diff --git a/lib/galaxy/tool_util/linters/general.py b/lib/galaxy/tool_util/linters/general.py
index 0c45c06ab84..c2624daca81 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/tool_util/linters/general.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/tool_util/linters/general.py
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ lint_tool_types = ["*"]
 
 def lint_general(tool_source, lint_ctx):
     """Check tool version, name, and id."""
-    version = tool_source.parse_version()
+    version = tool_source.parse_version() or ''
     parsed_version = packaging.version.parse(version)
     if not version:
         lint_ctx.error(ERROR_VERSION_MSG)
diff --git a/lib/galaxy/tool_util/loader_directory.py b/lib/galaxy/tool_util/loader_directory.py
index c21937987b7..310ea7cba09 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/tool_util/loader_directory.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/tool_util/loader_directory.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Utilities for loading and reasoning about unparsed tools in directories."""
 import fnmatch
 import glob
+import io
 import logging
 import os
 import re
@@ -170,8 +171,11 @@ def looks_like_xml(path, regex=TOOL_REGEX):
        checkers.is_zip(full_path)):
         return False
 
-    with open(path, "r") as f:
-        start_contents = f.read(5 * 1024)
+    with io.open(path, "r", encoding='utf-8') as f:
+        try:
+            start_contents = f.read(5 * 1024)
+        except UnicodeDecodeError:
+            return False
         if regex.search(start_contents):
             return True