diff --git a/.changelog/unreleased/bug-fixes/575-fix-light-client-panic.md b/.changelog/unreleased/bug-fixes/575-fix-light-client-panic.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0ec55b923
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changelog/unreleased/bug-fixes/575-fix-light-client-panic.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+- `[light]` Fixed an edge case where a light client would panic when attempting
+  to query a node that (1) has started from a non-zero height and (2) does
+  not yet have any data. The light client will now, correctly, not panic
+  _and_ keep the node in its list of providers in the same way it would if
+  it queried a node starting from height zero that does not yet have data
+  ([\#575](https://github.com/cometbft/cometbft/issues/575))
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/light/provider/http/http.go b/light/provider/http/http.go
index 9fb01dd96..b73f7bd45 100644
--- a/light/provider/http/http.go
+++ b/light/provider/http/http.go
@@ -180,6 +180,15 @@ func (p *http) signedHeader(ctx context.Context, height *int64) (*types.SignedHe
 		commit, err := p.client.Commit(ctx, height)
 		switch {
 		case err == nil:
+			// See https://github.com/cometbft/cometbft/issues/575
+			// If the node is starting at a non-zero height, but does not yet
+			// have any blocks, it can return an empty signed header without
+			// returning an error.
+			if commit.SignedHeader.IsEmpty() {
+				// Technically this means that the provider still needs to
+				// catch up.
+				return nil, provider.ErrHeightTooHigh
+			}
 			return &commit.SignedHeader, nil
 
 		case regexpTooHigh.MatchString(err.Error()):
diff --git a/types/light.go b/types/light.go
index 31fdc620f..e3ef1f63d 100644
--- a/types/light.go
+++ b/types/light.go
@@ -120,6 +120,11 @@ type SignedHeader struct {
 	Commit *Commit `json:"commit"`
 }
 
+// IsEmpty returns true if both the header and commit are nil.
+func (sh SignedHeader) IsEmpty() bool {
+	return sh.Header == nil && sh.Commit == nil
+}
+
 // ValidateBasic does basic consistency checks and makes sure the header
 // and commit are consistent.
 //