diff --git a/lib/internal/modules/esm/resolve.js b/lib/internal/modules/esm/resolve.js
index 8bff3fc9dfd251..cbcdb020ed7cd3 100644
--- a/lib/internal/modules/esm/resolve.js
+++ b/lib/internal/modules/esm/resolve.js
@@ -758,6 +758,9 @@ function defaultResolve(specifier, context = {}, defaultResolveUnused) {
     // resolved CommonJS module
     if (error.code === 'ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND' ||
         error.code === 'ERR_UNSUPPORTED_DIR_IMPORT') {
+      if (StringPrototypeStartsWith(specifier, 'file://')) {
+        specifier = fileURLToPath(specifier);
+      }
       const found = resolveAsCommonJS(specifier, parentURL);
       if (found) {
         // Modify the stack and message string to include the hint