diff --git a/nemo_automodel/components/datasets/vlm/collate_fns.py b/nemo_automodel/components/datasets/vlm/collate_fns.py
index a72e3f413..51a96ca15 100644
--- a/nemo_automodel/components/datasets/vlm/collate_fns.py
+++ b/nemo_automodel/components/datasets/vlm/collate_fns.py
@@ -871,6 +871,10 @@ def kimi_k25_vl_collate_fn(
     all_expanded = []
     all_pixel_values = []
     all_grid_thws = []
+    # Per-sample image counts, kept in lockstep with all_expanded so that
+    # n_images_per_sample length matches batch_size downstream. Samples that
+    # are text-only or whose image region was orphaned by truncation get 0.
+    per_sample_image_count: List[int] = []
 
     for i, conversation in enumerate(conversations):
         # Collect medias for this conversation
@@ -923,12 +927,14 @@ def kimi_k25_vl_collate_fn(
 
         # Only include image data if all expanded image tokens survived truncation.
         # Partial truncation into image regions would cause a mismatch in the model forward.
+        sample_image_count = 0
         if grid_thws is not None:
             merge_h, merge_w = _DEFAULT_MERGE_KERNEL
             expected_image_tokens = sum(int((h // merge_h) * (w // merge_w)) for _, h, w in grid_thws.tolist())
             actual_image_tokens = (input_ids == media_token_id).sum().item()
             if actual_image_tokens == expected_image_tokens:
                 all_grid_thws.append(grid_thws)
+                sample_image_count = int(grid_thws.shape[0])
                 if "pixel_values" in sample_batch:
                     all_pixel_values.append(sample_batch["pixel_values"])
             else:
@@ -943,6 +949,7 @@ def kimi_k25_vl_collate_fn(
                 "attention_mask": attention_mask,
             }
         )
+        per_sample_image_count.append(sample_image_count)
 
     if not all_expanded:
         raise ValueError(
@@ -990,9 +997,10 @@ def kimi_k25_vl_collate_fn(
         result["grid_thws"] = torch.cat(all_grid_thws, dim=0)
         # Also add as image_grid_hws for PP chunking in finetune.py
         result["image_grid_hws"] = result["grid_thws"][:, 1:]  # [N, 3] -> [N, 2] (drop temporal dim, keep H,W)
-        # Per-sample image counts for PP chunking
-        image_counts = [g.shape[0] for g in all_grid_thws]
-        result["n_images_per_sample"] = torch.tensor(image_counts, dtype=torch.long)
+        # Per-sample image counts for PP chunking. Length must equal batch_size,
+        # so include zeros for text-only samples and for samples whose image
+        # region was orphaned by truncation.
+        result["n_images_per_sample"] = torch.tensor(per_sample_image_count, dtype=torch.long)
 
     # Build labels
     labels = build_labels_from_template(
diff --git a/tests/unit_tests/datasets/vlm/test_collate_fns.py b/tests/unit_tests/datasets/vlm/test_collate_fns.py
index e52c1f094..0cf925eac 100644
--- a/tests/unit_tests/datasets/vlm/test_collate_fns.py
+++ b/tests/unit_tests/datasets/vlm/test_collate_fns.py
@@ -1410,6 +1410,148 @@ def fake_build_labels(input_ids, conversations, processor_arg):
     assert (batch["input_ids"] == MEDIA_TOKEN_ID).sum().item() == 0
 
 
+def test_kimi_k25_vl_collate_fn_n_images_per_sample_matches_batch_size_text_only_mix(
+    collate_mod, monkeypatch
+):
+    """Mixed batch (text-only + image): n_images_per_sample length must equal batch_size.
+
+    Regression: previously image_counts was derived from all_grid_thws only, so
+    text-only samples were skipped and the resulting tensor was shorter than
+    batch_size. Downstream PP _chunk_vlm_media indexes cumsum_images by
+    sample index and would IndexError out of bounds.
+    """
+    MEDIA_TOKEN_ID = 163605
+
+    class MixedProcessor:
+        def __init__(self):
+            self.tokenizer = DummyTokenizer(pad_token_id=0)
+            self.media_placeholder_token_id = MEDIA_TOKEN_ID
+
+        def apply_chat_template(self, conversation, **kwargs):
+            return "chat:processed"
+
+        def __call__(self, *, text, return_tensors, medias=None, **kwargs):
+            if medias:
+                input_ids = torch.tensor([[1, 2, MEDIA_TOKEN_ID, 3, 4]])
+                attention_mask = torch.ones_like(input_ids)
+                return {
+                    "input_ids": input_ids,
+                    "attention_mask": attention_mask,
+                    "grid_thws": torch.tensor([[1, 4, 4]]),
+                    "pixel_values": torch.randn(1, 3, 14, 14),
+                }
+            input_ids = torch.tensor([[10, 11, 12, 13, 14]])
+            attention_mask = torch.ones_like(input_ids)
+            return {"input_ids": input_ids, "attention_mask": attention_mask}
+
+    processor = MixedProcessor()
+
+    def fake_build_labels(input_ids, conversations, processor_arg):
+        batch_size, seq_len = input_ids.shape
+        return torch.arange(seq_len).unsqueeze(0).repeat(batch_size, 1)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(collate_mod, "build_labels_from_template", fake_build_labels, raising=True)
+
+    text_only = [
+        {"role": "user", "content": [{"type": "text", "text": "Hi"}]},
+        {"role": "assistant", "content": [{"type": "text", "text": "Hello"}]},
+    ]
+    with_image = [
+        {"role": "user", "content": [{"type": "image", "image": "x.jpg"}, {"type": "text", "text": "What?"}]},
+        {"role": "assistant", "content": [{"type": "text", "text": "Cat."}]},
+    ]
+    examples = [{"conversation": text_only}, {"conversation": with_image}]
+
+    batch = collate_mod.kimi_k25_vl_collate_fn(examples, processor)
+
+    assert "n_images_per_sample" in batch
+    assert batch["n_images_per_sample"].shape == (2,), (
+        f"n_images_per_sample length must equal batch_size=2, "
+        f"got shape {batch['n_images_per_sample'].shape}"
+    )
+    # text-only sample → 0; image sample → 1
+    assert batch["n_images_per_sample"].tolist() == [0, 1]
+
+
+def test_kimi_k25_vl_collate_fn_n_images_per_sample_matches_batch_size_truncation_orphan(
+    collate_mod, monkeypatch
+):
+    """Mixed batch (truncated image + intact image): n_images_per_sample length must equal batch_size.
+
+    Regression: a sample whose image region got orphaned by truncation was
+    correctly excluded from all_grid_thws but still kept in all_expanded.
+    Without the fix, n_images_per_sample length would be smaller than the
+    final batch and downstream PP indexing would crash.
+    """
+    MEDIA_TOKEN_ID = 163605
+
+    class MaybeOrphanProcessor:
+        """Returns the same large grid for both calls; the second call's tokens
+        will be truncated past the image region by max_length below."""
+
+        def __init__(self):
+            self.tokenizer = DummyTokenizer(pad_token_id=0)
+            self.media_placeholder_token_id = MEDIA_TOKEN_ID
+            self._call_idx = 0
+
+        def apply_chat_template(self, conversation, **kwargs):
+            return "chat:processed"
+
+        def __call__(self, *, text, return_tensors, medias=None, **kwargs):
+            self._call_idx += 1
+            if self._call_idx == 1:
+                # Small grid that fits within max_length after expansion
+                input_ids = torch.tensor([[1, 2, MEDIA_TOKEN_ID, 3, 4]])
+                attention_mask = torch.ones_like(input_ids)
+                grid_thws = torch.tensor([[1, 4, 4]])  # 4 image tokens
+                return {
+                    "input_ids": input_ids,
+                    "attention_mask": attention_mask,
+                    "grid_thws": grid_thws,
+                    "pixel_values": torch.randn(1, 3, 14, 14),
+                }
+            # Second sample: 5 text + 16 image tokens = 21 post-expansion;
+            # max_length=15 truncates into the image region → orphan path.
+            input_ids = torch.tensor([[1, 2, MEDIA_TOKEN_ID, 3, 4, 5]])
+            attention_mask = torch.ones_like(input_ids)
+            grid_thws = torch.tensor([[1, 8, 8]])  # 16 image tokens after expansion
+            return {
+                "input_ids": input_ids,
+                "attention_mask": attention_mask,
+                "grid_thws": grid_thws,
+                "pixel_values": torch.randn(1, 3, 64, 64),
+            }
+
+    processor = MaybeOrphanProcessor()
+
+    def fake_build_labels(input_ids, conversations, processor_arg):
+        batch_size, seq_len = input_ids.shape
+        return torch.arange(seq_len).unsqueeze(0).repeat(batch_size, 1)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(collate_mod, "build_labels_from_template", fake_build_labels, raising=True)
+
+    conv_intact = [
+        {"role": "user", "content": [{"type": "image", "image": "a.jpg"}, {"type": "text", "text": "?"}]},
+        {"role": "assistant", "content": [{"type": "text", "text": "."}]},
+    ]
+    conv_orphan = [
+        {"role": "user", "content": [{"type": "image", "image": "b.jpg"}, {"type": "text", "text": "?"}]},
+        {"role": "assistant", "content": [{"type": "text", "text": "."}]},
+    ]
+    examples = [{"conversation": conv_intact}, {"conversation": conv_orphan}]
+
+    batch = collate_mod.kimi_k25_vl_collate_fn(examples, processor, max_length=15)
+
+    assert batch["input_ids"].shape[0] == 2
+    assert "n_images_per_sample" in batch
+    assert batch["n_images_per_sample"].shape == (2,), (
+        f"n_images_per_sample length must equal batch_size=2, "
+        f"got shape {batch['n_images_per_sample'].shape}"
+    )
+    # First sample's image survives → 1; second sample is orphaned → 0
+    assert batch["n_images_per_sample"].tolist() == [1, 0]
+
+
 def test_kimi_k25_vl_collate_fn_multiple_examples(collate_mod, monkeypatch):
     """Test kimi_k25_vl_collate_fn handles multiple examples with padding."""
     # Processor that produces variable length sequences