diff --git a/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/swisp_stats.h b/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/swisp_stats.h
index d9d0d9be84a6..65d826f6cff3 100644
--- a/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/swisp_stats.h
+++ b/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/swisp_stats.h
@@ -15,11 +15,20 @@
 namespace libcamera {
 
 /**
- * \brief Struct that holds the statistics for the Software ISP
+ * \brief Statistics for the Software ISP
  *
- * The struct value types are large enough to not overflow.
- * Should they still overflow for some reason, no check is performed and they
- * wrap around.
+ * The software ISP computes two types of statistics:
+ *
+ * - The accumulator counts the number of non-saturated pixels and sums their
+ *   R, G and B channels individually. Pixels that have any saturated channel
+ *   are skipped as they don't provide accurate colour information due to
+ *   clipping.
+ *
+ * - The histogram groups pixels in bins based on their luminance and counts
+ *   the number of pixels in each bin. Saturated pixels are included.
+ *
+ * The value types are large enough to not overflow. Should they still overflow
+ * for some reason, no check is performed and they wrap around.
  */
 struct SwIspStats {
 	/**
@@ -28,9 +37,13 @@ struct SwIspStats {
 	 */
 	bool valid;
 	/**
-	 * \brief Sums of colour channels of all the sampled pixels
+	 * \brief Sums of colour channels of all the unsaturated pixels
 	 */
 	RGB<uint64_t> sum_;
+	/**
+	 * \brief Number of unsaturated pixels accumulated in \a sum_
+	 */
+	uint64_t numPixels_;
 	/**
 	 * \brief Number of bins in the yHistogram
 	 */
diff --git a/src/ipa/softisp/algorithms/awb.cpp b/src/ipa/softisp/algorithms/awb.cpp
index 55fd326fc182..fb9bcb06a75e 100644
--- a/src/ipa/softisp/algorithms/awb.cpp
+++ b/src/ipa/softisp/algorithms/awb.cpp
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 
 #include "awb.h"
 
-#include <numeric>
 #include <stdint.h>
 
 #include <libcamera/base/log.h>
@@ -118,16 +117,23 @@ SoftIspAwbStats Awb::calculateRgbMeans(IPAContext &context,
 	if (!stats->valid)
 		return {};
 
-	const SwIspStats::Histogram &histogram = stats->yHistogram;
 	const uint8_t blackLevel = context.activeState.blc.level;
 
+	const uint64_t nPixels = stats->numPixels_;
+
+	/*
+	 * In the unlikely case where all pixels are saturated, return invalid
+	 * statistics. This shouldn't happen in normal conditions but can be
+	 * triggered by severe over-exposure.
+	 */
+	if (!nPixels)
+		return {};
+
 	/*
 	 * Black level must be subtracted to get the correct AWB ratios, they
 	 * would be off if they were computed from the whole brightness range
 	 * rather than from the sensor range.
 	 */
-	const uint64_t nPixels = std::accumulate(
-		histogram.begin(), histogram.end(), uint64_t(0));
 	const uint64_t offset = blackLevel * nPixels;
 	const uint64_t minValid = 1;
 
diff --git a/src/libcamera/software_isp/swstats_cpu.cpp b/src/libcamera/software_isp/swstats_cpu.cpp
index 7fb77ce7ddd6..74633815ed0a 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/software_isp/swstats_cpu.cpp
+++ b/src/libcamera/software_isp/swstats_cpu.cpp
@@ -167,6 +167,14 @@ SwStatsCpu::SwStatsCpu(const CameraManager &cm)
 			<< "Failed to create shared memory for statistics";
 }
 
+/*
+ * Hardcode the AWB stats saturation threshold to 95% of the maximum value.
+ *
+ * \todo Investigate if this should be made dynamic, based on sensor
+ * (non-)linearity and noise level.
+ */
+static constexpr unsigned int kSaturationThreshold = 0.95 * 256;
+
 static constexpr unsigned int kRedYMul = 77; /* 0.299 * 256 */
 static constexpr unsigned int kGreenYMul = 150; /* 0.587 * 256 */
 static constexpr unsigned int kBlueYMul = 29; /* 0.114 * 256 */
@@ -177,22 +185,29 @@ static constexpr unsigned int kBlueYMul = 29; /* 0.114 * 256 */
                                           \
 	uint64_t sumR = 0;                \
 	uint64_t sumG = 0;                \
-	uint64_t sumB = 0;
+	uint64_t sumB = 0;                \
+	uint64_t nSamples = 0;
 
-#define SWSTATS_ACCUMULATE_LINE_STATS(div) \
-	sumR += r;                         \
-	sumG += g;                         \
-	sumB += b;                         \
-                                           \
-	yVal = r * kRedYMul;               \
-	yVal += g * kGreenYMul;            \
-	yVal += b * kBlueYMul;             \
+#define SWSTATS_ACCUMULATE_LINE_STATS(div)      \
+	if (r < kSaturationThreshold * (div) && \
+	    g < kSaturationThreshold * (div) && \
+	    b < kSaturationThreshold * (div)) { \
+		sumR += r;                      \
+		sumG += g;                      \
+		sumB += b;                      \
+		nSamples++;                     \
+	}                                       \
+                                                \
+	yVal = r * kRedYMul;                    \
+	yVal += g * kGreenYMul;                 \
+	yVal += b * kBlueYMul;                  \
 	stats.yHistogram[yVal * SwIspStats::kYHistogramSize / (256 * 256 * (div))]++;
 
 #define SWSTATS_FINISH_LINE_STATS() \
 	stats.sum_.r() += sumR;     \
 	stats.sum_.g() += sumG;     \
-	stats.sum_.b() += sumB;
+	stats.sum_.b() += sumB;     \
+	stats.numPixels_ += nSamples;
 
 void SwStatsCpu::statsBGGR8Line0(const uint8_t *src[], SwIspStats &stats)
 {
@@ -391,6 +406,7 @@ void SwStatsCpu::startFrame(uint32_t frame)
 
 	for (auto &s : stats_) {
 		s.sum_ = RGB<uint64_t>({ 0, 0, 0 });
+		s.numPixels_ = 0;
 		s.yHistogram.fill(0);
 	}
 }
@@ -408,9 +424,11 @@ void SwStatsCpu::finishFrame(uint32_t frame, uint32_t bufferId)
 
 	if (valid) {
 		sharedStats_->sum_ = RGB<uint64_t>({ 0, 0, 0 });
+		sharedStats_->numPixels_ = 0;
 		sharedStats_->yHistogram.fill(0);
 		for (const auto &s : stats_) {
 			sharedStats_->sum_ += s.sum_;
+			sharedStats_->numPixels_ += s.numPixels_;
 			for (unsigned int j = 0; j < SwIspStats::kYHistogramSize; j++)
 				sharedStats_->yHistogram[j] += s.yHistogram[j];
 		}