diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index e76bcf5b54..87d919a7d6 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ This document is intended for Spotless developers.
 We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (starting after version `1.27.0`).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
+### Fixed
+- Fix the ability to specify a wildcard version (`*`) for external formatter executables, which did not work. ([#2848](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/2848))
 
 ## [4.3.0] - 2026-01-27
 ### Added
diff --git a/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/ForeignExe.java b/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/ForeignExe.java
index 861b66e8de..7a693dec9f 100644
--- a/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/ForeignExe.java
+++ b/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/ForeignExe.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2020-2025 DiffPlug
+ * Copyright 2020-2026 DiffPlug
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ public String confirmVersionAndGetAbsolutePath() throws IOException, Interrupted
 				throw cantFind("Unable to parse version with /" + versionRegex + "/", cmdVersion);
 			}
 			String versionFound = versionMatcher.group(1);
-			if (!VERSION_WILDCARD.equals(versionFound) && !versionFound.equals(version)) {
+			if (!VERSION_WILDCARD.equals(version) && !versionFound.equals(version)) {
 				throw wrongVersion("You specified version " + version + ", but Spotless found " + versionFound, cmdVersion, versionFound);
 			}
 			return exeAbsPath;
diff --git a/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md b/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
index f5269d3bf2..b73e607579 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
+++ b/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (starting after version `3.27.0`).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
+### Fixed
+- Fix the ability to specify a wildcard version (`*`) for external formatter executables, which did not work. ([#2848](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/2848))
 
 ## [8.2.1] - 2026-01-27
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md b/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md
index 48e745cc03..adc8341618 100644
--- a/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md
+++ b/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (starting after version `1.27.0`).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
+### Fixed
+- Fix the ability to specify a wildcard version (`*`) for external formatter executables, which did not work. ([#2848](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/2848))
 
 ## [3.2.1] - 2026-01-27
 ### Fixed