diff --git a/src/cargo/core/resolver/version_prefs.rs b/src/cargo/core/resolver/version_prefs.rs
index e84d24ba066..2d78f30862d 100644
--- a/src/cargo/core/resolver/version_prefs.rs
+++ b/src/cargo/core/resolver/version_prefs.rs
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ impl VersionPreferences {
                 VersionOrdering::MinimumVersionsFirst => cmp,
             }
         });
-        if first_version.is_some() {
+        if first_version.is_some() && !summaries.is_empty() {
             let _ = summaries.split_off(1);
         }
     }
@@ -283,4 +283,13 @@ mod test {
                 .to_string()
         );
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_empty_summaries() {
+        let vp = VersionPreferences::default();
+        let mut summaries = vec![];
+
+        vp.sort_summaries(&mut summaries, Some(VersionOrdering::MaximumVersionsFirst));
+        assert_eq!(summaries, vec![]);
+    }
 }