diff --git a/.changeset/six-mice-perform.md b/.changeset/six-mice-perform.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..887880f5f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/six-mice-perform.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@pnpm/headless": patch
+---
+
+Frozen install should not fail if the lockfile contains references to directories with no `package.json` file.
diff --git a/packages/headless/src/index.ts b/packages/headless/src/index.ts
index be52b2c552..9a7adced42 100644
--- a/packages/headless/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/headless/src/index.ts
@@ -488,8 +488,13 @@ async function linkRootPackages (
             if (importerManifestsByImporterId[importerId]) {
               return importerManifestsByImporterId[importerId]
             }
-            // TODO: cover this case with a test
-            return await readProjectManifestOnly(packageDir) as DependencyManifest
+            try {
+              // TODO: cover this case with a test
+              return await readProjectManifestOnly(packageDir) as DependencyManifest
+            } catch (err) {
+              if (err['code'] !== 'ERR_PNPM_NO_IMPORTER_MANIFEST_FOUND') throw err
+              return { name: alias, version: '0.0.0' }
+            }
           })() as DependencyManifest
           await symlinkDirectRootDependency(packageDir, opts.importerModulesDir, alias, {
             fromDependenciesField: isDev && 'devDependencies' ||
diff --git a/packages/supi/test/install/local.ts b/packages/supi/test/install/local.ts
index 1cd04aa0ac..ce08a97dd2 100644
--- a/packages/supi/test/install/local.ts
+++ b/packages/supi/test/install/local.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,11 @@ test('local directory with no package.json', async () => {
   const expectedSpecs = { pkg: 'link:pkg' }
   expect(manifest.dependencies).toStrictEqual(expectedSpecs)
   await project.has('pkg')
+
+  await rimraf('node_modules')
+
+  await install(manifest, await testDefaults({ frozenLockfile: true }))
+  await project.has('pkg')
 })
 
 test('local file via link:', async () => {