diff --git a/tools/editor/editor_project.cpp b/tools/editor/editor_project.cpp
index a8ae327a..3dcc52fb 100644
--- a/tools/editor/editor_project.cpp
+++ b/tools/editor/editor_project.cpp
@@ -55,7 +55,17 @@ bool EditorProject::load(const std::string& path) {
 
         zones.clear();
         if (j.contains("zones") && j["zones"].is_array()) {
+            // Cap project zones — same defense pattern as the other
+            // editor JSON loaders. WoW only supports 65535 maps total
+            // and the editor loads one tile at a time, so 1024 zones
+            // per project is plenty.
+            constexpr size_t kMaxZones = 1024;
             for (const auto& jz : j["zones"]) {
+                if (zones.size() >= kMaxZones) {
+                    LOG_WARNING("Project zone cap reached (", kMaxZones,
+                                ") — remaining entries dropped");
+                    break;
+                }
                 ProjectZone z;
                 z.mapName = jz.value("mapName", "");
                 z.tileX = jz.value("tileX", 32);