diff --git a/weed/s3api/s3api_object_handlers_copy.go b/weed/s3api/s3api_object_handlers_copy.go
index 2718da8a8..09d009372 100644
--- a/weed/s3api/s3api_object_handlers_copy.go
+++ b/weed/s3api/s3api_object_handlers_copy.go
@@ -1635,17 +1635,33 @@ func (s3a *S3ApiServer) copyMultipartCrossEncryption(entry *filer_pb.Entry, r *h
 			glog.Errorf("Failed to serialize SSE-KMS metadata: %v", serErr)
 		}
 	} else if state.DstSSES3 && destSSES3Key != nil {
-		// For SSE-S3 destination, create object-level metadata using first chunk's IV
-		// Fail explicitly if metadata is missing to prevent creating unreadable objects
-		if len(dstChunks) == 0 || dstChunks[0].GetSseType() != filer_pb.SSEType_SSE_S3 || len(dstChunks[0].GetSseMetadata()) == 0 {
-			return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("internal error: first chunk is missing expected SSE-S3 metadata for destination object")
-		}
-		keyManager := GetSSES3KeyManager()
-		sses3Metadata, err := DeserializeSSES3Metadata(dstChunks[0].GetSseMetadata(), keyManager)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to deserialize SSE-S3 metadata from first chunk: %w", err)
+		// For SSE-S3 destination, create object-level metadata
+		var sses3Metadata *SSES3Key
+		if len(dstChunks) == 0 {
+			// Handle 0-byte files - generate IV for metadata even though there's no content to encrypt
+			if entry.Attributes.FileSize != 0 {
+				return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("internal error: no chunks created for non-empty SSE-S3 destination object")
+			}
+			// Generate IV for 0-byte object metadata
+			iv := make([]byte, s3_constants.AESBlockSize)
+			if _, err := io.ReadFull(rand.Reader, iv); err != nil {
+				return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("generate IV for 0-byte object: %w", err)
+			}
+			destSSES3Key.IV = iv
+			sses3Metadata = destSSES3Key
+		} else {
+			// For non-empty objects, use the first chunk's metadata
+			if dstChunks[0].GetSseType() != filer_pb.SSEType_SSE_S3 || len(dstChunks[0].GetSseMetadata()) == 0 {
+				return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("internal error: first chunk is missing expected SSE-S3 metadata for destination object")
+			}
+			keyManager := GetSSES3KeyManager()
+			var err error
+			sses3Metadata, err = DeserializeSSES3Metadata(dstChunks[0].GetSseMetadata(), keyManager)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to deserialize SSE-S3 metadata from first chunk: %w", err)
+			}
 		}
-		// Use the first chunk's key with its IV for object-level metadata
+		// Use the derived key with its IV for object-level metadata
 		keyData, serErr := SerializeSSES3Metadata(sses3Metadata)
 		if serErr != nil {
 			return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to serialize SSE-S3 metadata: %w", serErr)