diff --git a/Release.gitlab-ci.yml b/Release.gitlab-ci.yml
index ae63e1a..38b6d0e 100644
--- a/Release.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/Release.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ unbound_release_handle_mr:
   - 'apk add --no-cache git jq curl'
   script:
   - |
-    LATEST="$(git describe --abbrev=0 --tags 2>/dev/null)"
+    LATEST="$(git describe --abbrev=0 --tags 2>/dev/null || echo '')"
     if [[ -n "${LATEST}" && "$(cat VERSION)" == "${LATEST}" ]]; then
       echo "No changes worthy of a version bump"
       exit 0