diff --git a/common/grammar-parser.cpp b/common/grammar-parser.cpp
index a518b766dc33e..438452eab570f 100644
--- a/common/grammar-parser.cpp
+++ b/common/grammar-parser.cpp
@@ -369,6 +369,9 @@ namespace grammar_parser {
             }
             // Validate the state to ensure that all rules are defined
             for (const auto & rule : state.rules) {
+                if (rule.empty()) {
+                    throw std::runtime_error("Undefined rule");
+                }
                 for (const auto & elem : rule) {
                     if (elem.type == LLAMA_GRETYPE_RULE_REF) {
                         // Ensure that the rule at that location exists