diff --git a/CedarJava/CHANGELOG.md b/CedarJava/CHANGELOG.md
index 216cf267..c513754a 100644
--- a/CedarJava/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CedarJava/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 4.3.1
+### Added
+* Added Zig version validation for publishing artifacts [#306](https://github.com/cedar-policy/cedar-java/pull/306)
+
 ## 4.3.0
 ### Added
 * Introduced new model classes for improved type safety and functionality:
diff --git a/CedarJava/build.gradle b/CedarJava/build.gradle
index 7a912b6f..d5fec35c 100644
--- a/CedarJava/build.gradle
+++ b/CedarJava/build.gradle
@@ -124,6 +124,26 @@ tasks.register('installCargoZigbuild', Exec) {
     commandLine 'cargo', '+' + RustVersion, 'install', 'cargo-zigbuild@0.19.7'
 }
 
+def ZigVersion = '0.11'
+tasks.register('validateZigVersion') {
+    group = 'Build'
+    description = 'Validates that the correct zig version is installed'
+    
+    doLast {
+        def output = new ByteArrayOutputStream()
+        exec {
+            commandLine 'zig', 'version'
+            standardOutput = output
+        }
+        def version = output.toString().trim()
+        println "Detected Zig version: ${version}"
+        if (!version.startsWith(ZigVersion)) {
+            throw new GradleException("Zig version must be ${ZigVersion} but found: ${version}")        
+        }
+        println "Zig version validation successful"
+    }
+}
+
 tasks.register('compileFFI') {
     dependsOn('installCargoZigbuild')
     group 'Build'
@@ -252,13 +272,14 @@ java {
 /*
  Configures Maven publishing
  */
+publish.dependsOn('validateZigVersion')
 publishing {
     publications {
         mavenJava(MavenPublication) {
             from components.java
             groupId = 'com.cedarpolicy'
             artifactId = 'cedar-java'
-            version = '4.3.0'
+            version = '4.3.1'
 
             artifacts {
                 jar
diff --git a/CedarJavaFFI/Cargo.toml b/CedarJavaFFI/Cargo.toml
index f32d16e7..66fe807a 100644
--- a/CedarJavaFFI/Cargo.toml
+++ b/CedarJavaFFI/Cargo.toml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ description = "Java FFI for Cedar (from the cedar-policy crate)."
 edition = "2021"
 
 
-version = "4.3.0"
+version = "4.3.1"
 
 [dependencies]
 serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive", "rc"] }