diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index c075418d..32d37e58 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -607,7 +607,7 @@ checksum = "89d92a4743f9a61002fae18374ed11e7973f530cb3a3255fb354818118b2203c"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "libsky"
-version = "0.8.0-beta.3"
+version = "0.8.0-beta.4"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "linux-raw-sys"
@@ -1165,7 +1165,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "sky-bench"
-version = "0.8.0-beta.3"
+version = "0.8.0-beta.4"
 dependencies = [
  "crossbeam-channel",
  "env_logger",
@@ -1178,7 +1178,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "sky_macros"
-version = "0.8.0-beta.3"
+version = "0.8.0-beta.4"
 dependencies = [
  "libsky",
  "proc-macro2",
@@ -1188,7 +1188,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "skyd"
-version = "0.8.0-beta.3"
+version = "0.8.0-beta.4"
 dependencies = [
  "bytes",
  "crc",
@@ -1214,7 +1214,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "skysh"
-version = "0.8.0-beta.3"
+version = "0.8.0-beta.4"
 dependencies = [
  "crossterm",
  "libsky",
diff --git a/cli/Cargo.toml b/cli/Cargo.toml
index eb12cb7f..54aaa604 100644
--- a/cli/Cargo.toml
+++ b/cli/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "skysh"
-version = "0.8.0-beta.3"
+version = "0.8.0-beta.4"
 authors = ["Sayan Nandan <ohsayan@outlook.com>"]
 edition = "2021"
 description = "The Skytable Shell (skysh)"
diff --git a/cli/help_text/help b/cli/help_text/help
index 2ba1abe5..736b376c 100644
--- a/cli/help_text/help
+++ b/cli/help_text/help
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-skysh 0.8.0-beta.3
+skysh 0.8.0-beta.4
 Sayan N. <ohsayan@outlook.com>
 The Skytable interactive shell (skysh)
 
diff --git a/libsky/Cargo.toml b/libsky/Cargo.toml
index 9343ef9a..df829511 100644
--- a/libsky/Cargo.toml
+++ b/libsky/Cargo.toml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 authors = ["Sayan Nandan <ohsayan@outlook.com>"]
 edition = "2021"
 name = "libsky"
-version = "0.8.0-beta.3"
+version = "0.8.0-beta.4"
 
 # See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html
 
diff --git a/server/Cargo.toml b/server/Cargo.toml
index 4c01b8c2..b4668d93 100644
--- a/server/Cargo.toml
+++ b/server/Cargo.toml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 authors = ["Sayan Nandan <ohsayan@outlook.com>"]
 edition = "2021"
 name = "skyd"
-version = "0.8.0-beta.3"
+version = "0.8.0-beta.4"
 description = "Skytable is a modern NoSQL database powered by BlueQL that aims to deliver performance, scalability and flexibility with data"
 license = "AGPL-3.0"
 
diff --git a/server/src/engine/ql/lex/mod.rs b/server/src/engine/ql/lex/mod.rs
index c4dac3aa..f44a297f 100644
--- a/server/src/engine/ql/lex/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/engine/ql/lex/mod.rs
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ impl<'a> SecureLexer<'a> {
             };
             match b {
                 b if b.is_ascii_alphabetic() | (b == b'_') => self.l.scan_ident_or_keyword(),
-                b'?' => {
+                b'?' if !self.param_buffer.eof() => {
                     // skip the param byte
                     unsafe {
                         // UNSAFE(@ohsayan): loop invariant
diff --git a/server/src/engine/ql/tests/lexer_tests.rs b/server/src/engine/ql/tests/lexer_tests.rs
index e1aeec6e..8446cf15 100644
--- a/server/src/engine/ql/tests/lexer_tests.rs
+++ b/server/src/engine/ql/tests/lexer_tests.rs
@@ -182,6 +182,43 @@ fn make_safe_query(a: &[u8], b: &[u8]) -> (Vec<u8>, usize) {
     (s, a.len())
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn safe_query_param_empty() {
+    for i in 0..100 {
+        let (query, query_window) = make_safe_query(&b"?".repeat(i), b"");
+        let ret = lex_secure(&query, query_window).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            ret,
+            (0..i).map(|_| Token![?]).collect::<Vec<Token<'static>>>()
+        );
+    }
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn safe_query_less_param() {
+    for i in 1..=10 {
+        /*
+        test placeholder combinations:
+        - 1PH 1P
+        - 2PH 1P, 2PH 2P
+        - 3PH 1P, 3PH 2P, 3PH 3P
+        */
+        for j in 1..=i {
+            let (query, query_window) =
+                make_safe_query(&b"?".repeat(i), &b"\x065\nsayan".repeat(j));
+            let ret = lex_secure(&query, query_window).unwrap();
+            // check
+            let exp_params = (0..j)
+                .map(|_| Token::Lit(Lit::new_str("sayan")))
+                .collect::<Vec<Token<'static>>>();
+            let exp_placeholders = (0..i - j)
+                .map(|_| Token![?])
+                .collect::<Vec<Token<'static>>>();
+            assert_eq!(ret, [exp_params, exp_placeholders].concat());
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn safe_query_all_literals() {
     let (query, query_window) = make_safe_query(
diff --git a/sky-bench/Cargo.toml b/sky-bench/Cargo.toml
index 7e73c813..fba43b36 100644
--- a/sky-bench/Cargo.toml
+++ b/sky-bench/Cargo.toml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 authors = ["Sayan Nandan <ohsayan@outlook.com>"]
 edition = "2021"
 name = "sky-bench"
-version = "0.8.0-beta.3"
+version = "0.8.0-beta.4"
 description = "The Skytable benchmark tool can be used to benchmark Skytable installations"
 
 # See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html
diff --git a/sky-bench/help_text/help b/sky-bench/help_text/help
index a4375b10..5c1ed876 100644
--- a/sky-bench/help_text/help
+++ b/sky-bench/help_text/help
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-sky-bench 0.8.0-beta.3
+sky-bench 0.8.0-beta.4
 Sayan N. <ohsayan@outlook.com>
 Skytable benchmark tool
 
diff --git a/sky-macros/Cargo.toml b/sky-macros/Cargo.toml
index 3ea1663d..067d3817 100644
--- a/sky-macros/Cargo.toml
+++ b/sky-macros/Cargo.toml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 authors = ["Sayan Nandan <ohsayan@outlook.com>"]
 edition = "2021"
 name = "sky_macros"
-version = "0.8.0-beta.3"
+version = "0.8.0-beta.4"
 
 # See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html