diff --git a/src/specify_cli/presets/__init__.py b/src/specify_cli/presets/__init__.py
index cc5308f3fc..16a7e56c0a 100644
--- a/src/specify_cli/presets/__init__.py
+++ b/src/specify_cli/presets/__init__.py
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ def _substitute_core_template(
         by the core template body and core_frontmatter holds the core template's parsed
         frontmatter (so callers can inherit scripts/agent_scripts from it).  Both are
         unchanged / empty when the placeholder is absent or the core template file does
-        not exist.
+        not exist or cannot be read.
     """
     if "{CORE_TEMPLATE}" not in body:
         return body, {}
@@ -208,7 +208,23 @@ def _substitute_core_template(
     if core_file is None:
         return body, {}
 
-    core_frontmatter, core_body = registrar.parse_frontmatter(core_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    # Treat an unreadable/undecodable core template like a missing one so a
+    # single corrupted project override cannot crash command registration —
+    # the wrap-strategy callers already skip an unreadable preset source with
+    # a warning (CommandRegistrar.register_pack).
+    try:
+        core_content = core_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    except (OSError, UnicodeDecodeError) as exc:
+        import warnings
+
+        warnings.warn(
+            f"Ignoring core template for command '{cmd_name}': could not read "
+            f"'{core_file.name}' ({exc.__class__.__name__}: {exc}).",
+            stacklevel=2,
+        )
+        return body, {}
+
+    core_frontmatter, core_body = registrar.parse_frontmatter(core_content)
     return body.replace("{CORE_TEMPLATE}", core_body), core_frontmatter
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_presets.py b/tests/test_presets.py
index 243d13ab55..d7bb29b604 100644
--- a/tests/test_presets.py
+++ b/tests/test_presets.py
@@ -10718,6 +10718,35 @@ def test_substitute_core_template_no_op_when_core_missing(self, project_dir):
         assert "{CORE_TEMPLATE}" in result
         assert core_fm == {}
 
+    def test_substitute_core_template_unreadable_core_treated_as_missing(
+        self, project_dir
+    ):
+        """An undecodable core template must not crash substitution.
+
+        The wrap-strategy callers (``CommandRegistrar.register_pack`` and
+        ``_register_commands``) skip an unreadable preset source with a
+        warning, but the core template read inside
+        ``_substitute_core_template`` had no boundary, so one corrupted
+        project-owned override in ``.specify/templates/commands/`` crashed
+        the whole registration with a raw ``UnicodeDecodeError``. An
+        unreadable core is treated like a missing one.
+        """
+        from specify_cli.presets import _substitute_core_template
+        from specify_cli.agents import CommandRegistrar
+
+        core_dir = project_dir / ".specify" / "templates" / "commands"
+        core_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        (core_dir / "specify.md").write_bytes(b"\xff\xfe not utf-8")
+
+        registrar = CommandRegistrar()
+        body = "Pre.\n\n{CORE_TEMPLATE}\n\nPost.\n"
+        with pytest.warns(UserWarning, match="Ignoring core template"):
+            result, core_fm = _substitute_core_template(
+                body, "specify", project_dir, registrar
+            )
+        assert result == body
+        assert core_fm == {}
+
     def test_register_commands_substitutes_core_template_for_wrap_strategy(self, project_dir):
         """register_commands substitutes {CORE_TEMPLATE} when strategy: wrap."""
         from specify_cli.agents import CommandRegistrar