diff --git a/inc/class-current.php b/inc/class-current.php
index 5777318f..d68a46fc 100644
--- a/inc/class-current.php
+++ b/inc/class-current.php
@@ -239,6 +239,33 @@ public function load_currents(): void {
 			return;
 		}
 
+		/*
+		 * `get_query_var()` reads from the global `$wp_query`, which
+		 * WordPress only populates during `parse_query` (just before
+		 * `wp` fires). The lazy-load entry path added in PR #1118 can
+		 * call `load_currents()` from `Site::is_customer_allowed()` /
+		 * `Membership::is_customer_allowed()` while still on
+		 * `plugins_loaded` — for example when the wu-ajax pipeline
+		 * (`Light_Ajax::process_light_ajax`) dispatches
+		 * `wu_ajax_wu_switch_template` at `plugins_loaded` priority 20
+		 * and the handler reads `is_customer_allowed()`. At that point
+		 * `$wp_query` is still null and `get_query_var()` fatals with
+		 * `Call to a member function get() on null` on PHP 8+, which
+		 * crashes the AJAX handler with a 500 — surfacing in the
+		 * customer-panel template-switching UI as a generic
+		 * "A network error occurred. Please check your connection and
+		 * try again." banner.
+		 *
+		 * Skip the pretty-URL hash overrides when we know the query
+		 * cannot have been parsed yet. The wu-ajax pipeline is a flat
+		 * `?wu-ajax=1` POST with no rewrite-driven `site_hash` /
+		 * `membership_hash` query vars, so there is nothing to lose
+		 * by skipping them here. Frontend pretty-URL requests still
+		 * hit `load_currents()` via the `wp` action where `$wp_query`
+		 * is populated and these reads succeed normally.
+		 */
+		$query_vars_ready = did_action('parse_query') && isset($GLOBALS['wp_query']) && $GLOBALS['wp_query'] instanceof \WP_Query;
+
 		$site = false;
 
 		/**
@@ -250,7 +277,9 @@ public function load_currents(): void {
 			 */
 			$site_url_param = self::param_key('site');
 
-			$site_hash = wu_request($site_url_param, get_query_var('site_hash'));
+			$site_hash_default = $query_vars_ready ? get_query_var('site_hash') : '';
+
+			$site_hash = wu_request($site_url_param, $site_hash_default);
 
 			$site_from_url = wu_get_site_by_hash($site_hash);
 
@@ -296,7 +325,9 @@ public function load_currents(): void {
 		 */
 		$membership_url_param = self::param_key('membership');
 
-		$membership_hash = wu_request($membership_url_param, get_query_var('membership_hash'));
+		$membership_hash_default = $query_vars_ready ? get_query_var('membership_hash') : '';
+
+		$membership_hash = wu_request($membership_url_param, $membership_hash_default);
 
 		if ($membership_hash) {
 			$this->membership_set_via_request = true;
diff --git a/tests/WP_Ultimo/Current_Test.php b/tests/WP_Ultimo/Current_Test.php
index f3598e24..2d574fc6 100644
--- a/tests/WP_Ultimo/Current_Test.php
+++ b/tests/WP_Ultimo/Current_Test.php
@@ -198,6 +198,62 @@ protected function set_loaded_state($loaded): void {
 		$property->setValue($this->current, $loaded);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Regression test for the wu-ajax `plugins_loaded` fatal.
+	 *
+	 * The light-ajax pipeline (`Light_Ajax::process_light_ajax`) dispatches
+	 * `wu_ajax_*` handlers at `plugins_loaded` priority 20. The handler for
+	 * `wu_switch_template` calls `Site::is_customer_allowed()`, which (after
+	 * the lazy-load entry from PR #1118) calls `Current::load_currents()`
+	 * before the `wp` action has fired. At that point the global
+	 * `$wp_query` is null, and any `get_query_var()` call inside
+	 * `load_currents()` throws `Call to a member function get() on null`
+	 * on PHP 8+ — surfacing in the customer-panel template-switching UI as
+	 * a generic "A network error occurred" banner because the AJAX call
+	 * died with a 500 instead of returning JSON.
+	 *
+	 * This test temporarily nulls `$GLOBALS['wp_query']` to simulate the
+	 * early-call condition, then asserts `load_currents()` runs to
+	 * completion without fataling. The hash-override branches must be
+	 * skipped via the `$query_vars_ready` guard so the lazy-load can
+	 * still populate the customer/membership fields.
+	 */
+	public function test_load_currents_survives_when_wp_query_is_null(): void {
+
+		set_current_screen('front');
+
+		$user_id = $this->factory()->user->create(['role' => 'subscriber']);
+
+		wu_create_customer(
+			[
+				'user_id'       => $user_id,
+				'email_address' => 'current-no-wp-query@example.com',
+			]
+		);
+
+		wp_set_current_user($user_id);
+
+		$this->current->set_site(null);
+		$this->current->set_customer(null);
+		$this->current->set_membership(null);
+		$this->set_loaded_state(false);
+
+		// Save and null out the global wp_query to simulate the
+		// plugins_loaded entry path where it has not yet been set up.
+		$saved_wp_query      = $GLOBALS['wp_query'] ?? null;
+		$GLOBALS['wp_query'] = null;
+
+		try {
+			$this->current->load_currents();
+
+			// Sanity assertion — if get_query_var() had been called we
+			// would have fataled before reaching this line.
+			$this->assertTrue(true, 'load_currents survived a null $wp_query.');
+		} finally {
+			$GLOBALS['wp_query'] = $saved_wp_query;
+		}
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Test param_key returns expected defaults.
 	 */