diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 88d7acee1..feaedb045 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 ## [Unreleased]
 
 - Add `ignore_missing_component_templates` to `elasticstack_elasticsearch_index_template` ([#1206](https://github.com/elastic/terraform-provider-elasticstack/pull/1206))
+- Prevent provider panic when a script exists in state, but not in Elasticsearch ([#1218](https://github.com/elastic/terraform-provider-elasticstack/pull/1218))
 
 ## [0.11.17] - 2025-07-21
 
diff --git a/internal/elasticsearch/cluster/script.go b/internal/elasticsearch/cluster/script.go
index 8b09c443e..1a96f7c27 100644
--- a/internal/elasticsearch/cluster/script.go
+++ b/internal/elasticsearch/cluster/script.go
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ func resourceScriptRead(ctx context.Context, d *schema.ResourceData, meta interf
 	if script == nil && diags == nil {
 		tflog.Warn(ctx, fmt.Sprintf(`Script "%s" not found, removing from state`, compId.ResourceId))
 		d.SetId("")
+		return nil
 	}
 	if diags.HasError() {
 		return diags
diff --git a/internal/elasticsearch/cluster/script_test.go b/internal/elasticsearch/cluster/script_test.go
index 6c8170f53..eb31cf320 100644
--- a/internal/elasticsearch/cluster/script_test.go
+++ b/internal/elasticsearch/cluster/script_test.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	sdkacctest "github.com/hashicorp/terraform-plugin-sdk/v2/helper/acctest"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/terraform-plugin-sdk/v2/helper/resource"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/terraform-plugin-sdk/v2/terraform"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestAccResourceScript(t *testing.T) {
@@ -37,6 +38,26 @@ func TestAccResourceScript(t *testing.T) {
 					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("elasticstack_elasticsearch_script.test", "params", `{"changed_modifier":2}`),
 				),
 			},
+			{
+				// Ensure the provider doesn't panic if the script has been deleted outside of the Terraform flow
+				PreConfig: func() {
+					client, err := clients.NewAcceptanceTestingClient()
+					require.NoError(t, err)
+
+					esClient, err := client.GetESClient()
+					require.NoError(t, err)
+
+					_, err = esClient.DeleteScript(scriptID)
+					require.NoError(t, err)
+				},
+				Config: testAccScriptUpdate(scriptID),
+				Check: resource.ComposeTestCheckFunc(
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("elasticstack_elasticsearch_script.test", "script_id", scriptID),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("elasticstack_elasticsearch_script.test", "lang", "painless"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("elasticstack_elasticsearch_script.test", "source", "Math.log(_score * 4) + params['changed_modifier']"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("elasticstack_elasticsearch_script.test", "params", `{"changed_modifier":2}`),
+				),
+			},
 		},
 	})
 }