diff --git a/midx.c b/midx.c
index 3d0015f782..cd6e766ce2 100644
--- a/midx.c
+++ b/midx.c
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 #include "pack-bitmap.h"
 #include "pack-revindex.h"
 
+#define MIDX_PACK_ERROR ((void *)(intptr_t)-1)
+
 int midx_checksum_valid(struct multi_pack_index *m);
 void clear_midx_files_ext(const char *object_dir, const char *ext,
 			  const char *keep_hash);
@@ -405,7 +407,7 @@ void close_midx(struct multi_pack_index *m)
 	munmap((unsigned char *)m->data, m->data_len);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < m->num_packs; i++) {
-		if (m->packs[i])
+		if (m->packs[i] && m->packs[i] != MIDX_PACK_ERROR)
 			m->packs[i]->multi_pack_index = 0;
 	}
 	FREE_AND_NULL(m->packs);
@@ -458,6 +460,8 @@ int prepare_midx_pack(struct repository *r, struct multi_pack_index *m,
 
 	pack_int_id = midx_for_pack(&m, pack_int_id);
 
+	if (m->packs[pack_int_id] == MIDX_PACK_ERROR)
+		return 1;
 	if (m->packs[pack_int_id])
 		return 0;
 
@@ -482,8 +486,10 @@ int prepare_midx_pack(struct repository *r, struct multi_pack_index *m,
 	strbuf_release(&pack_name);
 	strbuf_release(&key);
 
-	if (!p)
+	if (!p) {
+		m->packs[pack_int_id] = MIDX_PACK_ERROR;
 		return 1;
+	}
 
 	p->multi_pack_index = 1;
 	m->packs[pack_int_id] = p;
@@ -495,6 +501,8 @@ struct packed_git *nth_midxed_pack(struct multi_pack_index *m,
 				   uint32_t pack_int_id)
 {
 	uint32_t local_pack_int_id = midx_for_pack(&m, pack_int_id);
+	if (m->packs[local_pack_int_id] == MIDX_PACK_ERROR)
+		return NULL;
 	return m->packs[local_pack_int_id];
 }
 
diff --git a/packfile.c b/packfile.c
index 80e35f1032..70c7208f02 100644
--- a/packfile.c
+++ b/packfile.c
@@ -737,6 +737,17 @@ struct packed_git *add_packed_git(struct repository *r, const char *path,
 	p = alloc_packed_git(r, alloc);
 	memcpy(p->pack_name, path, path_len);
 
+	/*
+	 * Note that we have to check auxiliary data structures before we check
+	 * for the ".pack" file to exist to avoid races with a packfile that is
+	 * in the process of being deleted. The ".pack" file is unlinked before
+	 * its auxiliary data structures, so we know that we either get a
+	 * consistent snapshot of all data structures or that we'll fail to
+	 * stat(3p) the packfile itself and thus return `NULL`.
+	 *
+	 * As such, we cannot bail out before the access(3p) calls in case the
+	 * packfile doesn't exist without doing two stat(3p) calls for it.
+	 */
 	xsnprintf(p->pack_name + path_len, alloc - path_len, ".keep");
 	if (!access(p->pack_name, F_OK))
 		p->pack_keep = 1;