diff --git a/packages/apps-engine/src/definition/version.ts b/packages/apps-engine/src/definition/version.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..8feda95c5ad5d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/apps-engine/src/definition/version.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+/**
+ * The version of the Apps-Engine package.
+ * Consumed by host-side code (e.g. AppPackageParser) to validate app compatibility
+ * without relying on filesystem path traversal.
+ *
+ * Uses require() instead of a static import so TypeScript does not resolve the path
+ * at compile time.
+ *
+ * When running for tests, using ts-node, package.json is located two levels above the current file.
+ * When running in production, package.json is located one level above the compiled version of this file.
+ */
+const runningFromSource = __dirname.endsWith('src/definition');
+const requirePath = runningFromSource ? '../../package.json' : '../package.json';
+
+// eslint-disable-next-line import/no-dynamic-require, @typescript-eslint/no-require-imports -- Paths are bounded, we just need to decide which package.json file to target
+export const ENGINE_VERSION: string = require(requirePath).version;
diff --git a/packages/apps-engine/src/server/compiler/AppPackageParser.ts b/packages/apps-engine/src/server/compiler/AppPackageParser.ts
index 316f37079e75e..9d98cc0356310 100644
--- a/packages/apps-engine/src/server/compiler/AppPackageParser.ts
+++ b/packages/apps-engine/src/server/compiler/AppPackageParser.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import * as fs from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 
 import * as AdmZip from 'adm-zip';
@@ -8,18 +7,15 @@ import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';
 import { AppImplements } from '.';
 import type { IParseAppPackageResult } from './IParseAppPackageResult';
 import type { IAppInfo } from '../../definition/metadata/IAppInfo';
+import { ENGINE_VERSION } from '../../definition/version';
 import { RequiredApiVersionError } from '../errors';
 
 export class AppPackageParser {
-	public static uuid4Regex = /^[0-9a-fA-f]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-4[0-9a-fA-F]{3}-[89abAB][0-9a-fA-F]{3}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}$/;
+	public static uuid4Regex = /^[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-4[0-9a-fA-F]{3}-[89abAB][0-9a-fA-F]{3}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}$/;
 
 	private allowedIconExts: Array<string> = ['.png', '.jpg', '.jpeg', '.gif'];
 
-	private appsEngineVersion: string;
-
-	constructor() {
-		this.appsEngineVersion = this.getEngineVersion();
-	}
+	private appsEngineVersion: string = ENGINE_VERSION;
 
 	public async unpackageApp(appPackage: Buffer): Promise<IParseAppPackageResult> {
 		const zip = new AdmZip(appPackage);
@@ -143,21 +139,4 @@ export class AppPackageParser {
 
 		return `data:image/${ext.replace('.', '')};base64,${base64}`;
 	}
-
-	private getEngineVersion(): string {
-		const devLocation = path.join(__dirname, '../../../package.json');
-		const prodLocation = path.join(__dirname, '../../package.json');
-
-		let info: { version: string };
-
-		if (fs.existsSync(devLocation)) {
-			info = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(devLocation, 'utf8'));
-		} else if (fs.existsSync(prodLocation)) {
-			info = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(prodLocation, 'utf8'));
-		} else {
-			throw new Error('Could not find the Apps TypeScript Definition Package Version!');
-		}
-
-		return info.version.replace(/^[^0-9]/, '').split('-')[0];
-	}
 }
diff --git a/packages/apps-engine/tsconfig.json b/packages/apps-engine/tsconfig.json
index fe9e53b01cb85..2d70ec6e00a34 100644
--- a/packages/apps-engine/tsconfig.json
+++ b/packages/apps-engine/tsconfig.json
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
         "emitDecoratorMetadata": true,
         "experimentalDecorators": true,
         "moduleResolution": "node",
+        "resolveJsonModule": true,
         "types": ["node"],
         "lib": ["es2017", "dom"],
         "rootDir": "./src",