diff --git a/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/release/ReleaseToolsPlugin.java b/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/release/ReleaseToolsPlugin.java
index 08abb02ea831e..ec79fe20492e1 100644
--- a/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/release/ReleaseToolsPlugin.java
+++ b/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/release/ReleaseToolsPlugin.java
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ public void apply(Project project) {
 
         project.getTasks().register("extractCurrentVersions", ExtractCurrentVersionsTask.class);
         project.getTasks().register("tagVersions", TagVersionsTask.class);
-        project.getTasks().register("setCompatibleVersions", SetCompatibleVersionsTask.class);
+        project.getTasks().register("setCompatibleVersions", SetCompatibleVersionsTask.class, t -> t.setThisVersion(version));
 
         final FileTree yamlFiles = projectDirectory.dir("docs/changelog")
             .getAsFileTree()
diff --git a/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/release/SetCompatibleVersionsTask.java b/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/release/SetCompatibleVersionsTask.java
index 15e0a0cc345d5..17761e5183b31 100644
--- a/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/release/SetCompatibleVersionsTask.java
+++ b/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/release/SetCompatibleVersionsTask.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 import com.github.javaparser.ast.expr.NameExpr;
 import com.github.javaparser.printer.lexicalpreservation.LexicalPreservingPrinter;
 
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.Version;
 import org.gradle.api.tasks.TaskAction;
 import org.gradle.api.tasks.options.Option;
 import org.gradle.initialization.layout.BuildLayout;
@@ -28,6 +29,8 @@
 
 public class SetCompatibleVersionsTask extends AbstractVersionsTask {
 
+    private Version thisVersion;
+    private Version releaseVersion;
     private Map<String, Integer> versionIds = Map.of();
 
     @Inject
@@ -35,21 +38,35 @@ public SetCompatibleVersionsTask(BuildLayout layout) {
         super(layout);
     }
 
+    public void setThisVersion(Version version) {
+        thisVersion = version;
+    }
+
     @Option(option = "version-id", description = "Version id used for the release. Of the form <VersionType>:<id>.")
     public void versionIds(List<String> version) {
         this.versionIds = splitVersionIds(version);
     }
 
+    @Option(option = "release", description = "The version being released")
+    public void releaseVersion(String version) {
+        releaseVersion = Version.fromString(version);
+    }
+
     @TaskAction
     public void executeTask() throws IOException {
         if (versionIds.isEmpty()) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("No version ids specified");
         }
+
+        if (releaseVersion.getMajor() < thisVersion.getMajor()) {
+            // don't need to update CCS version - this is for a different major
+            return;
+        }
+
         Integer transportVersion = versionIds.get(TRANSPORT_VERSION_TYPE);
         if (transportVersion == null) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("TransportVersion id not specified");
         }
-
         Path versionJava = rootDir.resolve(TRANSPORT_VERSIONS_FILE_PATH);
         CompilationUnit file = LexicalPreservingPrinter.setup(StaticJavaParser.parse(versionJava));