diff --git a/backend/src/plugins/Tags/util/renderTagBody.ts b/backend/src/plugins/Tags/util/renderTagBody.ts
index 36103c7e..d8aef998 100644
--- a/backend/src/plugins/Tags/util/renderTagBody.ts
+++ b/backend/src/plugins/Tags/util/renderTagBody.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ export async function renderTagBody(
       return val;
     },
     get(name) {
-      return dynamicVars[name] == null ? "" : dynamicVars[name];
+      return !dynamicVars.hasOwnProperty(name) || dynamicVars[name] == null ? "" : dynamicVars[name];
     },
     tag: async (name, ...subTagArgs) => {
       if (++tagFnCallsObj.calls > MAX_TAG_FN_CALLS) return "";
diff --git a/backend/src/utils.ts b/backend/src/utils.ts
index 396493d4..e075f5e4 100644
--- a/backend/src/utils.ts
+++ b/backend/src/utils.ts
@@ -578,7 +578,10 @@ export function errorMessage(str, emoji = "⚠") {
 
 export function get(obj, path, def?): any {
   let cursor = obj;
-  const pathParts = path.split(".");
+  const pathParts = path
+    .split(".")
+    .map((s) => s.trim())
+    .filter((s) => s !== "");
   for (const part of pathParts) {
     // hasOwnProperty check here is necessary to prevent prototype traversal in tags
     if (!cursor.hasOwnProperty(part)) return def;