diff --git a/modelopt/torch/quantization/plugins/vllm.py b/modelopt/torch/quantization/plugins/vllm.py
index fef38093bf..107e225cd0 100644
--- a/modelopt/torch/quantization/plugins/vllm.py
+++ b/modelopt/torch/quantization/plugins/vllm.py
@@ -47,7 +47,12 @@
     except ImportError:
         continue
 
-if importlib.util.find_spec("vllm.attention.layers"):  # vllm < 0.15.0
+try:
+    _has_attention_layers = importlib.util.find_spec("vllm.attention.layers") is not None
+except (ModuleNotFoundError, ValueError):
+    _has_attention_layers = False
+
+if _has_attention_layers:  # vllm < 0.15.0
     from vllm.attention.layers.cross_attention import CrossAttention
     from vllm.attention.layers.encoder_only_attention import EncoderOnlyAttention
 else:
@@ -60,12 +65,17 @@
     except ImportError:
         EncoderOnlyAttention = None
 
-if importlib.util.find_spec("vllm.attention.layer"):
+try:
+    _has_attention_layer = importlib.util.find_spec("vllm.attention.layer") is not None
+except (ModuleNotFoundError, ValueError):
+    _has_attention_layer = False
+
+if _has_attention_layer:
     import vllm.attention.layer as vllm_attention
 
 try:
     VllmMLAAttention = vllm_attention.MLAAttention
-except ImportError:
+except (AttributeError, ImportError):
     VllmMLAAttention = None
 
 _ATTENTION_TYPES = tuple(
@@ -131,12 +141,16 @@ def _get_device_dtype(module: torch.nn.Module) -> tuple:
             return dev, dt_resolved
 
     # KV-cache tensors are available after allocation; respect kv_cache_dtype when set.
+    # kv_cache is a list of tensors (v0) or a single tensor (v1).
     kv = getattr(module, "kv_cache", None)
-    if kv and kv[0] is not None:
-        t0 = kv[0]
-        spec = getattr(module, "kv_cache_dtype", t0.dtype)
-        out_dtype = t0.dtype if spec == "auto" else (_vllm_attr_dtype_to_torch(spec) or t0.dtype)
-        return t0.device, out_dtype
+    if kv is not None:
+        t0 = kv[0] if isinstance(kv, (list, tuple)) and len(kv) > 0 else kv
+        if isinstance(t0, torch.Tensor) and t0.numel() > 0:
+            spec = getattr(module, "kv_cache_dtype", t0.dtype)
+            out_dtype = (
+                t0.dtype if spec == "auto" else (_vllm_attr_dtype_to_torch(spec) or t0.dtype)
+            )
+            return t0.device, out_dtype
 
     # Shallow scan: weights often live on child modules rather than the attention module itself.
     for mod in (module, *module.children()):
@@ -223,7 +237,11 @@ def create_parallel_state():
     """Create a parallel state for vLLM."""
     dp_group = get_dp_group().device_group
     tp_group = get_tp_group().device_group
-    ep_group = get_ep_group().device_group
+    try:
+        # EP group is only created for MoE models; dense models don't have one.
+        ep_group = get_ep_group().device_group
+    except (AssertionError, RuntimeError):
+        ep_group = -1
     return ParallelState(dp_group, tp_group, ep_group)
 
 
@@ -426,14 +444,18 @@ def modelopt_post_restore(self, prefix: str = "") -> None:
         _vllm_attention_modelopt_post_restore(self)
 
 
-@QuantModuleRegistry.register({CrossAttention: "vllm_CrossAttention"})
-class _QuantVLLMCrossAttention(_QuantVLLMAttention):
-    pass
+if CrossAttention is not None:
 
+    @QuantModuleRegistry.register({CrossAttention: "vllm_CrossAttention"})
+    class _QuantVLLMCrossAttention(_QuantVLLMAttention):
+        pass
 
-@QuantModuleRegistry.register({EncoderOnlyAttention: "vllm_EncoderOnlyAttention"})
-class _QuantVLLMEncoderOnlyAttention(_QuantVLLMAttention):
-    pass
+
+if EncoderOnlyAttention is not None:
+
+    @QuantModuleRegistry.register({EncoderOnlyAttention: "vllm_EncoderOnlyAttention"})
+    class _QuantVLLMEncoderOnlyAttention(_QuantVLLMAttention):
+        pass
 
 
 if VllmMLAAttention is not None: