diff --git a/changelog/fragments/scorecard-descriptor-non-object-panic.yaml b/changelog/fragments/scorecard-descriptor-non-object-panic.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5bb7038b5c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/fragments/scorecard-descriptor-non-object-panic.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+entries:
+  - description: >
+      Fixed a panic in the scorecard `olm-spec-descriptors`, `olm-status-descriptors`,
+      and `olm-crds-have-validation` tests when a custom resource in a bundle's
+      `alm-examples` has a `spec` or `status` field that is not a JSON object (for
+      example a string or an array). These fields are now treated as having no
+      descriptors to check instead of crashing the scorecard test binary.
+    kind: bugfix
+    breaking: false
diff --git a/internal/scorecard/tests/bundle_test.go b/internal/scorecard/tests/bundle_test.go
index 450fcf6e8f7..5df773694ee 100644
--- a/internal/scorecard/tests/bundle_test.go
+++ b/internal/scorecard/tests/bundle_test.go
@@ -293,6 +293,44 @@ var _ = Describe("Basic and OLM tests", func() {
 				Expect(result.State).To(Equal(scapiv1alpha3.FailState))
 			})
 
+			It("should fail cleanly (not panic) when spec is not an object", func() {
+				cr := unstructured.Unstructured{
+					Object: map[string]any{
+						"spec": "i-am-a-string-not-a-map",
+					},
+				}
+				cr.SetGroupVersionKind(schema.GroupVersionKind{
+					Kind:    "TestKind",
+					Group:   "test.example.com",
+					Version: "v1",
+				})
+
+				Expect(func() {
+					result = checkOwnedCSVSpecDescriptors(cr, &csv, result)
+				}).NotTo(Panic())
+				Expect(result.State).To(Equal(scapiv1alpha3.FailState))
+			})
+
+			It("should not panic when status is not an object", func() {
+				cr := unstructured.Unstructured{
+					Object: map[string]any{
+						"status": []any{"not", "a", "map"},
+						"spec": map[string]any{
+							"spec": "val",
+						},
+					},
+				}
+				cr.SetGroupVersionKind(schema.GroupVersionKind{
+					Kind:    "TestKind",
+					Group:   "test.example.com",
+					Version: "v1",
+				})
+
+				Expect(func() {
+					result = checkOwnedCSVStatusDescriptor(cr, &csv, result)
+				}).NotTo(Panic())
+			})
+
 			It("should pass when CRs have spec field specified", func() {
 				cr := []unstructured.Unstructured{
 					{
@@ -416,6 +454,24 @@ var _ = Describe("Basic and OLM tests", func() {
 
 		})
 
+		It("should not panic when spec or status is not an object", func() {
+			cr = unstructured.Unstructured{
+				Object: map[string]any{
+					"spec":   "not-a-map",
+					"status": []any{"also", "not", "a", "map"},
+				},
+			}
+			cr.SetGroupVersionKind(schema.GroupVersionKind{
+				Kind:    "TestKind",
+				Group:   "test.example.com",
+				Version: "v1",
+			})
+
+			Expect(func() {
+				result = isCRFromCRDApi(cr, crd, result)
+			}).NotTo(Panic())
+		})
+
 	})
 
 	Describe("Check CRDs for resources", func() {
diff --git a/internal/scorecard/tests/olm.go b/internal/scorecard/tests/olm.go
index a3c9c0904fa..c21cc5a95d8 100644
--- a/internal/scorecard/tests/olm.go
+++ b/internal/scorecard/tests/olm.go
@@ -251,9 +251,9 @@ func checkOwnedCSVStatusDescriptor(cr unstructured.Unstructured, csv *operatorsv
 	}
 
 	hasStatusDefinition := false
-	if cr.Object["status"] != nil {
+	if status, ok := cr.Object["status"].(map[string]any); ok {
 		// Ensure that has no empty keys
-		hasStatusDefinition = len(cr.Object["status"].(map[string]any)) > 0
+		hasStatusDefinition = len(status) > 0
 	}
 
 	if !hasStatusDefinition {
@@ -279,13 +279,15 @@ func checkOwnedCSVStatusDescriptor(cr unstructured.Unstructured, csv *operatorsv
 // I don't think it will be validated.
 func checkOwnedCSVSpecDescriptors(cr unstructured.Unstructured, csv *operatorsv1alpha1.ClusterServiceVersion,
 	r scapiv1alpha3.TestResult) scapiv1alpha3.TestResult {
-	if cr.Object[specDescriptor] == nil {
+	block, ok := cr.Object[specDescriptor].(map[string]any)
+	if !ok {
+		// A nil spec, or a spec that isn't a JSON object (for example a scalar
+		// or array coming from a malformed alm-examples CR), has no descriptor
+		// fields to check, so treat it the same as a missing spec.
 		r.State = scapiv1alpha3.FailState
 		return r
 	}
 
-	block := cr.Object[specDescriptor].(map[string]any)
-
 	var crd *operatorsv1alpha1.CRDDescription
 	for _, owned := range csv.Spec.CustomResourceDefinitions.Owned {
 		if owned.Kind == cr.GetKind() && owned.Version == cr.GroupVersionKind().Version {
@@ -358,8 +360,7 @@ func isCRFromCRDApi(cr unstructured.Unstructured, crds []*apiextv1.CustomResourc
 				continue
 			}
 			failed := false
-			if cr.Object["spec"] != nil {
-				spec := cr.Object["spec"].(map[string]any)
+			if spec, ok := cr.Object["spec"].(map[string]any); ok {
 				for key := range spec {
 					if _, ok := version.Schema.OpenAPIV3Schema.Properties["spec"].Properties[key]; !ok {
 						failed = true
@@ -369,8 +370,7 @@ func isCRFromCRDApi(cr unstructured.Unstructured, crds []*apiextv1.CustomResourc
 					}
 				}
 			}
-			if cr.Object["status"] != nil {
-				status := cr.Object["status"].(map[string]any)
+			if status, ok := cr.Object["status"].(map[string]any); ok {
 				for key := range status {
 					if _, ok := version.Schema.OpenAPIV3Schema.Properties["status"].Properties[key]; !ok {
 						failed = true