diff --git a/net/prosody/test-version.sh b/net/prosody/test-version.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..de261c754c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/net/prosody/test-version.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#
+# Version check override for the prosody package.
+#
+# Neither prosody nor prosodyctl reports its version on any of the flags the
+# generic tests probe; the version is only recorded in prosody.version.
+
+case "$1" in
+prosody)
+	grep -F "$2" /usr/lib/prosody/prosody.version
+	;;
+
+*)
+	echo "test-version.sh: unknown subpackage '$1' — refusing to silently pass" >&2
+	echo "test-version.sh: update net/prosody/test-version.sh to cover it" >&2
+	exit 1
+	;;
+esac
diff --git a/net/prosody/test.sh b/net/prosody/test.sh
index 856848ccf0..4f5d0886ff 100644
--- a/net/prosody/test.sh
+++ b/net/prosody/test.sh
@@ -16,10 +16,6 @@ TEST_PASS="s3cr3t-ci-passphrase"
 
 case "$1" in
 prosody)
-	# Verify the installed version file matches the apk version arg the
-	# runner passes, so a stale .apk from an earlier batch fails fast.
-	grep -qF "$2" "$PROSODY_LIB/prosody.version"
-
 	# loader.lua installs the "prosody.*" -> "*" module searcher that every
 	# require() in 13.x goes through. It is the first thing prosodyctl looks
 	# for, and the package is dead on arrival if it was not installed.