diff --git a/operator/internal/version/version.go b/operator/internal/version/version.go
index 0114174e2..7635a92e5 100644
--- a/operator/internal/version/version.go
+++ b/operator/internal/version/version.go
@@ -39,8 +39,12 @@ func IsValid(version string) bool {
 	return semver.IsValid(version)
 }
 
-// Compare compares two versions and returns 0 if they are equal, 1 if version1 is greater than version2, -1 if version1 is less than version2
+// Compare compares two versions and returns 0 if they are equal, 1 if version1 is greater than version2, -1 if version1 is less than version2,
+// or -2 if either version is invalid or empty.
 func Compare(version1, version2 string) int {
+	if !IsValid(version1) || !IsValid(version2) {
+		return -2
+	}
 	if version1[0] != 'v' {
 		version1 = "v" + version1
 	}
diff --git a/operator/internal/version/version_test.go b/operator/internal/version/version_test.go
index 47294e5cf..ca63023db 100644
--- a/operator/internal/version/version_test.go
+++ b/operator/internal/version/version_test.go
@@ -66,6 +66,11 @@ var _ = Describe("version", func() {
 			Entry("left is older", "v1.2.3", "v1.3.0", -1),
 			Entry("left is newer", "v2.0.0", "v1.9.9", 1),
 			Entry("prerelease sorts before its release", "v1.2.3-rc.1", "v1.2.3", -1),
+			Entry("empty on the right returns -2", "v1.2.3", "", -2),
+			Entry("empty on the left returns -2", "", "v1.2.3", -2),
+			Entry("empty on both sides returns -2", "", "", -2),
+			Entry("invalid on the left returns -2", "dev", "v1.2.3", -2),
+			Entry("invalid on the right returns -2", "v1.2.3", "dev", -2),
 		)
 	})