diff --git a/.github/workflows/version.yml b/.github/workflows/version.yml
index e45591fa6d..d493a5bedb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/version.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/version.yml
@@ -37,8 +37,10 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
 
-          latest=$(gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/releases/latest" --jq .tag_name)
-          [[ "$latest" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]] || { echo "Latest release tag '${latest}' is not x.y.z"; exit 1; }
+          latest=$(gh release list --limit 100 --exclude-drafts --exclude-pre-releases \
+            --json tagName --jq '.[].tagName' \
+            | grep -E '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$' | grep -v '^9\.9\.' | sort -V | tail -1)
+          [[ -n "$latest" ]] || { echo "No x.y.z releases found"; exit 1; }
           IFS='.' read -r cur_major cur_minor cur_patch <<< "$latest"
 
           if [ -z "$INPUT_VERSION" ]; then