diff --git a/ciq-cherry-pick.py b/ciq-cherry-pick.py
index 3a7194b..fa92364 100644
--- a/ciq-cherry-pick.py
+++ b/ciq-cherry-pick.py
@@ -179,6 +179,14 @@ def manage_commit_message(full_sha, ciq_tags, jira_ticket, commit_successful):
     except IOError as e:
         raise RuntimeError(f"Failed to read commit message from {MERGE_MSG}: {e}") from e
 
+    # git appends a "# Conflicts:" comment block to MERGE_MSG on a conflicted
+    # cherry-pick, and committing with -F doesn't strip comment lines. Drop the
+    # block to keep it out of the final commit message.
+    for i, line in enumerate(original_msg):
+        if line.rstrip("\n") == "# Conflicts:":
+            original_msg = original_msg[:i]
+            break
+
     optional_msg = "" if commit_successful else "upstream-diff |"
     new_msg = CIQ_cherry_pick_commit_standardization(
         original_msg, full_sha, jira=jira_ticket, tags=new_tags, optional_msg=optional_msg
diff --git a/kt/ktlib/ciq_helpers.py b/kt/ktlib/ciq_helpers.py
index de9d4a3..05b0c4e 100644
--- a/kt/ktlib/ciq_helpers.py
+++ b/kt/ktlib/ciq_helpers.py
@@ -134,8 +134,8 @@ def CIQ_cherry_pick_commit_standardization(lines, commit, tags=None, jira="", op
     # will atttempt to read these lines and email everyone on the list.  We do not want
     # to annoy the community when doing our own work.
     for i in range(5, len(lines)):
-        # The (cherry Picked from commit: <sha1>) line is the indicator we cherry-picked
-        if lines[i].startswith("cherry picked from commit"):
+        # The (cherry picked from commit <sha1>) line is the indicator we cherry-picked
+        if lines[i].lstrip().startswith("(cherry picked from commit"):
             break
         if (
             lines[i].startswith("Signed-off-by")
diff --git a/tests/kt/ktlib/test_ciq_helpers.py b/tests/kt/ktlib/test_ciq_helpers.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d88668e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/kt/ktlib/test_ciq_helpers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+from kt.ktlib.ciq_helpers import CIQ_cherry_pick_commit_standardization
+
+UPSTREAM_SHA = "1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef12345678"
+AUTHOR_TAG = "commit-author Upstream Author <author@example.com>"
+
+
+def standardized_cherry_pick_msg():
+    """Run standardization on commit message lines mimicking MERGE_MSG after `git cherry-pick -nsx`."""
+    lines = [
+        "gve: fix a bug in the driver\n",
+        "\n",
+        "Some body text describing the fix.\n",
+        "\n",
+        "Signed-off-by: Upstream Author <author@example.com>\n",
+        "Reviewed-by: Upstream Reviewer <reviewer@example.com>\n",
+        f"(cherry picked from commit {UPSTREAM_SHA})\n",
+        "Signed-off-by: Backporter <backporter@example.com>\n",
+    ]
+    return CIQ_cherry_pick_commit_standardization(lines, UPSTREAM_SHA, tags=[AUTHOR_TAG], jira="VULN-123")
+
+
+def test_cherry_pick_standardization_indents_upstream_trailers():
+    lines = standardized_cherry_pick_msg()
+    assert "\tSigned-off-by: Upstream Author <author@example.com>\n" in lines
+    assert "\tReviewed-by: Upstream Reviewer <reviewer@example.com>\n" in lines
+
+
+def test_cherry_pick_standardization_stops_indenting_at_marker():
+    lines = standardized_cherry_pick_msg()
+    assert lines[-2] == f"(cherry picked from commit {UPSTREAM_SHA})\n"
+    assert lines[-1] == "Signed-off-by: Backporter <backporter@example.com>\n"