diff --git a/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/traceUtils.ts b/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/traceUtils.ts
index ca2a27ed59..f03b306b6a 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/traceUtils.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/traceUtils.ts
@@ -117,15 +117,16 @@ export async function saveTraceFile(fileName: string, traceEvents: TraceEvent[],
   const sha1s = new Set<string>();
   for (const event of traceEvents.filter(e => e.type === 'after') as AfterActionTraceEvent[]) {
     for (const attachment of (event.attachments || [])) {
-      let contentPromise: Promise<Buffer> | undefined;
+      let contentPromise: Promise<Buffer | undefined> | undefined;
       if (attachment.path)
-        contentPromise = fs.promises.readFile(attachment.path);
+        contentPromise = fs.promises.readFile(attachment.path).catch(() => undefined);
       else if (attachment.base64)
         contentPromise = Promise.resolve(Buffer.from(attachment.base64, 'base64'));
-      if (!contentPromise)
-        continue;
 
       const content = await contentPromise;
+      if (content === undefined)
+        continue;
+
       const sha1 = calculateSha1(content);
       attachment.sha1 = sha1;
       delete attachment.path;
diff --git a/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/attachmentsTab.tsx b/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/attachmentsTab.tsx
index 7601fb0252..597ee60c36 100644
--- a/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/attachmentsTab.tsx
+++ b/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/attachmentsTab.tsx
@@ -68,13 +68,7 @@ export const AttachmentsSection: React.FunctionComponent<{
   </>;
 };
 
-function attachmentURL(traceUrl: string, attachment: {
-  name: string;
-  contentType: string;
-  path?: string;
-  sha1?: string;
-  body?: string;
-}) {
+function attachmentURL(traceUrl: string, attachment: NonNullable<ActionTraceEventInContext['attachments']>[0]) {
   if (attachment.sha1)
     return 'sha1/' + attachment.sha1 + '?trace=' + encodeURIComponent(traceUrl);
   return 'file?path=' + encodeURIComponent(attachment.path!);
diff --git a/tests/playwright-test/playwright.trace.spec.ts b/tests/playwright-test/playwright.trace.spec.ts
index a6a4a5d363..74962f2cfe 100644
--- a/tests/playwright-test/playwright.trace.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/playwright-test/playwright.trace.spec.ts
@@ -686,3 +686,22 @@ test('should show non-expect error in trace', async ({ runInlineTest }, testInfo
     '  fixture: context',
   ]);
 });
+
+test('should not throw when attachment is missing', async ({ runInlineTest }, testInfo) => {
+  const result = await runInlineTest({
+    'playwright.config.ts': `
+      module.exports = { use: { trace: 'on' } };
+    `,
+    'a.spec.ts': `
+      import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
+      test('passes', async ({}) => {
+        test.info().attachments.push({ name: 'screenshot', path: 'nothing-to-see-here', contentType: 'image/png' });
+      });
+    `,
+  }, { workers: 1 });
+
+  expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+  expect(result.passed).toBe(1);
+  const trace = await parseTrace(testInfo.outputPath('test-results', 'a-passes', 'trace.zip'));
+  expect(trace.actionTree).toContain('attach "screenshot"');
+});