diff --git a/src/compiler/checker.ts b/src/compiler/checker.ts
index cbdbd55660bcd..82af4ae53b10c 100644
--- a/src/compiler/checker.ts
+++ b/src/compiler/checker.ts
@@ -3806,10 +3806,10 @@ export function createTypeChecker(host: TypeCheckerHost): TypeChecker {
                 // it definitely is a module and does not have a synthetic default
                 return false;
             }
-            // There are _many_ declaration files not written with esmodules in mind that still get compiled into a format with __esModule set
-            // Meaning there may be no default at runtime - however to be on the permissive side, we allow access to a synthetic default member
-            // as there is no marker to indicate if the accompanying JS has `__esModule` or not, or is even native esm
-            return true;
+            if (!file && getSourceFileOfModule(moduleSymbol)?.fileName.includes("/@types/node/")) {
+                return true;
+            }
+            return hasExportAssignmentSymbol(moduleSymbol);
         }
         // TypeScript files never have a synthetic default (as they are always emitted with an __esModule marker) _unless_ they contain an export= statement
         if (!isSourceFileJS(file)) {