diff --git a/.changeset/swift-squids-invite.md b/.changeset/swift-squids-invite.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5c490b5da8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/swift-squids-invite.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@directus/env": patch
+---
+
+Fixed the treatment of environment variables when set to an empty string 
diff --git a/packages/env/src/lib/cast.test.ts b/packages/env/src/lib/cast.test.ts
index 5a954de98a..a23dff56d7 100644
--- a/packages/env/src/lib/cast.test.ts
+++ b/packages/env/src/lib/cast.test.ts
@@ -77,26 +77,26 @@ describe('Casting', () => {
 		vi.mocked(getCastFlag).mockReturnValue('string');
 
 		vi.mocked(toString).mockReturnValue('cast-value');
-		expect(cast('value')).toBe('cast-value', 'key');
+		expect(cast('value')).toBe('cast-value');
 	});
 
 	test('Uses toNumber for number types', () => {
 		vi.mocked(getCastFlag).mockReturnValue('number');
 
 		vi.mocked(toNumber).mockReturnValue(123);
-		expect(cast('value')).toBe(123, 'key');
+		expect(cast('value')).toBe(123);
 	});
 
 	test('Uses toBoolean for number types', () => {
 		vi.mocked(getCastFlag).mockReturnValue('boolean');
 
 		vi.mocked(toBoolean).mockReturnValue(false);
-		expect(cast('value')).toBe(false, 'key');
+		expect(cast('value')).toBe(false);
 	});
 
 	test('Uses RegExp for regex types', () => {
 		vi.mocked(getCastFlag).mockReturnValue('regex');
-		expect(cast('value')).toBeInstanceOf(RegExp, 'key');
+		expect(cast('value')).toBeInstanceOf(RegExp);
 	});
 
 	test('Uses toArray for array types', () => {
@@ -109,13 +109,24 @@ describe('Casting', () => {
 		vi.mocked(toNumber).mockImplementation((v) => v);
 		vi.mocked(toArray).mockReturnValue([1, 2, 3]);
 
-		expect(cast('array:value')).toEqual([1, 2, 3], 'key');
+		expect(cast('array:value')).toEqual([1, 2, 3]);
+	});
+
+	test('Filters empty strings values out of the array', () => {
+		vi.mocked(getCastFlag).mockImplementation((v) => {
+			if (String(v).startsWith('array')) return 'array';
+			return null;
+		});
+
+		vi.mocked(toArray).mockReturnValue(['', '']);
+
+		expect(cast('array:,')).toEqual([]);
 	});
 
 	test('Uses tryJson for json types', () => {
 		vi.mocked(getCastFlag).mockReturnValue('json');
 
 		vi.mocked(tryJson).mockReturnValue('cast-value');
-		expect(cast('value')).toBe('cast-value', 'key');
+		expect(cast('value')).toBe('cast-value');
 	});
 });
diff --git a/packages/env/src/lib/cast.ts b/packages/env/src/lib/cast.ts
index 8a8b624942..985bd7d491 100644
--- a/packages/env/src/lib/cast.ts
+++ b/packages/env/src/lib/cast.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,9 @@ export const cast = (value: unknown, key?: string): unknown => {
 		case 'regex':
 			return new RegExp(String(value));
 		case 'array':
-			return toArray(value).map((v) => cast(v));
+			return toArray(value)
+				.map((v) => cast(v))
+				.filter((v) => v !== '');
 		case 'json':
 			return tryJson(value);
 	}
diff --git a/packages/env/src/utils/guess-type.test.ts b/packages/env/src/utils/guess-type.test.ts
index 878d7ea50d..f72eab9356 100644
--- a/packages/env/src/utils/guess-type.test.ts
+++ b/packages/env/src/utils/guess-type.test.ts
@@ -43,4 +43,8 @@ describe('json', () => {
 	test('Defaults to json for object type values', () => {
 		expect(guessType({ hello: 'world' })).toBe('json');
 	});
+
+	test('Defaults to json for empty string', () => {
+		expect(guessType('')).toBe('json');
+	});
 });
diff --git a/packages/env/src/utils/guess-type.ts b/packages/env/src/utils/guess-type.ts
index a669a3f1f1..4c4a8c443e 100644
--- a/packages/env/src/utils/guess-type.ts
+++ b/packages/env/src/utils/guess-type.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ export const guessType = (value: unknown): EnvType => {
 	if (
 		String(value).startsWith('0') === false &&
 		isNaN(Number(value)) === false &&
+		String(value).length > 0 &&
 		Number(value) <= Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER
 	) {
 		return 'number';