diff --git a/backend/src/utilities/database.py b/backend/src/utilities/database.py
index 288482b..516cb77 100644
--- a/backend/src/utilities/database.py
+++ b/backend/src/utilities/database.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ def _db_text(value: Any) -> Any:
 
 def _serialize_row_for_broadcast(row: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     serialized = dict(row)
+    _normalize_json_fields(serialized)
 
     raw_val = serialized.get("raw")
     if isinstance(raw_val, (bytes, bytearray)):
@@ -40,6 +41,18 @@ def _serialize_row_for_broadcast(row: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     return serialized
 
 
+def _normalize_json_fields(payload: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+    for key in ("dpi_metadata", "telemetry_metadata"):
+        value = payload.get(key)
+        if isinstance(value, str):
+            try:
+                parsed = json.loads(value)
+            except json.JSONDecodeError:
+                continue
+            if isinstance(parsed, dict):
+                payload[key] = parsed
+
+
 class DatabasePool:
     """Asyncpg connection pool wrapper used by the packet APIs."""
 
@@ -239,6 +252,7 @@ class DatabasePool:
         result: List[PacketDBModel] = []
         for row in rows:
             data = dict(row)
+            _normalize_json_fields(data)
 
             raw_val = data.get("raw")
             if isinstance(raw_val, (bytes, bytearray)):
diff --git a/setup_database.sh b/setup_database.sh
index 1faf97b..3fe93ba 100755
--- a/setup_database.sh
+++ b/setup_database.sh
@@ -103,6 +103,12 @@ ALTER TABLE packets ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS app_hostname VARCHAR(255);
 ALTER TABLE packets ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS app_is_encrypted BOOLEAN;
 ALTER TABLE packets ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS app_risk_score INTEGER;
 ALTER TABLE packets ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS dpi_metadata JSONB;
+ALTER TABLE packets ALTER COLUMN dpi_metadata TYPE JSONB USING
+    CASE
+        WHEN dpi_metadata IS NULL THEN NULL
+        WHEN pg_typeof(dpi_metadata)::text = 'jsonb' THEN dpi_metadata
+        ELSE dpi_metadata::jsonb
+    END;
 ALTER TABLE packets ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS eth_type_raw INTEGER;
 ALTER TABLE packets ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS ip_proto_raw INTEGER;
 ALTER TABLE packets ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS ingress_if VARCHAR(64);
@@ -115,6 +121,12 @@ ALTER TABLE packets ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS ingress_seen_at TIMESTAMPTZ;
 ALTER TABLE packets ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS egress_seen_at TIMESTAMPTZ;
 ALTER TABLE packets ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS verdict_seen_at TIMESTAMPTZ;
 ALTER TABLE packets ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS telemetry_metadata JSONB;
+ALTER TABLE packets ALTER COLUMN telemetry_metadata TYPE JSONB USING
+    CASE
+        WHEN telemetry_metadata IS NULL THEN NULL
+        WHEN pg_typeof(telemetry_metadata)::text = 'jsonb' THEN telemetry_metadata
+        ELSE telemetry_metadata::jsonb
+    END;
 ALTER TABLE packets DROP COLUMN IF EXISTS direction;
 CREATE UNIQUE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_packets_packet_uid ON packets(packet_uid);
 EOF