diff --git a/codegen-core/src/main/kotlin/software/amazon/smithy/rust/codegen/core/smithy/protocols/parse/JsonParserGenerator.kt b/codegen-core/src/main/kotlin/software/amazon/smithy/rust/codegen/core/smithy/protocols/parse/JsonParserGenerator.kt
index 7d07ed90f4..d3f46439c0 100644
--- a/codegen-core/src/main/kotlin/software/amazon/smithy/rust/codegen/core/smithy/protocols/parse/JsonParserGenerator.kt
+++ b/codegen-core/src/main/kotlin/software/amazon/smithy/rust/codegen/core/smithy/protocols/parse/JsonParserGenerator.kt
@@ -389,8 +389,22 @@ class JsonParserGenerator(
                                     withBlock("let value =", ";") {
                                         deserializeMember(shape.member)
                                     }
-                                    rustBlock("if let Some(value) = value") {
-                                        rust("items.push(value);")
+                                    rust(
+                                        """
+                                        if let Some(value) = value {
+                                            items.push(value);
+                                        }
+                                        """,
+                                    )
+                                    codegenTarget.ifServer {
+                                        rustTemplate(
+                                            """
+                                            else {
+                                                return Err(#{Error}::custom("dense list cannot contain null values"));
+                                            }
+                                            """,
+                                            *codegenScope,
+                                        )
                                     }
                                 }
                             }
diff --git a/codegen-server/src/main/kotlin/software/amazon/smithy/rust/codegen/server/smithy/generators/protocol/ServerProtocolTestGenerator.kt b/codegen-server/src/main/kotlin/software/amazon/smithy/rust/codegen/server/smithy/generators/protocol/ServerProtocolTestGenerator.kt
index 5492c75140..b378415051 100644
--- a/codegen-server/src/main/kotlin/software/amazon/smithy/rust/codegen/server/smithy/generators/protocol/ServerProtocolTestGenerator.kt
+++ b/codegen-server/src/main/kotlin/software/amazon/smithy/rust/codegen/server/smithy/generators/protocol/ServerProtocolTestGenerator.kt
@@ -773,7 +773,6 @@ class ServerProtocolTestGenerator(
             FailingTest(RestJson, "RestJsonEndpointTraitWithHostLabel", TestType.Request),
 
             FailingTest(RestJson, "RestJsonWithBodyExpectsApplicationJsonContentType", TestType.MalformedRequest),
-            FailingTest(RestJson, "RestJsonBodyMalformedListNullItem", TestType.MalformedRequest),
 
             // Deprioritized, sets don't exist in Smithy 2.0.
             // They have the exact same semantics as list shapes with `@uniqueItems`,