diff --git a/bin/tests/system/wildcard/ns1/entwild.db.in b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/ns1/entwild.db.in
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..aea203bbea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/ns1/entwild.db.in
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+; Copyright (C) Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. ("ISC")
+;
+; SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+;
+; This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
+; License, v. 2.0.  If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
+; file, you can obtain one at https://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/.
+;
+; See the COPYRIGHT file distributed with this work for additional
+; information regarding copyright ownership.
+
+; GL #6170 regression zone.
+;
+; An apex wildcard combined with a deeper name (en.jun2026.2048._domainkey)
+; that forms empty non-terminals.  Querying one of those empty non-terminals
+; (e.g. 2048._domainkey) with DNSSEC requested, while the zone is served from
+; the RBT zone database, used to abort named in wildcard_blocked() because the
+; DNS_R_NEWORIGIN result of dns_rbtnodechain_next() was not handled.
+
+$TTL 3600
+@				IN SOA	ns hostmaster ( 1 3600 1200 604800 3600 )
+				IN NS	ns
+ns				IN A	10.53.0.1
+*				IN A	192.0.2.1
+en.jun2026.2048._domainkey	IN TXT	"v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=PUBLICKEYDATA"
+crm._domainkey			IN CNAME .
diff --git a/bin/tests/system/wildcard/ns1/named.conf.j2 b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/ns1/named.conf.j2
index 7ae63ac1b9..eb781e9222 100644
--- a/bin/tests/system/wildcard/ns1/named.conf.j2
+++ b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/ns1/named.conf.j2
@@ -40,6 +40,16 @@ zone "nestedwild.test" {
         check-names ignore;
 };
 
+/*
+ * GL #6170: querying an empty non-terminal in this NSEC3-signed zone, which
+ * also has a wildcard, used to abort named when served from RBTDB.
+ */
+zone "entwild.test" {
+        type primary;
+        file "entwild.db.signed";
+        check-names ignore;
+};
+
 /*
  * The contents of nsec3 and private.nsec3 are specially chosen to
  * have separate NSEC3 records for the "no qname proof" and the
diff --git a/bin/tests/system/wildcard/ns1/sign.sh b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/ns1/sign.sh
index cc01160757..c537167bd5 100755
--- a/bin/tests/system/wildcard/ns1/sign.sh
+++ b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/ns1/sign.sh
@@ -20,6 +20,20 @@ cp allwild.db.in allwild.db
 cp example.db.in example.db
 cp nestedwild.db.in nestedwild.db
 
+# GL #6170: NSEC3-signed zone with a wildcard above empty non-terminals.
+zone=entwild.test
+infile=entwild.db.in
+zonefile=entwild.db
+outfile=entwild.db.signed
+
+keyname1=$($KEYGEN -a ${DEFAULT_ALGORITHM} -n zone $zone 2>/dev/null)
+keyname2=$($KEYGEN -f KSK -a ${DEFAULT_ALGORITHM} -n zone $zone 2>/dev/null)
+
+cat $infile $keyname1.key $keyname2.key >$zonefile
+
+$SIGNER -3 - -H 10 -o $zone -f $outfile $zonefile >/dev/null 2>signer.err || cat signer.err
+echo_i "signed $zone"
+
 zone=nsec
 infile=nsec.db.in
 zonefile=nsec.db
diff --git a/bin/tests/system/wildcard/tests_nonterminal_wildcard.py b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/tests_nonterminal_wildcard.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ee7bbbfa7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/tests_nonterminal_wildcard.py
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+# Copyright (C) Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. ("ISC")
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+#
+# This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
+# License, v. 2.0.  If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
+# file, you can obtain one at https://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/.
+#
+# See the COPYRIGHT file distributed with this work for additional
+# information regarding copyright ownership.
+
+"""
+Regression test for GL #6170.
+
+The NSEC3-signed zone entwild.test has an apex wildcard together with a deeper
+name (en.jun2026.2048._domainkey) that forms empty non-terminals.  Querying
+one of those empty non-terminals (2048._domainkey) with DNSSEC requested, while
+the zone is served from the RBT zone database, used to abort named with:
+
+    lib/dns/include/dns/name.h:1013: REQUIRE(suffixlabels <= name->labels) failed
+
+wildcard_blocked() in lib/dns/rbt-zonedb.c did not treat the DNS_R_NEWORIGIN
+result of dns_rbtnodechain_next() as a successful step when looking for the
+successor of the queried name, so the empty non-terminal that blocks the
+wildcard expansion was missed.  The empty non-terminal must instead be answered
+with NODATA and an NSEC3 proof.
+
+The bug only affected RBTDB; QPzone is unaffected.
+"""
+
+import dns.rdatatype
+import pytest
+
+import isctest
+
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.extra_artifacts(
+    [
+        "ns1/K*",
+        "ns1/dsset-*",
+        "ns1/*.signed",
+        "ns1/allwild.db",
+        "ns1/entwild.db",
+        "ns1/example.db",
+        "ns1/nestedwild.db",
+        "ns1/nsec.db",
+        "ns1/nsec3.db",
+        "ns1/private.nsec.conf",
+        "ns1/private.nsec.db",
+        "ns1/private.nsec3.conf",
+        "ns1/private.nsec3.db",
+        "ns1/root.db",
+        "ns1/signer.err",
+        "ns1/trusted.conf",
+    ]
+)
+
+IP_ADDR = "10.53.0.1"
+
+# 2048._domainkey.entwild.test. and _domainkey.entwild.test. are empty
+# non-terminals: they exist only because en.jun2026.2048._domainkey.entwild.test.
+# and crm._domainkey.entwild.test. do.  They sit between the apex wildcard and
+# the existing names.
+ENT_NAME = "2048._domainkey.entwild.test."
+
+
+def test_empty_nonterminal_under_wildcard_is_nodata(named_port):
+    """Querying the empty non-terminal must yield NODATA, not crash named."""
+    query = isctest.query.create(ENT_NAME, "A")
+    response = isctest.query.tcp(query, IP_ADDR, named_port)
+
+    isctest.check.is_response_to(response, query)
+    # The empty non-terminal exists, so the wildcard must not expand: NODATA.
+    isctest.check.noerror(response)
+    isctest.check.empty_answer(response)
+    # The NSEC3 empty-non-terminal proof is the code path that used to crash.
+    assert any(
+        rrset.rdtype == dns.rdatatype.NSEC3 for rrset in response.authority
+    ), str(response)
+
+
+def test_wildcard_still_expands_without_blocking_ent(named_port):
+    """A name with no blocking empty non-terminal is still synthesized."""
+    query = isctest.query.create("nonexistent.entwild.test.", "A")
+    response = isctest.query.tcp(query, IP_ADDR, named_port)
+
+    isctest.check.is_response_to(response, query)
+    isctest.check.noerror(response)
+    assert response.answer, str(response)
+    assert response.answer[0][0].to_text() == "192.0.2.1", str(response)
diff --git a/bin/tests/system/wildcard/tests_sh_wildcard.py b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/tests_sh_wildcard.py
index db01be0e1e..c2a54e919b 100644
--- a/bin/tests/system/wildcard/tests_sh_wildcard.py
+++ b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/tests_sh_wildcard.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ pytestmark = pytest.mark.extra_artifacts(
         "ns1/dsset-*",
         "ns1/*.signed",
         "ns1/allwild.db",
+        "ns1/entwild.db",
         "ns1/example.db",
         "ns1/nestedwild.db",
         "ns1/nsec.db",
diff --git a/bin/tests/system/wildcard/tests_wildcard.py b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/tests_wildcard.py
index 3ea3fdc7d3..184d888cde 100755
--- a/bin/tests/system/wildcard/tests_wildcard.py
+++ b/bin/tests/system/wildcard/tests_wildcard.py
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ pytestmark = pytest.mark.extra_artifacts(
         "ns1/dsset-*",
         "ns1/*.signed",
         "ns1/allwild.db",
+        "ns1/entwild.db",
         "ns1/example.db",
         "ns1/nestedwild.db",
         "ns1/nsec.db",
diff --git a/lib/dns/rbt-zonedb.c b/lib/dns/rbt-zonedb.c
index 98c1d6ba18..b405cf845f 100644
--- a/lib/dns/rbt-zonedb.c
+++ b/lib/dns/rbt-zonedb.c
@@ -429,7 +429,7 @@ wildcard_blocked(rbtdb_search_t *search, const dns_name_t *qname,
 	/* Now reset the chain and look for a successor with data. */
 	chain = search->chain;
 	result = dns_rbtnodechain_next(&chain, NULL, NULL);
-	if (result == ISC_R_SUCCESS) {
+	if (result == ISC_R_SUCCESS || result == DNS_R_NEWORIGIN) {
 		check_next = step(search, &chain, FORWARD, next);
 	}