diff --git a/misc/tools.func b/misc/tools.func
index 72cd3384d..2fcd6749e 100644
--- a/misc/tools.func
+++ b/misc/tools.func
@@ -2394,11 +2394,12 @@ check_for_gh_release() {
 
   # For pinned versions, query the specific release tag directly
   if [[ -n "$pinned_version_in" ]]; then
+    local pinned_version_encoded="${pinned_version_in//\//%2F}"
     http_code=$(curl -sSL --max-time 20 -w "%{http_code}" -o /tmp/gh_check.json \
       -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' \
       -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28' \
       "${header_args[@]}" \
-      "https://api.github.com/repos/${source}/releases/tags/${pinned_version_in}" 2>/dev/null) || true
+      "https://api.github.com/repos/${source}/releases/tags/${pinned_version_encoded}" 2>/dev/null) || true
 
     if [[ "$http_code" == "200" ]] && [[ -s /tmp/gh_check.json ]]; then
       releases_json="[$(</tmp/gh_check.json)]"
@@ -2520,11 +2521,19 @@ check_for_gh_release() {
       rm -f "${legacy_files[0]}"
     fi
   fi
-  current="${current#v}"
+  if [[ "$current" =~ ^v[0-9] ]]; then
+    current="${current:1}"
+  fi
+						
 
   # Pinned version handling
   if [[ -n "$pinned_version_in" ]]; then
-    local pin_clean="${pinned_version_in#v}"
+    local pin_clean
+    if [[ "$pinned_version_in" =~ ^v[0-9] ]]; then
+      pin_clean="${pinned_version_in:1}"
+    else
+      pin_clean="$pinned_version_in"
+    fi
     local match_raw=""
     for i in "${!clean_tags[@]}"; do
       if [[ "${clean_tags[$i]}" == "$pin_clean" ]]; then
@@ -2562,7 +2571,6 @@ check_for_gh_release() {
   msg_ok "No update available: ${app} (${latest_clean})"
   return 1
 }
-
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Checks for new Codeberg release (latest tag).
 #