diff --git a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/AbstractNestablePropertyAccessor.java b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/AbstractNestablePropertyAccessor.java
index 3912156671b..46b3ed27148 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/AbstractNestablePropertyAccessor.java
+++ b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/AbstractNestablePropertyAccessor.java
@@ -649,6 +649,11 @@ public abstract class AbstractNestablePropertyAccessor extends AbstractPropertyA
 					else if (value instanceof List list) {
 						int index = Integer.parseInt(key);
 						growCollectionIfNecessary(list, index, indexedPropertyName.toString(), ph, i + 1);
+						if (index < 0 || index >= list.size()) {
+							throw new InvalidPropertyException(getRootClass(), this.nestedPath + propertyName,
+									"Cannot get element with index " + index + " from List of size " +
+									list.size() + ", accessed using property path '" + propertyName + "'");
+						}
 						value = list.get(index);
 					}
 					else if (value instanceof Map map) {
diff --git a/spring-beans/src/test/java/org/springframework/beans/BeanWrapperAutoGrowingTests.java b/spring-beans/src/test/java/org/springframework/beans/BeanWrapperAutoGrowingTests.java
index 2b3480404fa..33194ed8400 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/test/java/org/springframework/beans/BeanWrapperAutoGrowingTests.java
+++ b/spring-beans/src/test/java/org/springframework/beans/BeanWrapperAutoGrowingTests.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 package org.springframework.beans;
 
+import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
@@ -183,7 +184,34 @@ class BeanWrapperAutoGrowingTests {
 		wrapper.setAutoGrowCollectionLimit(2);
 		assertThatExceptionOfType(InvalidPropertyException.class)
 				.isThrownBy(() -> wrapper.getPropertyValue("list[4]"))
-				.withRootCauseInstanceOf(IndexOutOfBoundsException.class);
+				.withMessageContainingAll(
+						"Invalid property 'list[4]'",
+						"Cannot get element with index 4 from List of size 0");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void getPropertyValueSelfPopulatingListWorksWithinLimit() {
+		bean.setList(new SelfPopulatingList());
+		assertThat(wrapper.getPropertyValue("list[2]")).isInstanceOf(Bean.class);
+		assertThat(bean.getList())
+				.hasSize(3)
+				.allSatisfy(entry -> assertThat(entry).isInstanceOf(Bean.class));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void getPropertyValueSelfPopulatingListFailsAgainstLimit() {
+		bean.setList(new SelfPopulatingList());
+		wrapper.setAutoGrowCollectionLimit(2);
+		assertThatExceptionOfType(InvalidPropertyException.class)
+				.isThrownBy(() -> wrapper.getPropertyValue("list[4]"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void setPropertyValueSelfPopulatingListFailsAgainstLimitForNestedPath() {
+		bean.setList(new SelfPopulatingList());
+		wrapper.setAutoGrowCollectionLimit(2);
+		assertThatExceptionOfType(InvalidPropertyException.class)
+				.isThrownBy(() -> wrapper.setPropertyValue("list[4].prop", "test"));
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -382,4 +410,24 @@ class BeanWrapperAutoGrowingTests {
 		}
 	}
 
+
+	/**
+	 * A {@link List} implementation that creates elements on demand in {@link #get(int)}
+	 * instead of throwing {@link IndexOutOfBoundsException} for out-of-range indexes.
+	 *
+	 * <p>Used to verify that {@link BeanWrapperImpl} does not delegate to
+	 * {@link List#get(int)} for indexes beyond the configured auto-grow limit.
+	 */
+	@SuppressWarnings("serial")
+	private static class SelfPopulatingList extends ArrayList<Bean> {
+
+		@Override
+		public Bean get(int index) {
+			while (size() <= index) {
+				add(new Bean());
+			}
+			return super.get(index);
+		}
+	}
+
 }