diff --git a/deploy/deploy.sh b/deploy/deploy.sh
index edf8b4071..a67296919 100755
--- a/deploy/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy/deploy.sh
@@ -33,6 +33,9 @@ JAZZER_COORDINATES=$1
 [ ! -f "${JAZZER_JAR_PATH}" ] && \
   fail "JAZZER_JAR_PATH does not exist at '$JAZZER_JAR_PATH'"
 
+"${JAZZER_JAR_PATH}" --version 2>&1 | grep '^Jazzer v' || \
+  fail "JAZZER_JAR_PATH is not a valid jazzer.jar"
+
 MAVEN_REPO=https://oss.sonatype.org/service/local/staging/deploy/maven2
 
 # The Jazzer jar itself bundles native libraries for multiple architectures and thus can't be built