diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 6801e89..324fd7a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -71,7 +71,13 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
 
-          current_version="$(tr -d '[:space:]' < VERSION)"
+          # Use the latest git tag as the source of truth so the bump is
+          # always based on the actual last release, even if the VERSION file
+          # is stale (e.g. a back-merge PR was never merged).
+          current_version="$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null | tr -d '[:space:]')"
+          if [[ -z "${current_version}" ]]; then
+            current_version="$(tr -d '[:space:]' < VERSION)"
+          fi
           next_version="$(npx --yes semver@7.6.3 "${current_version}" -i "${{ inputs.bump }}")"
           release_branch="release/v${next_version}"