diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/server/middlewares/indexHtml.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/server/middlewares/indexHtml.ts
index c9d9228a0d79ef..96d05c418c1ae1 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/server/middlewares/indexHtml.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/server/middlewares/indexHtml.ts
@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ function shouldPreTransform(url: string, config: ResolvedConfig) {
   )
 }
 
+const startsWithWordCharRE = /^\w/
+
 const processNodeUrl = (
   attr: Token.Attribute,
   sourceCodeLocation: Token.Location,
@@ -118,7 +120,7 @@ const processNodeUrl = (
       preTransformRequest(server, fullUrl, devBase)
     }
   } else if (
-    url[0] === '.' &&
+    (url[0] === '.' || startsWithWordCharRE.test(url)) &&
     originalUrl &&
     originalUrl !== '/' &&
     htmlPath === '/index.html'