delete empty file: %s", lf.path)
@@ -640,13 +655,15 @@ func (vlog *valueLog) open(db *DB) error {
 	}
 
 	if vlog.opt.ReadOnly {
+		// vlog.maxFid may still name a skipped artifact for the life of this handle, since the
+		// createVlogFile below never runs. That is safe: getFileRLocked keys on vp.Fid and skips
+		// its maxFid bound check in read-only mode.
 		return nil
 	}
 	// Now we can read the latest value log file, and see if it needs truncation. We could
 	// technically do this over all the value log files, but that would mean slowing down the value
-	// log open. If the maxFid file was a 0-byte crash artifact skipped above, it's no longer in
-	// filesMap and there's nothing to recover, so skip straight to creating a fresh file.
-	if last, ok := vlog.filesMap[vlog.maxFid]; ok {
+	// log open.
+	if last, ok := vlog.filesMap[newestFid]; ok {
 		lastOff, err := last.iterate(vlog.opt.ReadOnly, vlogHeaderSize,
 			func(_ Entry, vp valuePointer) error {
 				return nil