diff --git a/RELEASENOTES.md b/RELEASENOTES.md
index 637208f71b..a0d7634f5b 100644
--- a/RELEASENOTES.md
+++ b/RELEASENOTES.md
@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@
 *   HLS
     *   Use the PRECISE attribute in EXT-X-START to select the default start
         position.
+    *   Fix a bug where skipping into spliced-in chunks triggered an assertion
+        error ([#8937](https://github.com/google/ExoPlayer/issues/8937).
 *   PlayerNotificationManager:
     *   Add `PendingIntent.FLAG_IMMUTABLE` flag to BroadcastReceiver to support
         Android 12.
diff --git a/library/hls/src/main/java/com/google/android/exoplayer2/source/hls/HlsSampleStreamWrapper.java b/library/hls/src/main/java/com/google/android/exoplayer2/source/hls/HlsSampleStreamWrapper.java
index 4c7ee9f9a0..6fe936c4a7 100644
--- a/library/hls/src/main/java/com/google/android/exoplayer2/source/hls/HlsSampleStreamWrapper.java
+++ b/library/hls/src/main/java/com/google/android/exoplayer2/source/hls/HlsSampleStreamWrapper.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package com.google.android.exoplayer2.source.hls;
 import static com.google.android.exoplayer2.source.hls.HlsChunkSource.CHUNK_PUBLICATION_STATE_PUBLISHED;
 import static com.google.android.exoplayer2.source.hls.HlsChunkSource.CHUNK_PUBLICATION_STATE_REMOVED;
 import static java.lang.Math.max;
+import static java.lang.Math.min;
 
 import android.net.Uri;
 import android.os.Handler;
@@ -638,17 +639,11 @@ import org.checkerframework.checker.nullness.qual.RequiresNonNull;
     int skipCount = sampleQueue.getSkipCount(positionUs, loadingFinished);
 
     // Ensure we don't skip into preload chunks until we can be sure they are permanently published.
-    int readIndex = sampleQueue.getReadIndex();
-    for (int i = 0; i < mediaChunks.size(); i++) {
-      HlsMediaChunk mediaChunk = mediaChunks.get(i);
-      int firstSampleIndex = mediaChunks.get(i).getFirstSampleIndex(sampleQueueIndex);
-      if (readIndex + skipCount <= firstSampleIndex) {
-        break;
-      }
-      if (!mediaChunk.isPublished()) {
-        skipCount = firstSampleIndex - readIndex;
-        break;
-      }
+    @Nullable HlsMediaChunk lastChunk = Iterables.getLast(mediaChunks, /* defaultValue= */ null);
+    if (lastChunk != null && !lastChunk.isPublished()) {
+      int readIndex = sampleQueue.getReadIndex();
+      int firstSampleIndex = lastChunk.getFirstSampleIndex(sampleQueueIndex);
+      skipCount = min(skipCount, firstSampleIndex - readIndex);
     }
 
     sampleQueue.skip(skipCount);