diff --git a/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/SonataFlowService.test.ts b/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/SonataFlowService.test.ts
index 564ba64cebb..458df1e94cc 100644
--- a/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/SonataFlowService.test.ts
+++ b/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/SonataFlowService.test.ts
@@ -296,6 +296,51 @@ describe('SonataFlowService', () => {
       expect(result?.id).toBe('12345');
     });
 
+    it('should use empty CE data when workflowdata is missing or non-object', async () => {
+      const kafkaServiceOptionsMock: OrchestratorKafkaServiceOptions = {
+        clientId: 'kafkaClientId',
+        brokers: ['localhost:9091'],
+      };
+      const sonataFlowServiceWithKafka = new SonataFlowService(
+        dataIndexServiceMock,
+        loggerMock,
+        kafkaServiceOptionsMock,
+      );
+
+      const sendMock = jest.fn();
+
+      jest
+        .spyOn(
+          sonataFlowServiceWithKafka.getOrchestratorKafkaImpl() as any,
+          'producer',
+        )
+        .mockImplementation(() => ({
+          connect: jest.fn(),
+          send: sendMock,
+          disconnect: jest.fn(),
+        }));
+
+      await sonataFlowServiceWithKafka.executeWorkflowAsCloudEvent({
+        definitionId,
+        workflowSource: 'workflowSource',
+        workflowEventType: 'workflowEventType',
+        contextAttribute: 'lockid',
+        inputData: {
+          workflowdata: 'not-an-object' as any,
+        },
+      });
+
+      expect(sendMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+      const { messages } = sendMock.mock.calls[0][0];
+      const parsed = JSON.parse(messages[0].value);
+
+      expect(parsed.data).toEqual({
+        lockid: '12345',
+      });
+      expect(parsed.data.workflowdata).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+
     it('should error on a bad connection', async () => {
       const kafkaServiceOptionsMock: OrchestratorKafkaServiceOptions = {
         clientId: 'kafkaClientId',
diff --git a/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/api/test-utils.ts b/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/api/test-utils.ts
index 9cfdb6e832b..628419237ec 100644
--- a/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/api/test-utils.ts
+++ b/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/api/test-utils.ts
@@ -350,6 +350,25 @@ states:
   };
 }
 
+/** Compiled workflows use start.stateName instead of a string start. */
+export function generateTestWorkflowInfoForEventypeWithStartStateName(
+  id: string = 'test_workflowId',
+  base: WorkflowInfo = generateTestWorkflowInfoForEventype(id),
+): WorkflowInfo {
+  const startMarker = 'start: listenToLock';
+  const compiledStart = 'start:\n  stateName: listenToLock';
+  const source = base.source as string;
+  if (!source.includes(startMarker)) {
+    throw new Error(
+      'Failed to rewrite start to start.stateName: base fixture missing "start: listenToLock"',
+    );
+  }
+  return {
+    ...base,
+    source: source.replace(startMarker, compiledStart),
+  };
+}
+
 export function generateTestExecuteWorkflowResponse(
   id: string = 'test_execId',
 ): WorkflowExecutionResponse {
diff --git a/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/api/v2.test.ts b/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/api/v2.test.ts
index 05dadb518ef..3c6d3b61df7 100644
--- a/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/api/v2.test.ts
+++ b/workspaces/orchestrator/plugins/orchestrator-backend/src/service/api/v2.test.ts
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ import {
   generateTestWorkflowInfoForEventypeNoStartStateNameStates,
   generateTestWorkflowInfoForEventypeNoStartStates,
   generateTestWorkflowInfoForEventypeWithNoCorrelationContextAttribute,
+  generateTestWorkflowInfoForEventypeWithStartStateName,
   generateTestWorkflowOverview,
   generateTestWorkflowOverviewList,
   generateWorkflowDefinition,
@@ -452,6 +453,94 @@ describe('executeWorkflow as event type', () => {
     // Assert
     expect(actualResultV2).toBeDefined();
     expect(actualResultV2.id).toBeDefined();
+    expect(
+      mockOrchestratorService.executeWorkflowAsCloudEvent,
+    ).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        definitionId: workflowInfo.id,
+        workflowEventType: 'lock-event',
+        workflowSource: 'local',
+        contextAttribute: 'lockid',
+        inputData: expect.objectContaining({
+          workflowdata: workflowData,
+          initiatorEntity: 'someUserEntity',
+          targetEntity: 'someEntity',
+        }),
+        backstageToken: 'someToken',
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('throws when compiled start.stateName fixture cannot rewrite start', () => {
+    expect(() =>
+      generateTestWorkflowInfoForEventypeWithStartStateName('test_workflowId', {
+        id: 'test_workflowId',
+        source: 'id: lock-flow\nstart: somethingElse\n',
+      }),
+    ).toThrow(/Failed to rewrite start to start.stateName/);
+  });
+
+  it('executes a given workflow: event type with compiled start.stateName', async () => {
+    // Arrange
+    const correlationContextAttributeId = '12345';
+    const workflowInfo =
+      generateTestWorkflowInfoForEventypeWithStartStateName();
+    const execResponse = generateTestExecuteWorkflowResponse(
+      correlationContextAttributeId,
+    );
+    (mockOrchestratorService.fetchWorkflowInfo as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue(
+      workflowInfo,
+    );
+    (
+      mockOrchestratorService.pingWorkflowService as jest.Mock
+    ).mockResolvedValue(workflowInfo);
+
+    const processInstance = generateProcessInstanceForEventType(
+      1,
+      correlationContextAttributeId,
+    );
+
+    (mockOrchestratorService.fetchInstances as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue([
+      processInstance,
+    ]);
+
+    (
+      mockOrchestratorService.executeWorkflowAsCloudEvent as jest.Mock
+    ).mockResolvedValue(execResponse);
+    const workflowData = {
+      customAttrib: 'My customAttrib',
+      isEvent: true,
+    };
+    // Act
+    const actualResultV2: ExecuteWorkflowResponseDTO = await v2.executeWorkflow(
+      {
+        inputData: workflowData,
+        targetEntity: 'someEntity',
+      },
+      workflowInfo.id,
+      'someUserEntity',
+      'someToken',
+    );
+
+    // Assert
+    expect(actualResultV2).toBeDefined();
+    expect(actualResultV2.id).toBeDefined();
+    expect(
+      mockOrchestratorService.executeWorkflowAsCloudEvent,
+    ).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        definitionId: workflowInfo.id,
+        workflowEventType: 'lock-event',
+        workflowSource: 'local',
+        contextAttribute: 'lockid',
+        inputData: expect.objectContaining({
+          workflowdata: workflowData,
+          initiatorEntity: 'someUserEntity',
+          targetEntity: 'someEntity',
+        }),
+        backstageToken: 'someToken',
+      }),
+    );
   });
 
   it('executes a given workflow: event type, no instance, not an error', async () => {