diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/resolve.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/resolve.ts
index d82e1dc6bc63ac..5363e6a4c246eb 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/resolve.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/resolve.ts
@@ -556,7 +556,8 @@ export function tryNodeResolve(
   targetWeb: boolean,
   depsOptimizer?: DepsOptimizer,
   ssr?: boolean,
-  externalize?: boolean
+  externalize?: boolean,
+  allowLinkedExternal: boolean = true
 ): PartialResolvedId | undefined {
   const { root, dedupe, isBuild, preserveSymlinks, packageCache } = options
 
@@ -657,8 +658,8 @@ export function tryNodeResolve(
       return resolved
     }
     // dont external symlink packages
-    if (!resolved.id.includes('node_modules')) {
-      return
+    if (!allowLinkedExternal && !resolved.id.includes('node_modules')) {
+      return resolved
     }
     const resolvedExt = path.extname(resolved.id)
     let resolvedId = id
@@ -666,7 +667,7 @@ export function tryNodeResolve(
       // check ext before externalizing - only externalize
       // extension-less imports and explicit .js imports
       if (resolvedExt && !resolved.id.match(/(.js|.mjs|.cjs)$/)) {
-        return
+        return resolved
       }
       if (!pkg?.data.exports && path.extname(id) !== resolvedExt) {
         resolvedId += resolvedExt
diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/ssr/ssrExternal.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/ssr/ssrExternal.ts
index 74423748565acf..5fa073ddc2d58a 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/ssr/ssrExternal.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/ssr/ssrExternal.ts
@@ -107,23 +107,49 @@ export function shouldExternalizeForSSR(
 
 export function createIsConfiguredAsSsrExternal(
   config: ResolvedConfig
-): (id: string) => boolean | undefined {
-  const { ssr } = config
+): (id: string) => boolean {
+  const { ssr, root } = config
   const noExternal = ssr?.noExternal
   const noExternalFilter =
     noExternal !== 'undefined' &&
     typeof noExternal !== 'boolean' &&
     createFilter(undefined, noExternal, { resolve: false })
 
+  const resolveOptions: InternalResolveOptions = {
+    root,
+    preserveSymlinks: config.resolve.preserveSymlinks,
+    isProduction: false,
+    isBuild: true
+  }
+
+  const isExternalizable = (
+    id: string,
+    configuredAsExternal?: boolean
+  ): boolean => {
+    if (!bareImportRE.test(id) || id.includes('\0')) {
+      return false
+    }
+    return !!tryNodeResolve(
+      id,
+      undefined,
+      resolveOptions,
+      ssr?.target === 'webworker',
+      undefined,
+      true,
+      // try to externalize, will return undefined or an object without
+      // a external flag if it isn't externalizable
+      true,
+      // Allow linked packages to be externalized if they are explicitly
+      // configured as external
+      !!configuredAsExternal
+    )?.external
+  }
+
   // Returns true if it is configured as external, false if it is filtered
   // by noExternal and undefined if it isn't affected by the explicit config
   return (id: string) => {
     const { ssr } = config
     if (ssr) {
-      const pkgName = getNpmPackageName(id)
-      if (!pkgName) {
-        return undefined
-      }
       if (
         // If this id is defined as external, force it as external
         // Note that individual package entries are allowed in ssr.external
@@ -131,14 +157,16 @@ export function createIsConfiguredAsSsrExternal(
       ) {
         return true
       }
+      const pkgName = getNpmPackageName(id)
+      if (!pkgName) {
+        return isExternalizable(id)
+      }
       if (
-        // A package name in ssr.external externalizes every entry
+        // A package name in ssr.external externalizes every
+        // externalizable package entry
         ssr.external?.includes(pkgName)
       ) {
-        // Return undefined here to avoid short-circuiting the isExternalizable check,
-        // that will filter this id out if it is not externalizable (e.g. a CSS file)
-        // We return here to make ssr.external take precedence over noExternal
-        return undefined
+        return isExternalizable(id, true)
       }
       if (typeof noExternal === 'boolean') {
         return !noExternal
@@ -147,7 +175,7 @@ export function createIsConfiguredAsSsrExternal(
         return false
       }
     }
-    return undefined
+    return isExternalizable(id)
   }
 }
 
@@ -156,40 +184,15 @@ function createIsSsrExternal(
 ): (id: string) => boolean | undefined {
   const processedIds = new Map<string, boolean | undefined>()
 
-  const { ssr, root } = config
-
   const isConfiguredAsExternal = createIsConfiguredAsSsrExternal(config)
 
-  const resolveOptions: InternalResolveOptions = {
-    root,
-    preserveSymlinks: config.resolve.preserveSymlinks,
-    isProduction: false,
-    isBuild: true
-  }
-
-  const isExternalizable = (id: string) => {
-    if (!bareImportRE.test(id) || id.includes('\0')) {
-      return false
-    }
-    return !!tryNodeResolve(
-      id,
-      undefined,
-      resolveOptions,
-      ssr?.target === 'webworker',
-      undefined,
-      true,
-      true // try to externalize, will return undefined if not possible
-    )
-  }
-
   return (id: string) => {
     if (processedIds.has(id)) {
       return processedIds.get(id)
     }
     let external = false
     if (!id.startsWith('.') && !path.isAbsolute(id)) {
-      external =
-        isBuiltin(id) || (isConfiguredAsExternal(id) ?? isExternalizable(id))
+      external = isBuiltin(id) || isConfiguredAsExternal(id)
     }
     processedIds.set(id, external)
     return external