diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 6a4950a..4667eb5 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ module github.com/docker/attest
 go 1.22.1
 
 require (
+	github.com/Masterminds/semver/v3 v3.2.1
 	github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/config v1.27.15
 	github.com/containerd/containerd v1.7.17
 	github.com/distribution/reference v0.6.0
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index ef2afd8..fcf4272 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -53,6 +53,8 @@ github.com/Azure/go-autorest/tracing v0.6.0 h1:TYi4+3m5t6K48TGI9AUdb+IzbnSxvnvUM
 github.com/Azure/go-autorest/tracing v0.6.0/go.mod h1:+vhtPC754Xsa23ID7GlGsrdKBpUA79WCAKPPZVC2DeU=
 github.com/AzureAD/microsoft-authentication-library-for-go v1.2.2 h1:XHOnouVk1mxXfQidrMEnLlPk9UMeRtyBTnEFtxkV0kU=
 github.com/AzureAD/microsoft-authentication-library-for-go v1.2.2/go.mod h1:wP83P5OoQ5p6ip3ScPr0BAq0BvuPAvacpEuSzyouqAI=
+github.com/Masterminds/semver/v3 v3.2.1 h1:RN9w6+7QoMeJVGyfmbcgs28Br8cvmnucEXnY0rYXWg0=
+github.com/Masterminds/semver/v3 v3.2.1/go.mod h1:qvl/7zhW3nngYb5+80sSMF+FG2BjYrf8m9wsX0PNOMQ=
 github.com/Microsoft/go-winio v0.6.2 h1:F2VQgta7ecxGYO8k3ZZz3RS8fVIXVxONVUPlNERoyfY=
 github.com/Microsoft/go-winio v0.6.2/go.mod h1:yd8OoFMLzJbo9gZq8j5qaps8bJ9aShtEA8Ipt1oGCvU=
 github.com/Microsoft/hcsshim v0.12.3 h1:LS9NXqXhMoqNCplK1ApmVSfB4UnVLRDWRapB6EIlxE0=
diff --git a/pkg/attest/example_verify_test.go b/pkg/attest/example_verify_test.go
index 8e46e50..a50fabd 100644
--- a/pkg/attest/example_verify_test.go
+++ b/pkg/attest/example_verify_test.go
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ func createTufClient(outputPath string) (*tuf.TufClient, error) {
 	// metadataURI := "https://docker.github.io/tuf-staging/metadata"
 	// targetsURI := "https://docker.github.io/tuf-staging/targets"
 
-	return tuf.NewTufClient(embed.StagingRoot, outputPath, metadataURI, targetsURI)
+	return tuf.NewTufClient(embed.StagingRoot, outputPath, metadataURI, targetsURI, tuf.NewMockVersionChecker())
 }
 
 func ExampleVerify_remote() {
diff --git a/pkg/mirror/example_mirror_test.go b/pkg/mirror/example_mirror_test.go
index ea2bd2a..c4b6cbd 100644
--- a/pkg/mirror/example_mirror_test.go
+++ b/pkg/mirror/example_mirror_test.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/docker/attest/internal/embed"
 	"github.com/docker/attest/pkg/mirror"
+	"github.com/docker/attest/pkg/tuf"
 	v1 "github.com/google/go-containerregistry/pkg/v1"
 )
 
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ func ExampleNewTufMirror() {
 	// configure TUF mirror
 	metadataURI := "https://docker.github.io/tuf-staging/metadata"
 	targetsURI := "https://docker.github.io/tuf-staging/targets"
-	m, err := mirror.NewTufMirror(embed.StagingRoot, tufOutputPath, metadataURI, targetsURI)
+	m, err := mirror.NewTufMirror(embed.StagingRoot, tufOutputPath, metadataURI, targetsURI, tuf.NewMockVersionChecker())
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/mirror/metadata_test.go b/pkg/mirror/metadata_test.go
index a34e8d7..0aeb277 100644
--- a/pkg/mirror/metadata_test.go
+++ b/pkg/mirror/metadata_test.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/docker/attest/internal/embed"
 	"github.com/docker/attest/internal/test"
+	"github.com/docker/attest/pkg/tuf"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf/v2/metadata"
 )
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ func TestGetTufMetadataMirror(t *testing.T) {
 	defer server.Close()
 
 	path := test.CreateTempDir(t, "", "tuf_temp")
-	m, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets")
+	m, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets", tuf.NewMockVersionChecker())
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	tufMetadata, err := m.getTufMetadataMirror(server.URL + "/metadata")
@@ -38,7 +39,7 @@ func TestGetMetadataManifest(t *testing.T) {
 	defer server.Close()
 
 	path := test.CreateTempDir(t, "", "tuf_temp")
-	m, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets")
+	m, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets", tuf.NewMockVersionChecker())
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	img, err := m.GetMetadataManifest(server.URL + "/metadata")
@@ -78,7 +79,7 @@ func TestGetDelegatedMetadataMirrors(t *testing.T) {
 	defer server.Close()
 
 	path := test.CreateTempDir(t, "", "tuf_temp")
-	m, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets")
+	m, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets", tuf.NewMockVersionChecker())
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	delegations, err := m.GetDelegatedMetadataMirrors()
diff --git a/pkg/mirror/mirror.go b/pkg/mirror/mirror.go
index 3abf107..5aa5171 100644
--- a/pkg/mirror/mirror.go
+++ b/pkg/mirror/mirror.go
@@ -15,11 +15,11 @@ import (
 	"github.com/google/go-containerregistry/pkg/v1/remote"
 )
 
-func NewTufMirror(root []byte, tufPath, metadataURL, targetsURL string) (*TufMirror, error) {
+func NewTufMirror(root []byte, tufPath, metadataURL, targetsURL string, versionChecker tuf.VersionChecker) (*TufMirror, error) {
 	if root == nil {
 		root = embed.DefaultRoot
 	}
-	tufClient, err := tuf.NewTufClient(root, tufPath, metadataURL, targetsURL)
+	tufClient, err := tuf.NewTufClient(root, tufPath, metadataURL, targetsURL, versionChecker)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create TUF client: %w", err)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/mirror/targets_test.go b/pkg/mirror/targets_test.go
index 3b544da..e81ddaf 100644
--- a/pkg/mirror/targets_test.go
+++ b/pkg/mirror/targets_test.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/docker/attest/internal/embed"
 	"github.com/docker/attest/internal/test"
+	"github.com/docker/attest/pkg/tuf"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 )
 
@@ -26,7 +27,7 @@ func TestGetTufTargetsMirror(t *testing.T) {
 	defer server.Close()
 
 	path := test.CreateTempDir(t, "", "tuf_temp")
-	m, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets")
+	m, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets", tuf.NewMockVersionChecker())
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	targets, err := m.GetTufTargetMirrors()
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ func TestTargetDelegationMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 	defer server.Close()
 
 	path := test.CreateTempDir(t, "", "tuf_temp")
-	tm, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets")
+	tm, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets", tuf.NewMockVersionChecker())
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	targets, err := tm.TufClient.LoadDelegatedTargets("test-role", "targets")
@@ -73,7 +74,7 @@ func TestGetDelegatedTargetMirrors(t *testing.T) {
 	defer server.Close()
 
 	path := test.CreateTempDir(t, "", "tuf_temp")
-	m, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets")
+	m, err := NewTufMirror(embed.DevRoot, path, server.URL+"/metadata", server.URL+"/targets", tuf.NewMockVersionChecker())
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	mirrors, err := m.GetDelegatedTargetMirrors()
diff --git a/pkg/tuf/example_registry_test.go b/pkg/tuf/example_registry_test.go
index 0df14fd..df34c83 100644
--- a/pkg/tuf/example_registry_test.go
+++ b/pkg/tuf/example_registry_test.go
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ func ExampleNewTufClient_registry() {
 	// using oci tuf metadata and targets
 	metadataURI := "registry-1.docker.io/docker/tuf-metadata:latest"
 	targetsURI := "registry-1.docker.io/docker/tuf-targets"
-	registryClient, err := tuf.NewTufClient(embed.StagingRoot, tufOutputPath, metadataURI, targetsURI)
+
+	registryClient, err := tuf.NewTufClient(embed.StagingRoot, tufOutputPath, metadataURI, targetsURI, tuf.NewMockVersionChecker())
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/tuf/mock.go b/pkg/tuf/mock.go
index aa9c433..95afba8 100644
--- a/pkg/tuf/mock.go
+++ b/pkg/tuf/mock.go
@@ -58,3 +58,15 @@ func (dc *mockTufClient) DownloadTarget(target string, filePath string) (actualF
 
 	return dstFilePath, b, nil
 }
+
+type mockVersionChecker struct {
+	err error
+}
+
+func NewMockVersionChecker() *mockVersionChecker {
+	return &mockVersionChecker{}
+}
+
+func (vc *mockVersionChecker) CheckVersion(client TUFClient) error {
+	return vc.err
+}
diff --git a/pkg/tuf/tuf.go b/pkg/tuf/tuf.go
index 48a1e13..07d9742 100644
--- a/pkg/tuf/tuf.go
+++ b/pkg/tuf/tuf.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ type TufClient struct {
 }
 
 // NewTufClient creates a new TUF client
-func NewTufClient(initialRoot []byte, tufPath, metadataSource, targetsSource string) (*TufClient, error) {
+func NewTufClient(initialRoot []byte, tufPath, metadataSource, targetsSource string, versionChecker VersionChecker) (*TufClient, error) {
 	var tufSource TufSource
 	if strings.HasPrefix(metadataSource, "https://") || strings.HasPrefix(metadataSource, "http://") {
 		tufSource = HttpSource
@@ -102,8 +102,13 @@ func NewTufClient(initialRoot []byte, tufPath, metadataSource, targetsSource str
 		updater: up,
 		cfg:     cfg,
 	}
-	return client, nil
 
+	err = versionChecker.CheckVersion(client)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	return client, nil
 }
 
 // DownloadTarget downloads the target file using Updater. The Updater gets the target
diff --git a/pkg/tuf/tuf_test.go b/pkg/tuf/tuf_test.go
index 9479dcf..ad57cc8 100644
--- a/pkg/tuf/tuf_test.go
+++ b/pkg/tuf/tuf_test.go
@@ -52,6 +52,9 @@ func TestRootInit(t *testing.T) {
 	}()
 	LoadRegistryTestData(t, regAddr, OciTufTestDataPath)
 
+	alwaysGoodVersionChecker := &mockVersionChecker{err: nil}
+	alwaysBadVersionChecker := &mockVersionChecker{err: assert.AnError}
+
 	testCases := []struct {
 		name           string
 		metadataSource string
@@ -62,15 +65,18 @@ func TestRootInit(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range testCases {
-		_, err := NewTufClient(embed.DevRoot, tufPath, tc.metadataSource, tc.targetsSource)
+		_, err := NewTufClient(embed.DevRoot, tufPath, tc.metadataSource, tc.targetsSource, alwaysGoodVersionChecker)
 		assert.NoErrorf(t, err, "Failed to create TUF client: %v", err)
 
 		// recreation should work with same root
-		_, err = NewTufClient(embed.DevRoot, tufPath, tc.metadataSource, tc.targetsSource)
+		_, err = NewTufClient(embed.DevRoot, tufPath, tc.metadataSource, tc.targetsSource, alwaysGoodVersionChecker)
 		assert.NoErrorf(t, err, "Failed to recreate TUF client: %v", err)
 
-		_, err = NewTufClient([]byte("broken"), tufPath, tc.metadataSource, tc.targetsSource)
+		_, err = NewTufClient([]byte("broken"), tufPath, tc.metadataSource, tc.targetsSource, alwaysGoodVersionChecker)
 		assert.Errorf(t, err, "Expected error recreating TUF client with broken root: %v", err)
+
+		_, err = NewTufClient(embed.DevRoot, tufPath, tc.metadataSource, tc.targetsSource, alwaysBadVersionChecker)
+		assert.Errorf(t, err, "Expected error creating TUF client with bad attest version: %v", err)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -93,6 +99,8 @@ func TestDownloadTarget(t *testing.T) {
 	}()
 	LoadRegistryTestData(t, regAddr, OciTufTestDataPath)
 
+	alwaysGoodVersionChecker := &mockVersionChecker{err: nil}
+
 	testCases := []struct {
 		name           string
 		metadataSource string
@@ -103,7 +111,7 @@ func TestDownloadTarget(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range testCases {
-		tufClient, err := NewTufClient(embed.DevRoot, tufPath, tc.metadataSource, tc.targetsSource)
+		tufClient, err := NewTufClient(embed.DevRoot, tufPath, tc.metadataSource, tc.targetsSource, alwaysGoodVersionChecker)
 		assert.NoErrorf(t, err, "Failed to create TUF client: %v", err)
 
 		// get trusted tuf metadata
diff --git a/pkg/tuf/version.go b/pkg/tuf/version.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a9eef52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/tuf/version.go
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+package tuf
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"runtime/debug"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/Masterminds/semver/v3"
+)
+
+const ThisModulePath = "github.com/docker/attest"
+
+type VersionChecker interface {
+	// CheckVersion checks if the current version of this library meets the constraints from the TUF repo
+	CheckVersion(tufClient TUFClient) error
+}
+
+type InvalidVersionError struct {
+	AttestVersion     string
+	VersionConstraint string
+	Errors            []error
+}
+
+func (e *InvalidVersionError) Error() string {
+	var errsStr strings.Builder
+	for i, err := range e.Errors {
+		if i > 0 {
+			errsStr.WriteString("; ")
+		}
+		errsStr.WriteString(err.Error())
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s version %s does not satisfy constraints %s: %s", ThisModulePath, e.AttestVersion, e.VersionConstraint, errsStr.String())
+}
+
+func NewVersionChecker() *versionChecker {
+	return &versionChecker{}
+}
+
+type versionChecker struct{}
+
+func (vc *versionChecker) CheckVersion(client TUFClient) error {
+	var attestMod *debug.Module
+	bi, ok := debug.ReadBuildInfo()
+	if !ok {
+		// if we can't read the build info, assume we're good. this should only happen if we're not running in a module
+		return nil
+	}
+	if bi.Main.Path == ThisModulePath {
+		attestMod = &bi.Main
+	} else {
+		for _, dep := range bi.Deps {
+			if dep.Path == ThisModulePath {
+				attestMod = dep
+				break
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	if attestMod == nil {
+		// if we can't find the attest dep, assume we're good. this should only happen in a test
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	attestVersion, err := semver.NewVersion(attestMod.Version)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse version %s: %w", attestMod.Version, err)
+	}
+
+	// see https://github.com/Masterminds/semver/blob/v3.2.1/README.md#checking-version-constraints
+	// for more information on the expected format of the version constraints in the TUF repo
+	_, versionConstraintsBytes, err := client.DownloadTarget("version-constraints", "")
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to download version-constraints: %w", err)
+	}
+	versionConstraints, err := semver.NewConstraint(string(versionConstraintsBytes))
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse minimum version: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	ok, errs := versionConstraints.Validate(attestVersion)
+	if !ok {
+		return &InvalidVersionError{
+			AttestVersion:     attestVersion.String(),
+			VersionConstraint: versionConstraints.String(),
+			Errors:            errs,
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}