diff --git a/core/jreleaser-utils/src/main/java/org/jreleaser/util/StringUtils.java b/core/jreleaser-utils/src/main/java/org/jreleaser/util/StringUtils.java
index 8189e33d..f9914df0 100644
--- a/core/jreleaser-utils/src/main/java/org/jreleaser/util/StringUtils.java
+++ b/core/jreleaser-utils/src/main/java/org/jreleaser/util/StringUtils.java
@@ -614,7 +614,7 @@ public class StringUtils {
         if (!str.startsWith("^")) {
             b.append(".*");
         }
-        b.append(str);
+        b.append(escapeRegexChars(str));
         if (!str.endsWith("$")) {
             b.append(".*");
         }