diff --git a/src/v/serde/protobuf/BUILD b/src/v/serde/protobuf/BUILD
index 6925de78313e..603714621cbd 100644
--- a/src/v/serde/protobuf/BUILD
+++ b/src/v/serde/protobuf/BUILD
@@ -11,11 +11,13 @@ redpanda_cc_library(
     include_prefix = "serde/protobuf",
     visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
     deps = [
+        "//src/v/bytes:hash",
         "//src/v/bytes:iobuf",
         "//src/v/bytes:iobuf_parser",
         "//src/v/container:chunked_hash_map",
         "//src/v/container:fragmented_vector",
         "//src/v/utils:vint",
         "@protobuf",
+        "@seastar",
     ],
 )
diff --git a/src/v/serde/protobuf/parser.cc b/src/v/serde/protobuf/parser.cc
index 8dfdf1235d37..90fa99ae93bd 100644
--- a/src/v/serde/protobuf/parser.cc
+++ b/src/v/serde/protobuf/parser.cc
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
 #include "bytes/iobuf_parser.h"
 #include "utils/vint.h"
 
+#include <seastar/util/variant_utils.hh>
+
 #include <google/protobuf/descriptor.h>
 
 #include <algorithm>
@@ -298,14 +300,73 @@ class parser {
         }
     }
 
-    template<typename T>
-    void update_field(int32_t field_number, T&& value) {
+    void
+    update_field(int32_t field_number, std::unique_ptr<parsed::message> value) {
         auto* field = current_->descriptor->FindFieldByNumber(field_number);
         if (field == nullptr) {
             throw std::runtime_error(
               fmt::format("unknown field number: {}", field_number));
+        }
+        if (field->is_map()) {
+            convert_to_map_and_update(*field, std::move(value));
         } else {
-            update_field(*field, std::forward<T>(value));
+            update_field(*field, std::move(value));
+        }
+    }
+
+    void convert_to_map_and_update(
+      const pb::FieldDescriptor& field,
+      std::unique_ptr<parsed::message> value) {
+        const auto* key_descriptor = field.message_type()->map_key();
+        parsed::map::key key = std::monostate{};
+        auto it = value->fields.find(key_descriptor->number());
+        if (it != value->fields.end()) {
+            key = ss::visit(
+              it->second,
+              [](double val) -> parsed::map::key { return val; },
+              [](float val) -> parsed::map::key { return val; },
+              [](int32_t val) -> parsed::map::key { return val; },
+              [](int64_t val) -> parsed::map::key { return val; },
+              [](uint32_t val) -> parsed::map::key { return val; },
+              [](uint64_t val) -> parsed::map::key { return val; },
+              [](bool val) -> parsed::map::key { return val; },
+              [](iobuf& val) -> parsed::map::key { return std::move(val); },
+              [](const auto&) -> parsed::map::key {
+                  throw std::runtime_error(
+                    "invariant: unable to convert type to map key");
+              });
+        }
+        const auto* val_descriptor = field.message_type()->map_value();
+        parsed::map::value val = std::monostate{};
+        it = value->fields.find(val_descriptor->number());
+        if (it != value->fields.end()) {
+            val = ss::visit(
+              it->second,
+              [](double val) -> parsed::map::value { return val; },
+              [](float val) -> parsed::map::value { return val; },
+              [](int32_t val) -> parsed::map::value { return val; },
+              [](int64_t val) -> parsed::map::value { return val; },
+              [](uint32_t val) -> parsed::map::value { return val; },
+              [](uint64_t val) -> parsed::map::value { return val; },
+              [](bool val) -> parsed::map::value { return val; },
+              [](iobuf& val) -> parsed::map::value { return std::move(val); },
+              [](std::unique_ptr<parsed::message>& val) -> parsed::map::value {
+                  return std::move(val);
+              },
+              [](const auto&) -> parsed::map::value {
+                  throw std::runtime_error(
+                    "invariant: unable to convert type to map value");
+              });
+        }
+
+        it = current_->message->fields.find(field.number());
+        if (it == current_->message->fields.end()) {
+            parsed::map map;
+            map.entries.emplace(std::move(key), std::move(val));
+            current_->message->fields.emplace(field.number(), std::move(map));
+        } else {
+            auto& map = std::get<parsed::map>(it->second);
+            map.entries.emplace(std::move(key), std::move(val));
         }
     }
 
@@ -337,8 +398,8 @@ class parser {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Update a repeated field. If T is itself `repeated` then concat the two
-     * sequences, otherwise append the last value.
+     * Update a repeated field. If T is itself `repeated` then concat the
+     * two sequences, otherwise append the last value.
      *
      * field_number must be of a repeated type.
      */
@@ -346,9 +407,7 @@ class parser {
     void append_repeated_field(int32_t field_number, T&& value) {
         auto it = current_->message->fields.find(field_number);
         if (it == current_->message->fields.end()) {
-            if constexpr (
-              std::is_same_v<T, parsed::repeated>
-              || std::is_same_v<T, parsed::map>) {
+            if constexpr (std::is_same_v<T, parsed::repeated>) {
                 current_->message->fields.emplace(
                   field_number, std::forward<T>(value));
             } else {
@@ -358,11 +417,6 @@ class parser {
                 current_->message->fields.emplace(
                   field_number, std::move(repeated));
             }
-        } else if constexpr (std::is_same_v<T, parsed::map>) {
-            auto& map = std::get<parsed::map>(it->second);
-            for (auto& [key, val] : value) {
-                map.entries.insert_or_assign(std::move(key), std::move(val));
-            }
         } else {
             auto& repeated = std::get<parsed::repeated>(it->second);
             if constexpr (std::is_same_v<T, parsed::repeated>) {
@@ -385,8 +439,8 @@ class parser {
 
     void stage_message(
       int32_t field_number, iobuf iobuf, const pb::Descriptor& descriptor) {
-        // Matches the golang max message depth (the highest of all runtimes as
-        // far as I understand it).
+        // Matches the golang max message depth (the highest of all runtimes
+        // as far as I understand it).
         constexpr size_t max_nested_message_depth = 10000;
         if (state_.size() >= max_nested_message_depth) {
             throw std::runtime_error("max nested message depth reached");
@@ -422,7 +476,8 @@ class parser {
         chunked_vector<std::invoke_result_t<decltype(reader)>> vec;
         if (amount > current_->parser.bytes_left()) {
             throw std::runtime_error(fmt::format(
-              "invalid packed field field: (bytes_needed={}, bytes_left={})",
+              "invalid packed field field: (bytes_needed={}, "
+              "bytes_left={})",
               amount,
               current_->parser.bytes_left()));
         }
@@ -545,10 +600,11 @@ class parser {
     }
 
     // The state of the current message being parsed. As we encounter new
-    // messages we will push an entry onto state_ so that we are not stack bound
-    // with respect to protobuf nested message depth.
+    // messages we will push an entry onto state_ so that we are not stack
+    // bound with respect to protobuf nested message depth.
     struct state {
-        // The field_number of the proto to push back onto it's parent message.
+        // The field_number of the proto to push back onto it's parent
+        // message.
         int32_t field_number;
         // The parser for this current protobuf only
         iobuf_parser parser;
diff --git a/src/v/serde/protobuf/parser.h b/src/v/serde/protobuf/parser.h
index d3550d242181..036519437dd7 100644
--- a/src/v/serde/protobuf/parser.h
+++ b/src/v/serde/protobuf/parser.h
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@
  * by the Apache License, Version 2.0
  */
 
+#pragma once
+
+#include "bytes/hash.h"
 #include "bytes/iobuf.h"
 #include "container/chunked_hash_map.h"
 #include "container/fragmented_vector.h"
@@ -46,10 +49,19 @@ struct repeated {
  * A dynamic representation of a proto3 map.
  */
 struct map {
-    using key = std::
-      variant<double, float, int32_t, int64_t, uint32_t, uint64_t, bool, iobuf>;
+    using key = std::variant<
+      std::monostate, // Can be unset
+      double,
+      float,
+      int32_t,
+      int64_t,
+      uint32_t,
+      uint64_t,
+      bool,
+      iobuf>;
 
     using value = std::variant<
+      std::monostate, // Can be unset
       double,
       float,
       int32_t, // Can be an enum value
diff --git a/src/v/serde/protobuf/tests/parser_test.cc b/src/v/serde/protobuf/tests/parser_test.cc
index af9333cdc867..5a0acb07001e 100644
--- a/src/v/serde/protobuf/tests/parser_test.cc
+++ b/src/v/serde/protobuf/tests/parser_test.cc
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 #include "bytes/iobuf.h"
 #include "bytes/iobuf_parser.h"
 #include "gtest/gtest.h"
-#include "random/generators.h"
 #include "serde/protobuf/parser.h"
 // TODO: Fix bazelbuild/bazel#4446
 #include "src/v/serde/protobuf/tests/test_messages_edition2023.pb.h"
@@ -33,6 +32,7 @@
 #include <memory>
 #include <stdexcept>
 #include <unordered_map>
+#include <variant>
 
 namespace serde::pb {
 namespace {
@@ -101,6 +101,15 @@ class ProtobufParserFixture : public testing::Test {
         return output;
     }
 
+    std::unique_ptr<parsed::message> parse_raw(std::string_view txtpb) {
+        auto expected = construct_message(txtpb);
+        iobuf out;
+        auto binpb = expected->SerializeAsString();
+        out.append(binpb.data(), binpb.size());
+        return ::serde::pb::parse(std::move(out), *expected->GetDescriptor())
+          .get();
+    }
+
     testing::AssertionResult parse(std::string_view txtpb) {
         auto expected = construct_message(txtpb);
         iobuf out;
@@ -232,8 +241,10 @@ class ProtobufParserFixture : public testing::Test {
               reflect->SetString(output, field, std::move(str));
           },
           [=, this](const parsed::map& v) {
-              auto pbmap = convert_to_protobuf(v, field->message_type());
-              reflect->SetAllocatedMessage(output, pbmap.release(), field);
+              auto entries = convert_to_protobuf(v, field->message_type());
+              for (auto& entry : entries) {
+                  reflect->AddAllocatedMessage(output, field, entry.release());
+              }
           });
     }
 
@@ -301,34 +312,58 @@ class ProtobufParserFixture : public testing::Test {
           });
     }
 
-    std::unique_ptr<pb::Message>
+    std::vector<std::unique_ptr<pb::Message>>
     convert_to_protobuf(const parsed::map& map, const pb::Descriptor* desc) {
-        auto output = std::unique_ptr<pb::Message>(
-          factory_.GetPrototype(desc)->New());
+        std::vector<std::unique_ptr<pb::Message>> entries;
         for (const auto& [k, v] : map.entries) {
-            auto k_field = ss::visit(
+            auto output = std::unique_ptr<pb::Message>(
+              factory_.GetPrototype(desc)->New());
+            auto key_field = desc->map_key();
+            ss::visit(
               k,
-              [](const iobuf& v) { return parsed::message::field(v.copy()); },
-              [](const auto& v) { return parsed::message::field(v); });
-            convert_to_protobuf(1, k_field, output.get());
+              [](const std::monostate&) {},
+              [&, this](const iobuf& v) {
+                  convert_to_protobuf(
+                    key_field->number(),
+                    parsed::message::field(v.copy()),
+                    output.get());
+              },
+              [&, this](const auto& v) {
+                  convert_to_protobuf(
+                    key_field->number(),
+                    parsed::message::field(v),
+                    output.get());
+              });
+            auto value_field = desc->map_value();
             ss::visit(
               v,
+              [](const std::monostate&) {},
               [&, this](const iobuf& v) {
                   convert_to_protobuf(
-                    2, parsed::message::field(v.copy()), output.get());
+                    value_field->number(),
+                    parsed::message::field(v.copy()),
+                    output.get());
               },
-              [&](const std::unique_ptr<parsed::message>& v) {
-                  auto field = desc->FindFieldByNumber(2);
-                  auto msg = convert_to_protobuf(*v, field->message_type());
+              [&, this](const std::unique_ptr<parsed::message>& v) {
+                  if (value_field->message_type() == nullptr) {
+                      throw std::runtime_error(fmt::format(
+                        "expected message type got: {}",
+                        value_field->DebugString()));
+                  }
+                  auto msg = convert_to_protobuf(
+                    *v, value_field->message_type());
                   output->GetReflection()->SetAllocatedMessage(
-                    output.get(), msg.release(), field);
+                    output.get(), msg.release(), value_field);
               },
               [&, this](const auto& v) {
                   convert_to_protobuf(
-                    2, parsed::message::field(v), output.get());
+                    value_field->number(),
+                    parsed::message::field(v),
+                    output.get());
               });
+            entries.push_back(std::move(output));
         }
-        return output;
+        return entries;
     }
 
     pb::DynamicMessageFactory factory_;
@@ -490,6 +525,51 @@ optional_sfixed32: -1
 )"));
 }
 
+TEST_F(ProtobufParserFixture, Map) {
+    auto msg = parse_raw(R"(
+# proto-file: three.proto
+# proto-message: Map
+meta {
+  key: "foo"
+  value: "bar"
+}
+meta {
+  key: "baz"
+  value: "qux"
+}
+meta {
+  value: "nokey"
+}
+meta {
+  key: "novalue"
+}
+)");
+    ASSERT_EQ(msg->fields.size(), 1);
+    ASSERT_TRUE(msg->fields.contains(1));
+    const auto& field = msg->fields[1];
+    ASSERT_TRUE(std::holds_alternative<parsed::map>(field));
+    const auto& map = std::get<parsed::map>(field);
+    EXPECT_EQ(map.entries.size(), 4);
+    EXPECT_TRUE(parse(R"(
+# proto-file: three.proto
+# proto-message: Entries
+entry {
+  key: "foo"
+  value: 42
+}
+entry {
+  key: "baz"
+  value: 53
+}
+entry {
+  key: "novalue"
+}
+entry {
+  value: 99
+}
+)"));
+}
+
 TEST_F(ProtobufParserFixture, RandomData) {
     protobuf_test_messages::editions::TestAllTypesEdition2023 kitchen_sink;
     constexpr size_t size = 512;
diff --git a/src/v/serde/protobuf/tests/three.proto b/src/v/serde/protobuf/tests/three.proto
index 3e55d67b1d4f..1c3c141e0221 100644
--- a/src/v/serde/protobuf/tests/three.proto
+++ b/src/v/serde/protobuf/tests/three.proto
@@ -76,3 +76,11 @@ message Version4 {
         bool data = 3;
     }
 }
+
+message Map {
+    map<string, string> meta = 1;
+}
+
+message Entries {
+    map<string, int32> entry = 1;
+}