diff --git a/src/ServiceControl.UnitTests/ScatterGather/RemoteEndpointDetailsDeserializationTests.cs b/src/ServiceControl.UnitTests/ScatterGather/RemoteEndpointDetailsDeserializationTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5bf2429474
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ServiceControl.UnitTests/ScatterGather/RemoteEndpointDetailsDeserializationTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+namespace ServiceControl.UnitTests.ScatterGather;
+
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Net;
+using System.Net.Http;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Text.Json;
+using System.Threading;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using CompositeViews.Messages;
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions;
+using NUnit.Framework;
+using ServiceBus.Management.Infrastructure.Settings;
+using ServiceControl.Infrastructure.WebApi;
+using ServiceControl.Operations;
+using ServiceControl.Infrastructure;
+using ServiceControl.Persistence.Infrastructure;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Audit instances serialize their API with <c>WhenWritingNull</c>, so an endpoint whose host (or name) is not
+/// known is sent without that property at all. <see cref="EndpointDetails.Host" /> and <see cref="EndpointDetails.Name" />
+/// became C# <c>required</c> members in 6.20, which System.Text.Json enforces on deserialization. A single such message
+/// must not make the primary drop every message the audit instance returned.
+/// </summary>
+[TestFixture]
+class RemoteEndpointDetailsDeserializationTests
+{
+    const string RemoteAddress = "http://audit-1/api";
+
+    // The shape an audit instance answers with for a message whose sending endpoint has no host,
+    // e.g. one parsed from an originating address without a machine part.
+    const string AuditPageWithoutSendingHost = """
+        [
+          {
+            "id": "audit-msg-1",
+            "message_id": "audit-msg-1",
+            "message_type": "Sales.PlaceOrder",
+            "sending_endpoint": { "name": "Sales", "host_id": "8f6b7a0e-6f0c-4c39-9a57-7d5f2e6b8a11" },
+            "receiving_endpoint": { "name": "Billing", "host_id": "1d2c3b4a-0000-4c39-9a57-7d5f2e6b8a11", "host": "BILLING01" },
+            "processed_at": "2026-10-07T07:00:00Z",
+            "headers": []
+          }
+        ]
+        """;
+
+    [Test]
+    public void An_endpoint_without_a_host_deserializes()
+    {
+        var endpoint = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<EndpointDetails>("""{ "name": "Sales", "host_id": "8f6b7a0e-6f0c-4c39-9a57-7d5f2e6b8a11" }""", SerializerOptions.Default);
+
+        Assert.That(endpoint.Name, Is.EqualTo("Sales"));
+        Assert.That(endpoint.Host, Is.Null);
+    }
+
+    [Test]
+    public async Task A_remote_message_whose_endpoint_has_no_host_is_kept_and_the_result_is_complete()
+    {
+        var settings = new Settings { RemoteInstances = [new RemoteInstanceSetting(RemoteAddress)] };
+        var factory = new FakeHttpClientFactory();
+        factory.Register(settings.RemoteInstances[0], (_, _) =>
+        {
+            var response = new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.OK) { Content = new StringContent(AuditPageWithoutSendingHost, Encoding.UTF8, "application/json") };
+            response.Headers.TryAddWithoutValidation("Total-Count", "1");
+            response.Headers.TryAddWithoutValidation("ETag", "\"remote-etag\"");
+            return Task.FromResult(response);
+        });
+
+        var api = new TestApi(settings, factory);
+
+        var result = await api.Execute(new ScatterGatherApiMessageViewContext(new PagingInfo(), new SortInfo("time_sent", "desc")), "/api/messages");
+
+        Assert.That(result.IncompleteInstances, Is.Empty, "the audit instance answered; its page must not be reported (and dropped) as a failure");
+        Assert.That(result.Results.Select(m => m.MessageId), Is.EqualTo(["audit-msg-1"]));
+        Assert.That(result.Results.Single().SendingEndpoint.Name, Is.EqualTo("Sales"));
+    }
+
+    class TestApi(Settings settings, IHttpClientFactory factory)
+        : ScatterGatherApiMessageView<object, ScatterGatherApiMessageViewContext>(new object(), settings, factory, new HttpContextAccessor(), NullLogger<TestApi>.Instance)
+    {
+        protected override Task<QueryResult<IList<MessagesView>>> LocalQuery(ScatterGatherApiMessageViewContext input, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) =>
+            Task.FromResult(new QueryResult<IList<MessagesView>>([], new QueryStatsInfo(DataVersion.FromToken("local-etag"), 0)));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/ServiceControl/Infrastructure/WebApi/SerializerOptions.cs b/src/ServiceControl/Infrastructure/WebApi/SerializerOptions.cs
index 966798089f..6420a65017 100644
--- a/src/ServiceControl/Infrastructure/WebApi/SerializerOptions.cs
+++ b/src/ServiceControl/Infrastructure/WebApi/SerializerOptions.cs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 {
     using System.Text.Json;
     using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
+    using System.Text.Json.Serialization.Metadata;
 
     public static class SerializerOptions
     {
@@ -13,7 +14,21 @@ public static JsonSerializerOptions CustomizeDefaults(this JsonSerializerOptions
             options.WriteIndented = false;
             options.PropertyNamingPolicy = JsonNamingPolicy.SnakeCaseLower;
             options.Converters.Add(new JsonStringEnumConverter(JsonNamingPolicy.CamelCase));
+            options.TypeInfoResolver = (options.TypeInfoResolver ?? new DefaultJsonTypeInfoResolver()).WithAddedModifier(DoNotEnforceRequiredMembers);
             return options;
         }
+
+        // C# 'required' members document what our own code must set when it creates these types. The JSON
+        // we read comes from other instances, often of other versions, that write with WhenWritingNull (as
+        // above), so a value they do not know is simply absent. System.Text.Json enforces 'required' on
+        // deserialization, and one such message would fail an audit instance's whole response, dropping it
+        // from the scatter-gather.
+        static void DoNotEnforceRequiredMembers(JsonTypeInfo typeInfo)
+        {
+            foreach (var property in typeInfo.Properties)
+            {
+                property.IsRequired = false;
+            }
+        }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file