diff --git a/.github/update-release-branch.py b/.github/update-release-branch.py
index ff65abe84d..b17cafc7a7 100644
--- a/.github/update-release-branch.py
+++ b/.github/update-release-branch.py
@@ -255,10 +255,13 @@ def main():
     print(f'No commits to merge from {source_branch} to {target_branch}.')
     return
 
+  # define distinct prefix in order to support specific pr checks on backports
+  branch_prefix = 'update' if is_primary_release else 'backport'
+
   # The branch name is based off of the name of branch being merged into
   # and the SHA of the branch being merged from. Thus if the branch already
   # exists we can assume we don't need to recreate it.
-  new_branch_name = f'update-v{version}-{source_branch_short_sha}'
+  new_branch_name = f'{branch_prefix}-v{version}-{source_branch_short_sha}'
   print(f'Branch name is {new_branch_name}.')
 
   # Check if the branch already exists. If so we can abort as this script
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-checks.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-checks.yml
index ab2c6a0c63..2cbad44a73 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-checks.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-checks.yml
@@ -114,3 +114,44 @@ jobs:
           # we won't be able to find them on Windows.
           npm config set script-shell bash
           npm test
+
+  check-node-version:
+    if: ${{ github.event.pull_request }}
+    name: Check node version consistency
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 45
+    env:
+      BASE_REF: ${{ github.base_ref }}
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - id: head-version
+        name: check HEAD node version
+        run: |
+          NODE_VERSION=$(find . -name "action.yml" -exec yq -e '.runs.using' {} \; | grep node | sort | uniq)
+          echo "NODE_VERSION: ${NODE_VERSION}"
+          if [[ $(echo "$NODE_VERSION" | wc -l) -gt 1 ]]; then
+            echo "Error: More than one node version used in actions."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "node_version=${NODE_VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+      - id: checkout-base
+        name: check out base ref for backport check
+        if: ${{ startsWith(github.head_ref, 'backport-') }}
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ env.BASE_REF }}
+
+      - name: compare with node version on base ref for backport check
+        if: steps.checkout-base.outcome == 'success'
+        env:
+          HEAD_VERSION: ${{ steps.head-version.outputs.node_version }}
+        run: |
+          BASE_VERSION=$(find . -name "action.yml" -exec yq -e '.runs.using' {} \; | grep node | sort | uniq)
+          echo "HEAD_VERSION: ${HEAD_VERSION}"
+          echo "BASE_VERSION: ${BASE_VERSION}"
+          if [[ "$BASE_VERSION" != "$HEAD_VERSION" ]]; then
+            echo "Error: Cannot change node version in a backport PR."
+            exit 1
+          fi