diff --git a/Release.gitlab-ci.yml b/Release.gitlab-ci.yml
index 0bc4bb2..ae63e1a 100644
--- a/Release.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/Release.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@ unbound_release_handle_mr:
   - 'apk add --no-cache git jq curl'
   script:
   - |
-    if [[ "$(cat VERSION)" == "$(git describe --abbrev=0 --tags)" ]]; then
+    LATEST="$(git describe --abbrev=0 --tags 2>/dev/null)"
+    if [[ -n "${LATEST}" && "$(cat VERSION)" == "${LATEST}" ]]; then
       echo "No changes worthy of a version bump"
       exit 0
     fi